The Survey October 1916-March 1917 . pical no less in its differences from Leadville and Tomb-stone, than in its likenesses to them. For the Americanfrontier was never for two decades the same except in itszest, its tumult and lawlessness, its optimism for the futureand its privations of the present. These Hopewell sharedwith its predecessors. Hastily and flimsily built, ugly asonly that which is cheap and shoddy can be ugly, pretentiouswith wooden false fronts on its buildings as all aspiring fron-tier towns have been, dreaming of a magnificent future amidthe mire and grime of the present, it
The Survey October 1916-March 1917 . pical no less in its differences from Leadville and Tomb-stone, than in its likenesses to them. For the Americanfrontier was never for two decades the same except in itszest, its tumult and lawlessness, its optimism for the futureand its privations of the present. These Hopewell sharedwith its predecessors. Hastily and flimsily built, ugly asonly that which is cheap and shoddy can be ugly, pretentiouswith wooden false fronts on its buildings as all aspiring fron-tier towns have been, dreaming of a magnificent future amidthe mire and grime of the present, it proved that the oldAmerican spirit had not died, but has simply lacked recentopportunity for expression. Then came the great fire of December 9, 1915. and in lessthan five hours Hopewell had gone. Rut where there iswork and wages there will be a town. More rapidly thanbefore Hopewell rose from its ashes. To-day, with itssuburbs and company villages, it is supposed to have a popu-lation of 38,000. THE SURVEY FOR DECEMBER 2, 1916 227. RUBBEROID COTTAGE, ATTRACTIVE AND COMFORTABLE. BUT COLD IN VVIXTI- But even before the fire times had begun to change. Theold frontier had before it the wilderness, behind it a countryscarcely more settled and orderly than itself. Hopewell isin the midst of our oldest commonwealth. Only half an houraway is staid, conservative Petersburg; a little further awayis Richmond. Frontier lawlessness may be picturesque inhistory or romance, but it is uncomfortable in a civilized,twentieth-century neighborhood. The helplessness of the officials of Prince George county intheir attempts to deal with drunkenness, vice and murder became a scandal in the eyes of Virginians. The fact thatthe coroner was called upon to investigate six murders inone night might make interesting stories for the newspapersof New York and Chicago, but it did not stimulate the prideof the people of Richmond. So, backed by that better elementwhich seems to have existed in every city exce
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