"THIS IS
IT'
Our Bountiful Continent
Chapter 3
NEW YORK CITY
The following morning, which was the one hundred and sixtieth day of the year , I met the Delegates in the lobby of the hotel. They were all talking at once, like a group of children anticipating going on a picnic trip. When I walked into their midst all. chatter ceased. Looking at their expectant faces, I, for a fleeting moment, was at a loss for words. It appeared they were waiting for me to make a suggestion of activity for the day.
Suddenly a thought came to my mind and I said, "Inasmuch as you have flown to Topeka, which is in longitude 95, and latitude 39 (which was once in the state of Kansas), and haven't had the opportunity of seeing the country, would you like to fly to New York City and then travel west, by various means of transportation?"
Their answer was a unanimous "Yes." With the excitement of the trip and the many questions asked, the time lapse between boarding and leaving the plane seemed very short.
After we had left the plane and taken buses to the downtown Manhattan area, their smiles suddenly faded. At first it was difficult for me to determine the cause of their disappointment. Suddenly I realized that some of them had visited New York City during the price system era, and of course others had seen pictures of the tall buildings on Manhattan Island. And to see a sizable number of buildings being demolished by various pieces of equipment must have been shocking. Becoming amused at their expressions, I said, "Isn't this a mess?"
I explained that most of the large buildings in most large cities had been erected for the purpose of conducting price system functions, and that those that couldn't be used for warehouses, or places of lodging, or entertainment were being mined for their metals and various other materials, to be used for other purposes, and that New York City is an especially rich mining area.
After I had conducted them on a tour of Long Island, and of course up the East River a short distance, where they saw new and beautiful buildings, erected for human habitation, parks and amusement zones, with agricultural activity reaching almost up to the buildings (which were surrounded by park areas with stands of young trees), their faces lit up and chatter began.
Later we inspected the largest living complex on Long Island (where every living quarter had windows affording a view of beautiful landscape), plus a hospital, a shopping center, a theater, a large dining area, classrooms, a swimming pool and large play area surrounding the building.
After inspecting some of the main features of the complex I announced over the intercom that we had foreign visitors present, and for those residing in the complex not to be surprised if they suddenly saw them at their door, desiring admission, and to answer their questions courteously, even though through interpreter. I told them not to be surprised if they saw sonit garbed in robes from the Arabic nations, or those colorful gowns of India. Finally I said, "This day in these quarters belongs to our distinguished visitors. I am certain you will enjoy this day as much as they."
After conducting the visitors through the shops, displaying wonderful consumer goods, a beautifully equipped and ) staffed hospital, a massive dining area, a community kitchen (with enough space and equipment to accommodate the whole living complex), and an amusement and work-out area (with the paraphernalia sufficient to keep one physically fit), a large and well-staffed children’s' nursery, and two beautiful theaters I said, "Well, folks, let's go to the fourth floor and up we can meet and talk with those modem cliff dwellers."
I suggested that, there being eighteen floors equipped living quarters, it would be wise to "scatter out floorwise, doing so would make for more diversification. After some discussion and gesticulation and communication by means of an interpreter, they eventually agreed who would go to which floor.
When I left the elevator on the fourth floor, I found, to my surprise, that I was followed by people garbed in turbans and loud-colored gowns, and some were unmistakably from Holland. When I turned to face them, they stood stiff and erect like statues. Being taken off guard by their shyness, I stood for a time gazing back at them, not knowing what to do. Suddenly the whole thing became amusing to me when I realized that they were waiting for me to make the first move. Spontaneously, the scene became one of hilarity.
After the laughing had ceased, and their faces became serious, I began pointing to individuals with one hand, and to doors with the other. I was again at a loss when I looked down the long corridor at people nervously standing before the door that I had assigned to them. To start things moving I pressed a door bell, only to look around at a group of Hollanders.
The door was opened by an elderly Italian woman, with an accent indicating Italian birth. With a broad smile, and a friendly gesture of her hands, she said, "Do come in please. I wasa hoping you would pay me a visit before you leavea this country."
When we walked into the beautiful living quarters there was a short period of self-consciousness by the Hollanders until introductions were made, after which everyone began talking at once. The questions were coming so rapidly that the interpreter looked startled.
Mrs. Vaccaro, the lady of the house, was saying, "Yesa, we have lived here almost a year now. We love the place. We are retired. We have four children alla grown. Three boys, and a daughter. Two sons are in the Agricultural Sequence, out on the West Coast. One son, hesa with the Housing Sequence, anda we are so proud ofa him because he helped design thisa building. My daughter's husband is ina the Steel Sequence, anda she is staying home to be a good wife and mother of two children."
The people from Holland seemed to have no end of questions. Then Mrs. Vaccaro was saying, "Yesa, we take most ofa our meals ina the dining room. We can call in and have meals sent up by tube. We can prepare our meals ina the kitchen. We can also prepare food ina our kitchenette but it isa more pleasure to eat ina the big dining room with friends. Most every day we go for a bicycle ride ina the and the countryside, when the weather isa nice, like We have taken lots ofa trips to different parts ofa the continent but we have more pleasure here with our friends, where we can swim ina the ocean and go boat riding, when the weather is nice."
As Mrs. Vaccaro continued, she said, "Yesa, it was hard during the price system era. Money was scarce b my husband couldn't find steady work, anda, my God, tenement houses, anda the slums were terrible. Anda to see children hungry anda ragged madea my heart bleed. "I think what hurt me the most, anda caused me the most tears, was looking at my poor husband when he could not provide the things that he wanted for his family. I remember once whena our daughter, at Christmas time, wanted a doll that wasa displayed ina the store window, anda my husband cried because he hada no money with which to buy it. I then myself cried. "Once when we had no money to buy Boy Scout uniform for our son to wear on a scout outing ina the country and my husband wasa despondent for the longest time, anda I watched him very closely for fear he would take his life." At this point Mrs. Vaccaro had her face in her hands and was weeping openly.
Not being used to a scene such as that, I turned my head, only to see a mass of Dutch tears, and to hear the interpreter so choked up he could hardly speak. So I thought, How in hell did I get into a mess like this? Being on the verge of losing my composure, I said "Mrs. Vaccaro, let's all of us go down to the dining hall and partake of refreshments."
Having previously agreed to assemble in the dining hall after a visit with the inhabitants of the living complex, I was not surprised to see others of the group arriving to join us. No doubt many of the Delegates had a similar experience as we, because for a short period when we were collecting our food, the atmosphere was quite somber. After we were seated, the chattering began and grew steadily in volume, to the degree that one had to shout to be heard.
During the course of the meal I observed both tears and laughter. Yes, I saw big, broad-shouldered men with tears in their eyes, and delicate women in gales of laughter, which caused me to think that people the whole world over are basically the same, and basically good and kind when their environment is conducive to kindness.
After we had taken a trip down Long Island and had enjoyed some pretty scenery, and were back in the hotel lobby, the Delegates suddenly became interested in housing. I was asked any number of questions about housing materials used, the design, and location. The question that caught me off guard was: How is it decided who gets to live in a fine place like the complex we had just visited? At first it seemed that that was a hell of a question to ask, and what in hell difference did it make who in hell gets to live in what quarters?
I was on the verge of making my thoughts known, when suddenly I remembered that, in most parts of the world, as at one time in parts of North America, expensive housing, like limousines, was a status symbol, as were large piles of barnyard manure around the farmsteads in parts of rural Europe.
I said to them, "A human being is a human being, and basically none of them is more deserving than the rest, and actually it makes no difference who gets to live where. However, it was, at the beginning of our new social order, decided by the Housing Sequence, and sanctioned by the Continental Board, that to rehouse the people of this continent would require a number of years. Therefore, people who were living in cottage or apartment houses that afforded something like comfortable living conditions would remain there until such time as better living quarters were completed, thereby giving the people who had been living in substandard, rat-infested, firetrap the 'first occupancy.' "We at first didn't know how people would accept this so it was announced on radio and television for several days and if they were not content with that arrangement, they were told to make their discontent known by mail. It would surprise you how people's attitude changes where there is no me consideration because there was not one complaint received "I have heard it said that a number of people when offered better living quarters would state that they knew of someone who needed it more than they. "Get a good rest tonight, because tomorrow is going to be an exciting day, regardless of where we go or what we do. Think about it tonight, so you will have some suggestions come tomorrow morning. "Good night."
This was chapter 3 on to chapter 4