The undersigned are informed that there has long been a difference of opinion among you as to the best route for a needed highway between two parts of your town, and that pending a decision of this question, much inconvenience is experienced. It necessarily occurs under these circumstances that many citizens are embarrassed in judgment by habits of thought due to local attachments, prejudices and interests. Having regard to this consideration, certain of your number have wished to obtain an opinion from persons accustomed to study professionally the laying out of roads; coming freshly to the ground and free from all personal interests and from any influence of habit in connection with the conditions to be considered. To serve such a purpose, the undersigned have been selected and asked to communicate with you directly.

They understand that the main point of discussion is to be that of a choice between what is known as a shore route and what is known as an inland route.

There is nothing to prevent the construction of both, except the consideration of expense. It is to be expected that in time both roads will be constructed.

The question may then be considered to be whether it will have a better effect upon the common interests of the whole body of the people of the town to build an inland road at an early day, postponing the building of a shore road, or the reverse.

And, practically, from the point of view of the financial interests of the town, it may be further brought down to this:

Upon which route will the early building of a road be most likely to have the effect of a rapid, large, permanent, addition to your population of well-to-do, tax-paying citizens, and of adding, through the outlays of these and of the capital they will bring into the town, to the business and profits of the main body of its land-owners, tradesmen, mechanics, farmers and gardeners?

We have sufficiently examined the main conditions of the problem to warrant us in giving you our opinion that, in this respect, the shore route is the most promising of the two.

Our principal reasons for this opinion may be thus stated:

First, the shore route will provide means of reaching, either directly or by short private approach roads, a large number of places from which a near view of the sea and of the picturesque seacoast can be enjoyed, or from which, by a short walk, access can be had to rocks or strands upon which the sea is breaking. The value of places so situated is much more rapidly increasing than that of similar places a little inland. The reason of this is to be found in the peculiar attractiveness of such places to people who have lived comparatively [255]confined lives in cities, or who have lived long far away from the ocean. Their attractiveness is not a matter of fleeting fashion. It has been manifest from time immemorial in all civilized and uncivilized lands, and it has its foundations in the nature of mankind. There is no room for doubt, therefore, that the demand for such places will continue, or that with the increase in numbers throughout the land of people able to withdraw temporarily, or to retire permanently, from confining occupations, it will continually increase.

The amount of land as suitable and attractive with respect to this demand as that to be found on the Marblehead coast is extremely limited. South of New England there is no such land. Yet the number of people in our growing cities and in the interior parts of the continent who are becoming as well-to-do as those who have caused the present demand, is increasing, and is sure to further increase enormously, and with them a habit of making light of long journeys is also growing and will continue to grow.

Second, it will be easier and will cost less to take the necessary land for a road near the shore now, than after the neighboring land has been further built upon and improved. This it surely will be in some fashion before long, whether an inland road shall be built, or whether the town still further puts off a decision between the two routes.

Third, if a road near the shore be not soon laid out, the present seaside properties will be, little by little, sub-divided and occupied with excessive regard to narrow considerations of temporary, local and personal convenience. Such sub-divisions and occupation of them will give rise to a thousand disagreeable circumstances and inconveniences, such as will necessarily much retard the general occupation of the land by a desirable class of residents; it will involve serious expense for rectifications in the future, and will hinder such increase of the aggregate wealth of the town as may {be} prudently reckoned upon if a good road is soon made near the shore.

Fourth, public opinion, as all are aware who have observed it carefully in various parts of the country, is constantly tending more and more strongly to demand ampler opportunity for the free enjoyment by all of the beauties of natural scenery. Private interests are seen to be rapidly shutting out the great body of the people from access to much natural scenery near our towns and cities, which formerly, because of its comparatively small value, was practically free for the enjoyment of all. Soon there will be hardly a place commanding a pleasant view, from which the public will not be excluded. For this reason, our large cities are now buying hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of acres of land at enormous expense for public parks and public pleasure grounds, and everywhere the reflection is made that they could have secured much larger and finer areas for the purpose for little or nothing, had a reasonable amount of foresight in this respect been earlier exercised. A town like Marblehead, situated on the coast, is fortunate in that, if it takes timely action, it still has the opportunity of providing for its people, at comparatively small cost, a larger value of that which is chiefly valuable in parks, than larger towns, especially interior [256]towns, can possibly secure by any degree of effort. For this reason, it would, in our opinion, be a wise policy for Marblehead to secure land for this purpose while it is yet unoccupied. But, whether it would or not, the considerations last stated show that an ample, well-made road, so laid out that those moving upon it would come upon view after view of picturesque coast scenery, and at intervals have opportunity to turn off to rest upon a crag, or to stroll upon a beach, would give the town an advantage in competing with other towns as a place of residence that would soon compensate for its cost. The opportunities of this kind which would be afforded by a shore road would also add greatly to the value of the land away from the shore for residences.

In conclusion, we repeat our opinion that the proposed shore road should be built before any inland road in that neighborhood is undertaken; and that it would be economical and wise to secure the necessary land for the road as soon as possible, lest changes in the ownership and occupation of the land should increase the difficulties and enhance the expense of so desirable a public improvement.