B3

Herb Duncan

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

7 Comment(s)

There has been no shortage of dialogue, debate and discussion over Peel Plaza and its future use. In a previous column I, tongue in cheek, suggested changing the name to Platypus Plaza because of its similarity to the convoluted freak of nature duck-bill platypus. I've had sufficient time to remove my tongue from my cheek. I now suggest the name Carnegie Square. I will explain why.

We have a police commission, police chief and a number of councillors who believe a new police headquarters at Peel Plaza will somehow lend itself to urban revitalization and further uptown development. We have a renowned expert in the person of Roberta Brandes Gratz who sees the proposal for a police headquarters at Peel Plaza doesn't fit and the proposed development is seriously flawed. We have a dedicated group of citizens determined to save and preserve buildings that add to Saint John's unique history and heritage. Finally, we have grassroots folks who see building the police headquarters at a location such as the old Downey Ford site on Crown Street as more cost-effective and more practical.

Consider if you will another perspective on the location: Andrew Carnegie was the son of poor Scottish immigrants. During his life, he went literally from rags to riches. At age 13, he went to work in a cotton factory for $1.20 per week. He loved to read and took advantage of an offer by a Col. James Anderson to let local working boys have access to his library. The opportunity and these books provided Andrew with most of his education.

Armed with this self-taught knowledge and ambition, he worked his way through a variety of jobs, each being the next rung on the ladder to self-fulfilment and financial success. The top rung on the ladder for Andrew Carnegie was as the owner of the world's largest steel company, at a time when he also became the world's richest man.

So what do you do once you have achieved this level of success? Andrew Carnegie decided to make a difference to help build a better society. He retired from business and dedicated the rest of his life toward the advancement of education by building more than 2,500 free public libraries around the world. Carnegie, based on his own experience, realized that education was the first critical step in self-actualization as well the eradication or reduction in poverty levels.

Conrad Black built the world's third-largest newspaper empire. Two years ago, Black was found guilty of diverting company funds for personal benefit and ordered to serve 78 months in a U.S. prison. Black began giving weekly seminars on American history which included inmates, prison staff and custodians. Black has found that more than 75 per cent of the inmates failed to finish high school.

Interestingly, Black was born into a rich and advantaged family while Carnegie was born into a poor family more than a century earlier, yet both arrived at the same realization - education is the best weapon against poverty and crime.

The building we have come to know as the Saint John Arts Centre is one of the remaining structures built by Andrew Carnegie as a free library for the advancement of education. The building is more than heritage and history - it should be seen as a cornerstone, a beacon and a lasting legacy. Peel Plaza must be directed and developed based on high purpose and the common good and not directed by those who lack reason, will or courage.

I will leave you with a famous Carnegie quote: "He that cannot reason is a fool. He that will not is a bigot. He that dare not is a slave."

Herb Duncan is a Saint John businessman who has followed city issues for more than three decades. He can be reached by e-mail at Duncan.herb@telegraphjournal.com.