Vol. 3, No. 4, April 2005
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Making the Motto Work
Atlantic city is the poster child for liberty and prosperity
Liberty and Prosperity is the motto of New Jersey and the names of the two goddesses on our state flag. Their message is that liberty and prosperity go together. You can't have one without the other.
We all know what prosperity is. Few of us know much about liberty, but our Declaration of Independence gives a pretty good description. Each of us has a basic right to enjoy life and property in safety, and to pursue happiness as we see fit. However, we may not use our liberty to deny others of theirs. To apply that idea of liberty to today's issues in New Jersey, see my organization's Sixteen Principles of Liberty at www.libertyandprosperity.org.
In 1776, the founders of our state saw the link between liberty and prosperity. They knew that people in the Spanish colony of Mexico were poor, in spite of abundant gold, because its government was corrupt and despotic. New Jersey, like the prosperous English colonies of North America, lacked gold, but had abundant liberty. Our founders fought and died for liberty when King George tried to take it away, because they knew its value.
Atlantic City is the poster child of Liberty and Prosperity. Like our nation, Atlantic City was "conceived in liberty." In 1853, Dr. Jonathan Pitney, a small-town physician, persuaded local professionals and business owners to invest their own money to create a new resort. In less than 11 months, they built a 55-mile railroad from Camden to what was then an overgrown sandbar. During the next 75 years, Atlantic City became the most sophisticated resort in the world. We had the fastest trains, the most advanced water, electric, sewer, inter-urban electric trolley, private jitney and school systems in the country. Foreign ambassadors to Washington enrolled their children in our schools.
During those first 75 years, there was full employment serving tourists in the summer, and for building and renovation in the off-season. Old wooden boarding houses would be routinely demolished after Labor Day, and replaced with new high-rise brick hotels by the next summer season.
By 1900, 25 percent of Atlantic City's population was black, but that caused no alarm, as it might have in other cities in those days. Blacks sought the same work and opportunities as other immigrants, and there was plenty of work and opportunities for everyone.
All this happened with no income tax, no sales tax, no eminent domain, no redevelopment authority, no professional planners, and no affirmative action officers. But there was liberty. Anyone in Atlantic City could build, sell, rent, create, serve or perform whatever would please the tourist. There were restaurants, theater, burlesque, strip joints, gambling casinos, liquor, marijuana, cocaine (then a key ingredient in Coca Cola), prostitutes—and, of course, lots of churches.
Atlantic City's golden age lasted 75 years. It ended when the state adopted and enforced laws that took away the liberty that created it. Those laws started with prohibitions against liquor and gambling, and eventually became regulations specifying the color of the tiles in casino hotel bathrooms!
The prohibitions against liquor and gambling are now gone, and the Atlantic City casinos are booming. Many believe that this new casino wealth will soon restore Atlantic City to its former glory.
But Liberty and Prosperity, the words and goddesses on our New Jersey flag, say something else.
They say that Dr. Jonathan Pitney could never build his railroad to Atlantic City today. All rail and almost all bus transportation in New Jersey today is run by a government owned monopoly that does not tolerate competition.
And nobody in New Jersey today could build a 55-mile-long railroad in 11 months, or a new brick hotel in ten months. It would take twice as long just to get to the first Planning Board meeting! Hearings before CAFRA and the Pinelands Commissions for environmental approvals would take even longer.
Dr. Pitney and his friends would not invest their own money in New Jersey today. They would cultivate politicians, and hire the "right" professionals and contractors so the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) or some other government agency would supply the dough.
During the summer of 1913, George Hamid was one of nine teenage acrobats stranded in Atlantic City when their uncle-manager ran out of money. They slept under the Boardwalk at night, and performed for tips on the beach during the day until discovered by a Steel Pier show manager. Hamid later formed his own troupe, then organized an entire circus, and eventually bought the Steel Pier. If young George Hamid came to Atlantic City today, he and his entire troupe would be picked up by DYFS (Division of Youth and Family Services) and placed in foster care!
The wealth of the casinos can restore and rebuild and recreate the facade of the old Atlantic City. But only liberty can bring back its vital spirit.
