PARK UTILITIES 



for two cents, only twice the price of obtaining a sanitary cup in this 

 country, means that this park luxury is within the means of all. There 

 is no real reason why this feature should not be introduced in every 

 American park, and the only reason appearing at present to prevent 

 it is the lack of some park official with courage to take the initiative. 

 In the New York City parks there are five milk stations, operated by 

 the Nathan Straus Pasteurised Milk Laboratory, a private philan- 

 thropic venture, at which milk is sold at one cent a glass, but the writer 

 knows of no American park board which has yet given such a project 

 recognition or support. 



COMFORT STATIONS 



Of the greatest imj)ortance in the matter of park facilities is that 

 of the public comfort station. This is a park need that can be neglected 

 only with grave peril. There have been two conditions in the past 

 which have conduced to its omission in park design : first, the old ques- 

 tion of false modesty, which is outraged at having conveniences of this 

 sort provided in parks ; and, secondly, the inadequate attention which 

 has been paid by park designers to the location and appearance of 

 these necessary buildings. 



It is not a matter for argument that such buildings are a public 

 necessity, and that parks are often the only available and the most 

 serviceable place where they may be located. It is unreasonable to 

 expect hotels and department stores to provide such conveniences for 

 the public, and dependence upon them often incurs embarrassing situ- 

 ations for the individual. In this country it is demanded that comfort 

 stations be built underground, an expensive proceeding and beyond 

 the means of many municipalities. The inability to make such dis- 

 position of the problem has in many cases resulted in dodging the 

 issue by leaving matters in statu quo, which usually means either in- 

 adequate provision or unsightly and often unsanitary conditions. Even 



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