OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS 



61 



scenery of the agricultural and other 

 lands outside of the forests will, as 

 time goes on, be affected by them. 



National Forests will become in- 

 creasingly useful for the preservation 

 of wild animals and fish and of our 

 native flora, in the conservation of 

 water for power and irrigation, as 

 health and pleasure resorts and, as af- 

 fording within proper regulations, free 

 firewood and other timber for nearby 

 farmers. 



NATIONAL HIGHWAYS 



The A. S. L. A. endorses the proposal 

 for a system of National Highways con- 

 necting our great cities, national parks, 

 national monuments and national forests 

 and other features of conspicuous inter- 

 est, whether the works of nature or man. 



COMMENTARY 



It is not an exaggeration to say that 

 there is no city of importance that is 

 not compelled to forego park areas 

 which it would acquire but for the pro- 

 hibitive cost due largely to the "un- 

 earned increment," as well as to pri- 

 vate improvement. If such cities had 

 been properly laid out in the begin- 

 ning, the park areas would have been 

 diflferent and more advantageously dis- 

 tributed even though the total park 

 area might not have been greater, and 

 much land now built upon would have 

 been made into parks. 



Examples both of the economy of 

 forehandedness and the extravagance 

 of the lack of it in acquiring park lands 

 would make good illustrative material 

 for this policy. 



RESTORATION OF NATURAL 

 FERTILITY 



The A. S. L. A. views with alarm the 

 vast destruction of the natural fertility 

 of our soils in many parts of the country 

 and it favors the adoption of a perman- 

 ent national policy of encouraging the 

 general practise of such methods as may 

 be found practicable and effective in pre- 

 serving and restoring the natural fertility 

 of the soil. 



TIMELY ACQUISITION OF 

 PARK LANDS 



Tlie A. S. L. A. considers it a principle 

 of sound civic policy that all growing 

 towns should choose and limit improve- 

 ments upon, and, when possible, acquire 

 lands suited to the probable park needs 

 of the future, in order that, when such 

 needs become imperative, the cost may 

 not be exorbitant or even prohibitive. 

 The A. S. L. A. believes that the gov- 

 ernmental bodies, federal, state and civic, 

 should encourage the general adoption of 

 such a policy. 



STATE ART COMMISSIONS 



The A. S. L. A. considers that in every 

 state and city there should be an Art 

 Commission whose approval is necessary 

 to the design and execution of any per- 

 manent structure of any kind, whether 

 architecture or sculpture, or of any park 

 or public ground on, or extending on any 

 state or city owned property; also to the 

 removal or relocation of any state or city 

 owned work of art; and that no publicly 

 owned building, monument or park 

 should be executed without the approval 

 of an art commission legally qualified 

 either i\v the state or by a municipality. 



COMMENTARY 



There is no surer index of the men- 

 tality of a community than the public 

 buildings or monuments which it 

 erects. A country like this with so 

 many public needs to fulfill, so much 

 history in the past and so much more 

 in the future to celebrate will create 

 an incalculable number of buildings 

 for utilitarian needs and monuments 



