PARKS 243 



football, excepting as played by small boys as a mere 

 pastime, belongs in an athletic field or playground, 

 and there may be some question as to baseball. 



Park commissioners are justified in hesitating 

 to allow golf to be played in a park. They should 

 first consider the paramount object in having a park, 

 which is the development and preservation of scen- 

 ery that is nature-like in appearance for the recrea- 

 tion of all and especially those persons who cannot 

 go to the country. A park exists for everybody 

 without regard to the amount of taxes paid. It 

 resembles the schools in that respect. In the schools 

 a child of the poorest family has just as many 

 privileges as one of wealthy parents and it is right 

 that it should be so. The stability of the country 

 and the security in which we live depend on the 

 training and education of all the children to insure 

 their becoming good citizens. The parks also help 

 in the same direction. They are educational and 

 ought to be more instructive than they usually 

 are by having intelligent employees who could 

 point out to visitors matters that are of educa- 

 tional value. It would be ideal to have every em- 

 ployee in the park able to give a questioner the name 

 of any tree, shrub or flower. Since a park is pro- 



