COUNTRY COMMUNITY PROGRESS 



There is one line of cooperation in which the country 

 and the city might get together more fully than has thus 

 far been done. The country should be a big play- 

 ground for the city. This, however, should be brought 

 about without having the city people feel that they have 

 the freedom of fields, orchards and groves without re- 

 gard to the rights of the owners. Public parks, public 

 lakes and public forest areas will make this possible 

 without trespassing on private rights. With the sea- 

 shore borders now mainly taken up by private owners, 

 the general public must look to the lake and hill country 

 for a place of recreation. It is as much a function of 

 public welfare to provide healthy recreation for our 

 people as it is to provide sanitary conditions. Those 

 who are deprived of the privileges of play do not know 

 how to work. Our larger lake areas, with a strip of 

 shore, should be brought under the control of the State 

 and be thrown open for public camps, under proper reg- 

 ulations, just as are the State forest reserves of the 

 Adirondacks. These beauty spots could be developed 

 into healthful resorts, at small expense, and be made 

 available for those who cannot rent cottages or af- 

 ford to go to the summer hotels. 



Litchfield County has available an area of non-agri- 

 cultural land that should be developed as a vast public 

 playground and forest reserve. In the northwest cor- 

 ner of the county, what is known as Mount Riga com- 



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