58 FIRST COUNTY PARK SYSTEM 
the bill; declared that “the child is born who will see this 
entire 150,000 square miles of Essex County a continuous 
city ;” gave a glowing account of what “nature has done for 
this region” of “mountain ridges, fertile valleys and wooded 
slopes ;” and added that “it is to be a county park system” 
and, “so far as we know, little opposition to the project has 
been developed.” 
PRESS LAUDS ENTERPRISE. 
The attitude of the New Jersey press had continued in 
laudation of the enterprise, and there appeared also a gen- 
eral sentiment in favor of the reappointment of the same 
commission that had had charge of the preliminary work in 
the undertaking. The Newark News of February 6, 1895, 
editorially referring to the report of the first commission, 
stated that “a good system of parks would supplement the 
natural attractiveness of the city and county.” 
And, on February 28, the same paper said: “This is a 
rich and populous county, and one that has a future. Be- 
fore many years it will be the theatre of a greater city. Its 
situation destines it to a rapid and steady growth. What- 
ever adds to its attractiveness as a place of residence means 
advantage to every one of its industries, to every business 
enterprise carried on within its boundaries.” 
On February 6, The Daily Advertiser, in a lengthy edi- 
torial on “The Proposed Park System,” had this to say: 
“No one, of course, questions the need of a park or a sys- 
tem of parks in Essex County. Out of 92,000 acres in 
Essex County, only twenty-five acres are devoted to park 
purposes and uses; and as for Newark, with its population 
of 200,000, it is a fact that it has a smaller park acreage 
than any city in the United States or Europe of over 
100,000 population! This in itself is a rebuke and a humil- 
jation. * * * There is scarcely any question that the 
bill presented by the commission which has completed its 
task in one-fourth the time allotted to it, and with an ex- 
penditure of less than half the money at its disposal, will 
become a law, In that case, we sincerely hope that the pres- 
