148 FIRST COUNTY PARK SYSTEM 
tained through a published interview given out by Mr. 
Murphy January 5, 1897. It was there stated that “unless 
additional appropriations be made for park purposes in the 
future, the system of public pleasure grounds and county 
boulevards outlined in a general way by the Essex County 
Park Commission will not be completed,’ and “that the 
commissioners do not expect to turn all the property pur- 
chased into finished parks with the $2,500,000 that was 
placed at their disposal for the purpose.” Mr. Murphy 
further said: “The board has no right to suppose that addi- 
tional money will be furnished. On the other hand, it has 
no reason to think that additional appropriations won’t be 
made. * * * The commission feels bound to give the 
county certain completed parks for the money it has been 
given, to satisfy the people, and this no doubt will be done.” 
“The conditions as to the Orange Park,” he said, “are in 
the air. Yes, we did agree to purchase the land, but there 
were certain conditions that—oh, well, I can’t tell you now. 
* * * We cannot arrange for maintenance before we 
have something to maintain. That question has not been 
considered yet.” 
As a part of the same interview, Counsel Munn, the same 
morning, was reported as having said: “The plans of the 
commission have not been laid out on the theory that there 
will be additional legislation.” 
APPOINTIVE OR ELECTIVE PARK COMMISSIONS. 
These announcements were evidently something of a sur- 
prise to the public. The time had run by so quickly since 
the appointment of the commission, only about twenty 
months before, that many, even among the friends of the 
park movement, hardly realized that the work of the com- 
mission was by that time well begun. The public utter- 
ances, for the most part, were not favorable. Mayor Sey- 
mour made a severe arraignment of the commission, and of 
the appointive system of legislation under which it was 
created. This law, providing for an appointive board, he de- 
clared, in a written statement a few days prior to the an- 
