GOOD CITIZENSHIP HELPLESS 225 
that “serious inconvenience and hardship to the business 
and personal interests of the people” would result. The 
commission’s “financial limitations” would, according to 
this report, make “the expense of developing and maintain- 
ing both Park and Central avenues unwarrantable.” 
“Tt would be impracticable,” continued the report, “to 
extend Central avenue with a width of 100 feet to the south 
end of Branch Brook Park, as would certainly be desirable, 
even necessary, if it is to be used as a parkway.” It was 
also stated, that “the western part of Central avenue has 
four right-angled turns in it, which are so extremely un- 
graceful and inconvenient as to almost condemn it,” and 
“it is already encumbered on both ends with street railway 
tracks.” 
When it is borne in mind that every one of the condi- 
tions referred to as “reasons,” were, in 1895, when the 
Olmsted’s first report was made, precisely the same as when 
this report was submitted—excepting that at the latter time 
the corporations were using their power to secure the avenue 
franchise, and thus prevent the parkway—both the text and 
tenor of this last report seems the more surprising. In 
other respects there had been, during the four intervening 
years, no change. The “serious inconvenience and hardship 
to the business and personal interests” were, in 1895, just 
as apparent, save the pecuniary interest of the traction com- 
pany in the coveted franchise, as in 1899. The “financial 
limitations” of the commission were not so strained, with 
its new $1,500,000 appropriation, but that new and costly 
parkways, like the one in East Orange—which would have 
its southern parkway connection at Central avenue perma- 
nently destroyed by the abandonment of that avenue to the 
trolley interests—could, as recommended in the report, be 
extended. The plan “to extend Central avenue to the south 
end of Branch Brook Park” had never been officially con- 
sidered ; nor, so far as I know, had it ever been suggested in 
the plans for making Central avenue a parkway. Nor had 
the “ungraceful turns” or the short stretch of trolley tracks 
at the western part of the avenue ever before been deemed of 
