292 FIRST COUNTY PARK SYSTEM 
The Metropolitan Park Commission of that State consists 
of three members, appointed by. the Governor, “by and 
with the consent of the Council.” In this combined State 
and municipal great park enterprise the plan appears to 
have worked out thus far very well. The Park Board of 
Boston has also three members appointed by the Mayor, 
“with the approval of the City Council.” As Boston has 
usually had good mayors, the appointments and work of 
the commission there have been generally acceptable to the 
people. 
In New York the charter for the greater city provides 
for a Park Commission of three members. The appoint- 
ments are made by the Mayor. No confirmation by the 
Aldermen is required. Each of the Commissioners have 
administrative jurisdiction in the boroughs of Manhattan 
and Richmond, the Bronx, and in Brooklyn and Queens, 
respectively. While the members meet weekly as a board 
for the whole city, in practical workings there is a single- 
headed commission for each of the three boroughs men- 
tioned. As New York has had a varied experience in the 
kind of mayors chosen, and political influences not infre- 
quently form an important factor in the selection of Park 
Commissioners there, the personnel of that board has usu- 
ally reflected the predominating qualities of the chief ex- 
ecutive and the conditions determining the appointments. 
Since the location of Central and Prospect parks and the 
park system of the Bronx, many years ago, there have been 
many excellent and public-spirited men who have served 
as Commissioners there. 
The Fairmount Park Commission of Philadelphia is 
composed of sixteen members: Five are appointed by the 
District Court, five by the Court of Common Pleas, and 
six members of the city government—the Mayor, presidents 
of the Select and Common Councils, Commissioner of City 
Property, the Chief Engineer and the Chief Water Works 
Engineer—are members ex-officio. While the appointees 
have usually been prominent citizens, there has been ad-” 
verse criticism from the partisan character of the board, 
