294 FIRST COUNTY PARK SYSTEM 
AN ELECTIVE PARK BOARD. 
From the time of the establishment of the Minneapolis 
parks, in 1887-9, the Park Board has been an elective body, 
and perhaps one of the most successful and satisfactory 
commissions in the country. There are fifteen members 
of the board, twelve of whom are elected the same as other 
city officials. Four of these members are elected every two 
years, to serve for a term of six years. The Mayor, and 
the chairman of the Committee on Public Grounds, and of 
Roads and Bridges, are members ex-officio. While Minne- 
apolis does not claim the distinction of having always chosen 
ideal mayors, good men for the Park Board have almost 
invariably been elected, and that system has apparently 
given excellent satisfaction to the people of the city. Mr. 
C. M. Loring, one of the original Commissioners, now a 
member of the Commission, and one of the most earnest 
public park exponents, states that “in twenty-two years 
there have been but three adjournments for want of a 
quorum.” With the divided responsibility and diversified 
interests of such a board of fifteen members—a number 
many municipal experts deem unwieldy—this record alone 
indicates the care with which the selection of candidates 
for the office has been made. 
Another Commission which was organized and has since 
continued on somewhat different lines, but with results 
which have proven most satisfactory, is the one at Hart- 
ford, Conn. Under that plan the Park Commission itself 
makes the nomination for the new member, one vacancy 
occurring by expiration of the term of office each year. The 
Mayor is an ex-officio member and presides at the meetings 
when a nomination is to be made. The ten original Com- 
missioners were named in the charter. The nomination to 
fill the place of a retiring member is subject to the ap- 
proval or rejection of the Board of Aldermen. If rejected, 
the Commission then nominates another candidate, and so 
continues until the nomination is confirmed. This method 
of attaching a direct responsibility both upon the Commis 
