ADDRESS BY HENRY G. FOREMAN 



PRESIDENT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF COOK COUNTY 



DELIVERED BEFORE 



THE OUTER BELT PARK COMMISSION 



ON APRIL 21, 1904 



Season of tree- 

 planting. 



Inspiration in 

 Arbor Day. 



Chicago, April 21, 1904. 



To the Honorable the Outer Belt Park Commission of the County of Cook' 

 and the City of Chicago: 



Gentlemen, — In calling this Commission to order it seems appropriate 

 to refer to the season of tree planting, now at hand, for to-morrow is Arbor 

 Day in Illinois. This is a fitting time to take np the work of preserving the 

 forests which nature has made near Chicago as reservoirs of health, com- 

 fort and pleasure for the population of our great city. 



The fact that there is an Arbor Day in all American states, save one, 

 argues eloquently for the preservation of grown trees. We should receive 

 inspiration from a season set aside for work intimately associated with our 

 special mission. 



Recreation area 

 for a great city. 



Conditions to be 

 ameliorated. 



A Serious Problem. 



But this mission looks far beyond the mere sentiment of staying the 

 woodman's ax. It lays before us more than a problem in forestry, important 

 as that in itself is. We are called upon to create a system of outlying pre- 

 serves — wooded and open — for the use of a cosmopolitan population, 

 living in a commercially strategic point, and destined, probably, to grow 

 into the greatest assemblage of human beings on the Western hemisphere. 

 Possibly Chicago some day will be the largest city in the world. 



Facing the reasonable assurance of at least a much larger population 

 than we have to-day, the problem of providing satisfactory outdoor recre- 

 ation for the people of the greater city becomes indeed intricate and serious. 

 It calls for careful thought. We must realize that unsatisfactory conditions 

 demanding prompt attention for the health, contentment and happiness of 



