TOY OFFICIALS 



257 



ing a commiinication to the East Orange authorities^ was 

 not complied with. 



On June 15, 1903, committees of the Eoad Horse Asso- 

 ciation, the 'New England Society, and the Joint Commit- 

 tee, presented petitions and resolutions of these organiza- 

 tions urging that similar action be taken with Central ave- 

 nue as had been recently taken with Park avenne. These 

 resolutions referred to "the five hundred tax-pa}dng citizens 

 of the Eoad Horse Association"' as recognizing "in Central 

 avenue the natural parkway by reason of its width, level 

 grade, and accessible location,'' and petitioned the commis- 

 sion "to immediately assume control of Central avenue, 

 agreeable to the original plan of said commission." It was 

 also set forth that this was "in no sense a local question,'^ 

 and that "neither are the local officials nor the public in- 

 formed as to the need of convenient connecting parkways, 

 as are you gentlemen, who have studied this question as 

 affecting the whole county." J. B. Dusenberry stated that 

 "the population of N'ewark south of Central avenue and 

 east of Fourteenth street comprised seven-eighths of the 

 total inhabitants, and there was no avenue directly connect- 

 ing the mountain reservation and Orange parks possible for 

 a parkway excepting that avenue." 



Rev. Flenry Eose, C. F. Lawrence, Alden Freeman, C. 

 A. Dickson, W. J. Baer, and others were present and spoke. 

 The commission was non-committal as to any future action. 

 The reception of the delegates was not, however, enthusias- 

 tically cordial. The Xewark iSTews, in commenting upon 

 the conference, said, on June 21, 1903: "Four influential 

 organizations appeared, by their representatives, before the 

 Park Commission last week and presented reasons why Cen- 

 tral avenue should be made a parkway. The arguments 

 they urged are incontrovertible." 



The Daily Advertiser editorial of June 16 said : 



"The Board of Freeholders cannot disregard this power- 

 ful sentiment at the behest of private corporate interests 

 that have already been granted nearly all of the public 

 highways ; especially in view of the fact that the trolley ex- 



