EXPERIENCES— RECOMMENDATIONS 291 



absolute power of appointment is conferied upon one court 

 official, and an appointive official at that, has been to create 

 conditions akin to those of a close corporation. This result 

 was never intended nor contemplated by those who origi- 

 nally suggested this plan. Under the usages of this 

 system a park commissioner may be repeatedly chosen from 

 reasons of personal or political favoritism, or by the desire 

 of corporate or special interests to perpetuate appointments 

 and conditions inimical to the public interests, and thus 

 tend to continue in authority those neither competent nor 

 well c[ualified to fill the position, and to nullify the original 

 intent, and to undermine the fundamental structure upon 

 which this plan of creating and continuing county park 

 boards was based. 



The plan was cordially approved by the people and by 

 the Legislature in 1894-5, because the objects sought 

 strongly appealed to the press, the electorate and the public 

 generally. Were the questions involved, in the light of 

 experience, again submitted tO' the Legislature and to the 

 people of Essex County, there can be little doubt that the 

 verdict would be emphatically against the continuation of 

 the present system. 



Experience in all such matters is an excellent teacher, 

 and it may be of interest to note here the methods of 

 selecting park commissioners and the result in other places 

 where large public park undertakings are well established. 



OTHER LAEGE PARK SYSTEMS. 



In most instances the control of the parks is treated as 

 a municipal function, similar to other city departments, 

 with commissioners either appointed by the Mayor or the 

 City Council, or elected the same as other officials at the 

 regular elections. Some of the States, like Massachusetts, 

 have a general park act, providing for the selection and 

 ^.ppointment of park commissioners by the mayors in cities, 

 inid lor their eketion in the usual manner ia the towns. 



