The Trend of the Playground Movement 
By L. H. Weir.* 
THE Playground and Recreation Association of 
America is the pushing, promoting, organizing 
body behind the playground and recreation 
movement in America today. This organization was 
brought into being in 1906, just ten years ago. In 1906, 
there were only forty cities in America that had made 
any provision, in any form whatsoever, for play for the 
children. According to the statistics which we gathered, 
up to November, 19.15, there were in America four hun- 
dred and thirty-two (432 J cities that had made some very 
definite provision for the play of the children and for 
the recreation of their people. 
The American association, itself, in 1910, had only a 
general secretary, a stenographer and a bookkeeper. In 
1910, the first field secretary was appointed. We have 
today twelve field secretaries, a general secretary, and a 
staff of thirty office helpers, with offices in Chicago, New 
York and, until recently, and, perhaps yet (I don't hap- 
pen to know exactly ) in one of the southern cities. 
In 1906, the budget of the American association was 
only ten or twelve thousand dollars. The people of 
America who are interested in this movement today are 
putting into the hands of the national association a 
budget amounting to nearly one hundred thousand dol- 
lars ($100,000) for the promotion of this work. 
During the two years ending November, 1915, about 
one thousand ( 1 ,000 ) new playgrounds were given to 
the children of American cities. 
Now, what is the meaning of this thing, and what rela- 
tion does it bear to the particular institution which you 
gentlemen are representing here in this convention to- 
day? 
The movement known as the playgrounds and recrea- 
tion movement in America is concerned or is involved in 
providing opportunities for the use of the leisure time 
of the people, and in providing a certain amount of guid- 
ance and direction of the people in the use of the facilities 
provided. 
A concrete example ! The city of New Orleans prob- 
ably has about four hundred thousands (400,000) of 
people. At a very conservative estimate, we shall say 
that every man, woman and child in New Orleans has, 
on an average, thirty-five (35) hours a week which they 
can call leisure. You can readily see that, in one single 
week in this city, there is given to the people of the city, 
twelve thousand (12.000) hours of time, noon that basis 
of estimation, that they are going to use in some form 
or fashion. In one year that will amount to the stu- 
pendous sum of seventy-eight millions (78,000,000) of 
hours. Now, what does that mean? In a little city in 
the East not long ago I looked into the records of the 
municipal jails, and I found that, in one year, there were 
confined in these jails, men whose total commitments 
amounted to elven thousand (11,000) days of working 
time. And yet, there were factories and mills in that 
city that were running only partly because they did not 
have hands to man them. I looked into the records of the 
Juvenile Court, and I found that in one single vear, from 
that little city of fifty-seven thousand (57,000) people, 
they had sent to girls and boys reform schools, boys and 
girls whose total commitments amounted, in one vear, to 
one hundred and twenty-eight (128) years of time. 
That, ladies and gentlemen, is just one phase of the 
problem of the wrong use of leisure time. 
•An address delivered at the New Orleans convention of the American 
Association of Park Superintendents. 
Now, the playground and recreation movement in 
America is nothing more than an attempt to bring to the 
people of America something of the significance of 
leisure, and to see that it is used in such a way that it 
will become a civic asset instead of a civic liability. 
Now, the significant fact in relation to that matter to- 
day is this, that leisure is constantly on the increase. I 
believe that I can safely say, without contradiction, that 
it will matter little to the people of America, or of any 
nation in this world, how much money they pile up, or 
how much material possessions they pile up, if they do 
not learn, at the same time, how to use the leisure which 
their money or their possessions give them. 
Child labor laws — laws regulating the employment of 
men and women — minimum wage laws — new inventions 
and the better organization of business and other factors 
— all these are giving the people of America greater and 
greater leisure than were ever possessed in th history of 
this country, or by any people in the history of the world. 
Aside from that is the feasibility and possibility of 
forestalling a pathological condition — adult and infant 
immortality and crime, etc. It is in the hours of leisure 
that men and women are at liberty to develop those higher 
qualities of mind and heart — literature, culture and a 
better social relationship. It is also in the field of leisure 
that we are going to be able to insure that the boys and 
girls of America are going to grow up with a strength of 
heart and of lung and of nerve that will enable them to 
carry on the great and tremendous material work that we 
are engaged in in this country today. 
So much for that phase of the matter, and it is signifi- 
cant in relation to social life in America. 
Now, in working out a program or system of utilizing 
the leisure hours of the people in wholesome ways, so 
that it will be an asset instead of a liability to community 
life, and we can shape our material facilities somewhat 
by knowing what the fundamental interests of people are. 
I have set down here some of these. 
First, the physical interest — the big muscle activities — - 
things that concern primarily children and grown people 
— gymnastic games, swimming, bicycle riding and all the 
other kinds of activities such as are provided in parks, 
and in other ways for the expression of those big muscle 
activities. 
Second, manual activity. Every child, and I think, 
every one of you, and every woman and man in this 
country have a desire for that — this expression of child 
life through various manual activities provided — to make 
kites and boats in play grounds and self-propelled auto- 
mobiles and flying machines, and everything that repre- 
sents constructive interest. I suppose, if you look back 
to your childhood, you will think of many things that 
you carved with your jack knife, or put together with 
hammer and nails, etc. 
Third, such activities as hikes, excursions, picnic games 
and things of that sort. 
In playgrounds, we work it out through excursions 
through the great parks, to our museums, libraries, etc. 
Then, linguistic activity, having to do with the mother 
tongue, like stories, etc., and rhythm expressed through 
dancing and music of every sort — such things as Mr. 
Ridgeway has done so successfully in Minneapolis. 
Finally, the social feature which runs through and 
binds the people together in all kinds of activities. 
Knowing these interests of the people, we can begin 
to have some philosophy and some practical basis for 
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