PARK AND CEMETERY. 
11 
Hill -- (■ t: 
PARK NEWS. 
■A 
A petition has been presented to 
the city council of Quincy, 111., ask- 
ing that the question of voting an 
additional mill tax for park purposes 
be submitted to the people at the 
coming municipal election. The 
Quincy Boulevard and Park Associa- 
tion has completed the purchase of 
Sunset Hill, a new park tract, and has 
wiped out all its indebtedness incur- 
red for park sites. The plan for im- 
proving the new tract contemplates a 
driveway along Whipple Creek and 
the state will be asked to purchase a 
small plot of ground to assist the 
work. 
* * * 
Senator Brown has introduced into 
the Illinois Legislature a bill giving 
any township in the state the right to 
issue bonds to establish small parks, 
provided .the voters of the township 
express at the polls their approval of 
the • bond issue. This measure has 
been drafted as a result of the need 
which exists for small parks in the 
congested portions of the north side 
of Chicago. The south division of the 
city has made splendid provision in 
• the way of small parks for those who 
dwell there. The west division has 
voted a bond issue and is now begin- 
ning the work of establishing pleas- 
ure grounds. Thus far, however, the 
north division has done nothing in 
this direction. Its one park stretches 
along the lake shore, being far re- 
moved from the densely populated 
streets that lie near the river. 
* * * 
The park commissioners and the 
civic associations of the borough of 
Queens, Greater New York are sup- 
porting the passage of the bill intro- 
duced by Assemblyman William A. 
De Groot, to give to the authorities 
of the city of New York the power 
to lay out a highway through the un- 
occupied portion of Cypress Hills 
Cemetery and forming a short con- 
necting link between Eastern Park- 
way, Brooklyn, and Forest Park, the 
600 acre recreation ground bought 
twelve or fifteen years ago by the city 
of Brooklyn, but from which it has 
been cut off because of the lack of a 
direct line of communication. It is 
alleged' by the property owners of 
Queens that thousands of lots in the 
cemeteries of that borough are held 
by a small syndicate of owners 'free 
from taxation, and at prices many 
times larger than the prices of reg- 
ular building lots, the owners of 
which are heavily taxed' to maintain 
the highways leading to these ceme- 
teries. The cemetery authorities have 
obtained the signatures of 20,000 pro- 
testants against the measure, on the 
ground that it will necessitate the re- 
moval of bodies, while the author of 
the bill claims that no removals will 
be necessary. 
* * * 
O. C. Simonds, of Chicago, recent- 
ly made a report for the park com- 
missioners of Terre Haute, Ind., for 
the purpose of suggesting extensions 
and improvements to the park system. 
One of his recommendations was the 
improvement of the banks of the Wa- 
bash river which passes through the 
city. Concerning this work Mr. Si- 
monds says: “Everyone likes to see 
VICTORIA TRICKERIIN GREENHOUSE 
Eden Park, Cincinnati 
running water, and if a city is for- 
tunate enough to have a lake or river, 
its shores will be the first place vis- 
ited. It would seem, therefore, that 
in beautifying the city the first thing 
to do would be to remove the ashes 
and rubbish from the banks of the 
Wabash and plant these banks with 
sycamores, elms, maples, dogwoods 
and willows. Such a plantation would 
not only beautify the banks and make 
the river attractive as it was years 
ago, but would help to prevent the 
washing and retain its present out- 
lines. 
“It would be delightful to have a 
drive along the top of the banks. 
"Yistas could be left between the trees 
of the taller growth so that one could 
look up or down the stream to where 
it turns westward and is lost to view. 
Such a drive, I am sure, is feasible 
along the east shore of the river. 
Some property would have to be ac- 
quired for this purpose, but the land 
is for the most part vacant, and when 
railroads are reached viaducts could 
be constructed so that the parkway 
would pass underneath and all grade 
crossings would be avoided.” 
* * sK 
Park Commissioner Breitmeyer of 
Detroit estimates that he will need for 
park improvements and maintenance 
this year $644,900, as compared with 
the total of $448,82.5 asked last year, 
and $212,106 allowed by the board of 
estimates. He asks this year for main- 
tenance $348,352 as against $265,445 
asked last year, and $192,123 allowed. 
He asks for $296,548 for improve- 
ments, as against $201,380 asked last 
year, and $39,983 allowed. Some of 
the largest items asked for under the 
head of improvements are: Bath house 
on Belle Isle, $50,000; furnishings for 
the new Belle Isle casino, $25,545; 
new water main to Belle Isle, $23,777; 
shelter at the foot of the western 
boulevard, $30,000. 
* * 
The park department of Cincinnati 
will plant some Victoria Trickeri wa- 
ter lilies in the lake in Eden Park this 
spring. For many years the Victoria 
Regia has been seen in the Eden 
Park greenhouses, but cannot survive 
in the out-door climate of this re- 
gion. The Victoria Trickeri, however, 
is regarded as hardy enough for the 
outdoor situation. 
* * * 
The park commission of Monrovia. 
Cal., is to publish a list of shrubbery 
and trees needed for the park. Indi- 
viduals, social and commercial organ- 
izations and the public schools will be 
granted the privilege of furnishing 
trees and plants. An engraved plot 
of the park with the names of the 
donors will be placed in the public 
library. The landscape plans have 
been prepared by F. A. Hosp. 
* * * 
Milwaukee is to have a comprehen- 
sive park and boulevard system, to be 
mapped out by a commission of elev- 
en men comprising one alderman, one 
[,ark commissioner, the city engineer 
and eight public spirited citizens, as 
provided by a resolution creating the 
Metropolitan Park Commission, adopt- 
ed by the council committee on fin- 
ance. The resolution carries wth it 
an appropriation of $2,500 for ex- 
penses, but the commissioners will 
serve without salary. 
