*70 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
Mr. Johnson showed some of his 
discoveries as to the drift of public 
sentiment by citing numerous news- 
paper clippings and other evidences of 
activity in all parts of the country. A 
recent eff.ort in Hyde Park was quiet- 
ly put under way by the park com- 
missioners, and as it appeared in the 
town warrant it simply called for the 
purchase of a small piece of land for 
$4,700. The commissioners had a 
double purpose. They desired to use 
the land for play purposes and, quite 
as important in their minds, to get rid 
of the billboards which had been in- 
festing it for a number of years. Cen- 
trally located, it was adapted for play 
purposes and obnoxious in its present 
use. The scheme failed, but a. play- 
ground will be bought and sooner or 
later, the people expect to get rid of 
the billboards. 
The Minister Militant of Blandford 
is Rev. S. G. Wood. As a rule, he is 
peaceably inclined, but very aggressive 
in connection with the itinerant tack- 
ers and posters who come through 
from Westfield to advertise the wares 
of the Westfield merchants. These 
he follows, as he says, “like an aveng- 
ing angel,” and he is with them "till 
death do us part.” Tt is illegal in 
Massachusetts to post anything of this 
kind without the permission of the 
property owner, and along highways, 
on bridges and fences and trees, it is 
illegal at any time and such posters 
may be torn down by any one. The 
people of Blandford led by Mr. Wood 
have succeeded in the main, although 
they are constantly pestered by the 
Magic Yeast man and others who, 
while promising to leave Blandford 
alone, violate their promises as soon 
as they are out of the sight of the 
person to whom they have been talk- 
ing. Their work is of very short du- 
ration, how'ever, and if citizens of 
other places were as wide awake as 
those of Blandford, these itinerant 
nuisance factories would soon cease 
their work. 
Professor Baldwin said that his hon- 
est opinion was that if a plebiscite on 
the question of billboards could be 
taken it would show a prevailing pub- 
lic sentiment in their favor. He draws 
this conclusion in part from the fact 
that he did such a thing with some 
of his college classes, covering in all 
148 pupils. Of these 88 were abso- 
lutely opposed to billboards; 27 were 
partially favorable but believed in re- 
striction; 17 were wholly favorable or 
for non-interference; and 16 were non- 
committal. It would seem that the 
16 who were non-committal might be 
left out of the count, and that the re- 
sult would thus stand: 17 in favor of 
the present method of treating bill- 
boards and 115 in favor of restriction 
or total abo'ition. Professor Baldwin 
said that this test of undergraduate 
opinion is on the whole friendly to the 
billboards. “Many persons simply 
take their opinions ready made from 
others. So on this billboard issue, 
there is a deal of cant talked by shal- 
low headed folk who have imbibed a 
little of superficial aestheticism in 
school, church or club.” He believes 
that billboards are only a part of the 
crudeness of the age and that they 
will disappear along with the smoke 
nuisance, high buildings, outlandish 
noises and other manifestations of 
public indifference and individual 
greed. 
Mr. Kelsey said that the law under 
which Mr. Wood works in Blandford 
and other laws on the statute books 
were sufficient if they were properly 
enforced. He believes that we are 
wasting time in our efforts and that 
it would be better to direct them into 
the way of enforcing what we have. 
He believes that municipal ordinances 
are in the main also sufficient and that 
if they were properly enforced much 
in the way of billboards and hand 
bills could be disposed of. 
Mr. Hartman said that legislation 
that is worth anything is the best 
sense of the community enacted into 
law; to sanction the actions of the 
good and to restrain the actions of the 
bad elements of the community. Pub- 
lic opinion alone will not produce the 
desired results, but it will do a great 
deal. He cited the fact that an ac- 
tive expression of public opinion had 
caused Mayor Fitzgerald to drop his 
plan for advertising Boston on the 
billboards of three thousand cities, and 
that a similar manifestation has led 
the bill posters to say that they will 
erect no more signs on Boston Com- 
mon. Well organized manifestations 
would do similar work in other peaces, 
but we must always contend with 
those who will give absolutely no 
heed to public sentiment. For this 
and other reasons, three kinds of laws 
are necessary. First, billboards should 
be licensed. This is necessary in or- 
der to place them under the direct 
supervision of some one representing 
the people. Public sentiment would 
see to it that only the right kinds 
of billboards were licensed and per- 
haps that there were not too many 
of them. Then, billboards sho,uId be 
taxed. If a building is erected on a 
vacant lot it is taxed on the basis of 
its value which, in part, is estimated 
on its income producing qualities. 
Billboards erected on vacant lots in 
many instances bring in enormous in- 
cornes to the owner of the land and 
to the bill poster. This income 
should be capitalized at a fair rate 
of interest and the capitalized value 
should be taxed as other property is 
taxed in order to make taxation equit- 
able. Finally, there should be abso- 
lute prohibition in every case where 
public money has been spent for the 
public good. Civic centers, squares, 
boulevards, and parks should be ab- 
solutely immune. Many other places 
should be immune, particularly where 
the erection of billboards shuts off 
splendid views or in any way creates 
within itself a nuisance. 
Mr. Bailey in discussing unobjec- 
tionable billboards said that he be- 
lieves they have a place in civilized 
life but that they should take the form 
of the bulletin board and be used in 
a way similar to the bu'letin board in 
the school room, in the church ves- 
tibule or in the club. On the black- 
board he showed how seats flanking 
the village post office or the public 
fountain could be erected, backed by 
the bulletin boards on which adver- 
tisements and public notices could be 
posted, always under the direct super- 
vision of the municipality. His ideas 
are based on the custom in Germany 
and in some South American coun- 
tries, which has resulted in a condi- 
tion satisfactory to all. 
The next Conference will be held 
in Amherst in November in conjunc- 
tion with the celebration of the for- 
tieth anniversary of the Massachu- 
setts Agricultural College. 
^ ^ 
The annual report of the secretary of 
the Andover Village Improvement So- 
ciety, Andover, Mass., tells of the work 
of improving “The Ledges,” a tract 
where much grading and filling and 
road improvement has been made by 
the society. It is to be further im- 
proved by planting this year. The so- 
ciety has also maintained successful 
children's gardens, placed barrels for 
rubbish on the streets and offered priz- 
es for the destruction of the tent cater- 
pillar. 
* =1: Hs 
Dr. Frank W. Patch, president of the 
Improvement Society of Framingham, 
Mass., has made a report for the town 
council’s committee on public parks, 
outlining a' complete system of parks, 
chiefly located along the banks of the 
Sudbury river. The recommendations 
of the committee are soon to be voted 
on by the town. 
