PARK AND CEMETERY 
AND LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
Vol. XVIII Chicago, July, 1908 No. 5 
The Coming Convenlions 
No more attractive way of emphasizing a summer vaca- 
tion can be suggested to those interested than attendance 
upon one or more of the usual summer conventions, held 
ordinarily in August. At the meetings of the Cemeterj^ 
and Park Superintendents, which take place respectively 
at Kansas City and Minneapolis, both on August 11, 12 
and 13, and of which much has been published in these 
columns, a vast amount of information may be gathered 
concerning practical outdoor improvement. Add to this 
the pleasures of association with enthusiasts in their occu- 
pation, coupled with the delightful excursions "detailed on 
the programs, and there is something to think .of with 
profit until summer comes again. The importance of these 
conventions in a business way has been urged upon ceme- 
tery and park authorities year after year, and its reitera- 
tion can never be out of place. The necessary e.xpenses 
are as nothing compared with the good an official repre- 
sentative derives from this annual experience. 
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The Appalachian Forest Legislation , 
The adjournment of Congress once more postponed final 
action by that body on the Appalachian and White Moun- 
tain Forest Reserves. The bill appropriating $5,000,000 
for establishing national forests in the Southern Appa- 
lachians and the White Mountains passed the Senate prac- 
tically in the form in which the friends of the measure 
desired it, but when it went to the House it was held up; 
a number of propositions modifying certain sections, and 
providing for investigation by a joint commission were 
presented, but the dominant faction in the House con- 
trived to pass the matter over to the next session. It is 
quite necessary to earnestly continue the campaign, so 
that as little further dela}^ as possible may result from the 
peculiar tactics that attend legislation in our House of 
Representatives. 
The Billboard in Chicago 
An ordinance which is expected to force billboards from 
its residence districts was recently approved by the Chi- 
cago Council building committee. It requires billboard 
companies to secure consent of two-thirds of the property 
owners, on both sides of the street, before erecting a bill- 
board in any block in the residence district. Any block 
in which a majority of the lots are occupied by residences 
is to be considered, for the purpose of the ordinance, a 
residence neighborhood. Strong protests were made by 
the representatives of the billboard companies when the 
ordinance was first considered by the building committee, 
but no further objections were made at the time of its ap- 
proval, energy being reserved for action later; but it is 
believed that this ordinance will eventually drive the bill- 
board from residence districts. 
vg 
The Proposed Lease of Grazing Lands 
The proposition to take from the unreserved, unappro- 
priated public domain, reserved for settlers, some 
300,000,000 acres, place it in the forest service and lease 
it for fencing and grazing to the cattle people, is stirring- 
up strong opposition in the West, as well it might; and 
from what we gather the interest of the public is a 
neglected feature in the proposition. The cattle barons in- 
stead of being curbed in their lawless methods are, ap- 
parently, offered privileges which will place them in vir- 
tual ownership of the lands for so long as it is profitable 
to them. The government should place under reservation 
all its lands suitable for settlement and home making, and 
deal liberally with the bona-fide settler, but the special 
interests have been pandered to long enough, and after 
the experience of the last few years in its efforts to right 
wrong, it should be very wary of being exploited b}- tliose 
of its subjects who, in comirination, almost control it. 
Far reaching publicity should be given to the terms of this 
leasing scheme, so that the public at large ma 3 ^ have the 
opportunity of checking any infringement of their abso- 
lute rights in the matter, and their represcntati\-es should 
be warned to safegutird those rights. 
N? Ng 
Littering the Parks 
With the advent of warm weather and the picnic season, 
there come annual]}-, and from all quarters, complaints of 
the ruthless carelessness on the part of those using the parks 
for pleasure purposes in strewing the grounds with the debris 
of the lunch basket. It matters little whether rubbish recep- 
tacles are provided or not ; as a rule, no effort is made to 
use them, and tolerance of such slovenliness on the part of 
the public has ceased to be a virtue. The director of the 
Zoological Park, New York, has appealed through the press 
for a new order of things, and promises vigorous action to 
enforce wholesome habits on visitors. Aside from the pro- 
priety of decency, it is a question of economy in park man- 
agement, and a necessity arises to compel respect for park 
rules. It is a curious fact that the delinquents most com- 
plained of are the foreign peoples, in whose native countries 
the parks and public breathing spots are kept scrupulously 
clean, but who appear to believe that there is no restraint 
on license in America. This question is an important one 
in the interests of our parks, and while the greatest of pleas- 
ure should be afforded to the public which owns them, no 
efforts must be spared to have hygienic rules vigorously 
observed, and, if necessary, penalties should be assessed to 
compel the breaking up of what the New York “Tribune" 
calls “a nasty habit.” 
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All Rights Must Be Respected 
The Pittsburg “Leader,” in a recent article against the 
snobbery of a certain residence section about Friendship 
Park, which protests against the placing of l)enclies in that 
pleasure ground for the comfort of the . poor, severely con- 
demns this attitude and calls attention to the fact that such 
parks are paid for by the people as a whole, and that the 
working population has an absolute right to be accommo- 
dated. It urges the Director of Public Works to give such 
a reply to the protest that no such appeal will ever be made 
to him again. It is a hapiiy thing that the press docs take 
vigorous hold of such incidents. The lack of common sense, 
common justice and common decency is unforlunatel}- too 
often displayed by those whose more fortunate position in 
life blinds them to the conditions of others, and makes them 
of less value in the bprly politic than those the}- practical!}- 
despise. 
