403 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
tLony Falls and back through the heart 
of the city. A complete account of the 
iMinneapolis park system, with map and 
illustrations, appeared in Park and 
Cemetery last April. It was a day of 
unique sights and delightful experiences 
for everyone and is written large in 
association history. 
At the Wednesday evening session at 
the West Hotel, J. F. Foster, Superin- 
tendent of the South Park system of 
Chicago, presented a paper on “Conces- 
sions,” which was given the unanimous 
approval of the meeting. Mr. Foster’s 
paper will be printed in an early issue 
of Park and Cemetery. 
Several members heartily supported 
Mr. Foster’s position that concessions 
are wholly undesirable. On motion 
of Mr. Dunn, it was unanimously voted 
the sense of the association that con- 
cessions in parks were undesirable. Mr. 
Foster’s paper was referred to the print- 
ing committee with instructions to print 
and circulate it as soon as possible. 
A paper on “Concrete Construction in 
Relation to Park Work,” by Jens Jen- 
sen, Superintendent of the West Park 
System of Chicago, was read by the 
secretary, as Mr. Jensen was unable to 
be present. This subject opened up a 
very interesting and animated discus- 
sion, which will be printed in a future 
issue of Park and Cemetery, with Mr. 
Jensen’s paper. 
C. T. Booth, Supervisor of play- 
grounds of Minneapolis, told of the 
playground work done in the six city 
playgrounds and described the methods 
of administration and the apparatus 
used. The supervision cost this season 
$1,500, the six instructors alternating in 
serving the different grounds. 
In the discussion which followed on 
the responsibility of the park authorities 
for accidents in the playgrounds, it was 
the consensus of opinion that where the 
proper precautions were taken there was 
no liability and no one knew of a case 
where damages had been recovered. 
The nominating committee, Messrs. 
Hay, Adams and Amrhyn, reported two 
candidates for each office and after 
some lively voting the following officers 
were elected : 
President, John W. Duncan, Boston ; 
vice-presidents, Charles E. Keith, 
Bridgeport, Conn. ; John Henderson, 
Montreal; M. H. West, Lincoln Park, 
Chicago ; J. W. Rodgers, Cincinnati ; 
Theodore Wirth, Minneapolis ; J. W. 
Thompson, Seattle; secretary-treasurer, 
F. L. Mulford, Harrisburg, Pa. 
It was voted to hold next year’s 
meeting in Seattle. Harrisburg was a 
clcse rival of the city on the coast, but 
the fact that the Alaskan exposition is 
to be held at Seattle next summer de- 
cided the question in favor of that city. 
The official business of the evening 
was concluded with the appointment of 
a committee on final resolutions and the 
the election of Henry T. Blake, of New 
Haven, as an honorary member. The 
committee on resolutions was composed 
of ; J. F. Foster, Chicago ; W. H. Dunn, 
Kansas City ; F. L. Mulford, Harris- 
burg, Pa. 
The third day was devoted entirely 
to Lake Minnetonka, and was much too 
short to get enough of the beauties of 
the finest of Minnesota’s 3,000 lakes. 
Special cars landed the members at Ex- 
celsior, where a chartered boat, “The 
White Bear,” just the right size to ac- 
commodate the entire party, with plenty 
of room to spare, gathered them in for 
a bewildering cruise about the count- 
less inlets and channels that make a 
shore line of 115 miles in a lake about 
twelve miles long. Every turn seemed 
to bring new vistas of blue water ; new 
delights of wooded shores with palatial 
country homes overlooking the waters 
from every opening. Landings were 
made at several of these and some fine 
effects in landscape gardening studied 
at close range. Park Commissioner E. 
J. Phelps had particular charge of this 
part of the tour, and his handsome resi- 
dence was one of those visited. It was 
well along in the afternoon when the 
boat landed at Big Island, where a gen- 
erous outdoor banquet was spread under 
the majestic trees. 
When everybody had done full jus- 
tice to this, the benches were arranged 
in a circle and in this forest auditorium 
overlooking the lake the last official 
words of the convention were said. 
President Northrop of the park com- 
mission was master of ceremonies and 
introduced Commissioner Phelps as the 
the Commodore of Minnetonka. Mr. 
Phelps told something of the history of 
the beautiful lake that surrounded them, 
of its development as a resort, its sports 
its people and its management. 
President Cowell was called upon and 
expressed the earnest appreciation of 
the association for the handsome treat- 
ment of the Minneapolis people and an 
appreciation of the beauties of her parks. 
Superintendent Foster of Chicago, the 
next speaker, aptly summed up the gen- 
eral opinion of the park system as fol- 
lows : 
“Nature has done a great deal for 
Minneapolis that Chicago has had to do 
in an artificial way. The wonder of it 
is that so many things are brought to 
gether here. Many cities have beauti- 
ful rivers or gorges or lakes, and a 
few have falling water, but Minneapolis 
has all of these, and I know of no other : 
city so fortunate, although Quebec 
comes nearest.” 
W. F. Decker, vice-president of the 
park board, told of the management of 
Big Island, which is owned by the Twin 
Cit 3 ' Rapid Transit Company and main- ! 
tained chiefly as a picnic grounds. Chas. i 
E. Keith of Bridgeport, Conn., brought ’ 
down the trees with his famous Hello 
recitation, W. H. Dunn spoke for Kan- 
.sas City, Harry L. Manss for Cincin- 
nati, and Theodore Wirth advised 
everybody to get a park board like hi^ 
and then go ahead. 
The closing word was spoken by Mr. 
Charles M. Loring, who paid tribute to 
the industry and efficiency of Secretarj’ 
Ridgway, and invited everybody to come 
back individually or collectively in a 
few years and see what Superintendent 
Wirth had accomplished with his mate- 
rial. 
The party scattered at the close of 
the meeting to wander about the island 
LILY POND, COMO PARK, ST. PAUL. 
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