241 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
Without going more into detail, we should not omit 
to mention the influence of Art on Berlin, Copenhagen, 
Dresden, Munich, Vienna, Madrid and London. 
The late increase in monuments in Washington is a 
proof that, as a people, we appreciate the noble history 
of our nation. Fragmentary as this monumental his- 
tory is, it testifies to a realization of the educational 
function of Art. 
What proportion of the cost of a public building 
should be expended in artistic embellishment we may 
deduce from a comparison of those examples that we 
Lnow about. It is a mistake to assume that appropriate 
art decoration would materially add to the cost of public 
buildings. Instead of expending with lavish hand on 
costly materials and mechanical details, as is not un- 
frequently done, a higher dignity of expression may be 
attained by good Art. The Art in the Congressional 
Library was only 7 per cent of the total cost of the 
building. The decoration of the Appellate Court Build- 
ing in New York City was something more than 20 
per cent of its total cost. The Art of the Hotel de 
Ville, of Paris, cost 121^ per cent of the total cost of 
the building. 
We therefore recommend that our Federal and State 
Legislatures and City Councils, by enactment of proper 
laws and ordinances, require that of the total cost of 
every public building a certain portion thereof, not 
more than 10 per cent, be expended in Historic Art — 
sculpture and painting — including stained glass and 
mural decorations of all classes ; and also that of the 
total cost of municipal government a definite, even 
though small (say one-half of i per cent), appropria- 
tion be devoted to beautifying the city by landscape 
and monumental treatment of its parks and streets. 
BacKyards 
By Joh 
One of the best ways of keeping children off the 
street is to provide an attractive place for them to play 
in. Many of our back lawns are “back yards,” in fact. 
The nomenclature is wrong. They should be called 
lawns instead of yards. Having the name, we are in- 
clined to think that some people are disposed to make 
them live up to it, and make them a yard instead of 
lawn. It is true, also, that most people spend nine- 
tenths of their landscape efforts on the front and one- 
tenth on the back. This system reminds one of the 
small boy’s method of polishing the toes of his boots 
nnd allowing the heels to go by default. There is no 
VS. Eawns. 
r Craig. 
reason why the back yard should not be more than a 
place to house garbage and dry clothes. Should it not 
rather be a place to enjoy the comforts of out-door 
privacy and retreat, where children may romp at will 
or where afternoon tea can be served in seclusion and 
comfort? The accompanying photo shows nothing 
more remarkable than a rear yard with the grass on 
it. True, it costs ten cents a ton to have the coal 
carried by hand, and the expense of cutting the grass, 
but this is more than offset, we think, by the satisfac- 
tion of a clean and healthy romping place for the chil- 
dren. 
A BACK YARD WITH THE GRASS ON IT. 
