PARK AND CEMETERY 
and Landscape Gardening. 
Vol. XVI. Chicago, May, 1906. No. 3 
San Francisco, 
The terrible calamity which visited San Francisco 
last month, from its extraordinary magnitude, will 
be fresh in the minds of all the people for a long 
time to come. The circumstances attending the 
catastrophe itself, as well as the spontaneous out- 
burst of practical sympathy resulting in relief meas- 
, ures which, in a large sense, robbed it of the misery 
I and horror usually attending such terrible visita- 
i tions, mark an epoch in our history which will afford 
a broad insight into American character. Scarcely 
j was the destructive conflagration which resulted 
I from the earthquake checked, before a new city, 
which was to rise like Phoenix from the flames, 
' occupied the minds of the city’s executive citizen- 
j ship, and the Burnham plan, as it is termed, which 
I had already been prepared under the direction of 
i Danfel H. Burnham, of Chicago, for the improve- 
j ment and adornment of San Francisco, at once 
became the question of the hour. The plan, how- 
j ever, has become a problem of complete reconstruc- 
j tion, and a splendid opportunity develops from the 
disaster to put into execution the modern idea of 
city construction. Under the new plans it will still 
be a large business city, but wdth its component 
sections arranged and connected by circular and 
radiating boulevards. There will be the great civic 
j center with its boulevard system, as well as other 
centers, and the result of the whole will be a far 
more beautiful city than Paris itself, which is saying 
j a great deal. It might have been expected that the 
i “skyscraper” construction of buildings had met a 
I death blow for localities subject to seismic disturb- 
I ance, but the contrary has proved the case ; the 
j strains and stresses provided for in modern steel 
structures, coupled with a proper method of secur- 
ing the covering material to the frame, allow a large 
measure of vibration without serious rupture. 
^ 
More Effort Needed in the Cause of Niagara. 
The pernicious activity of the agents of the power 
; companies renders it still necessary to keep alive 
on the watch in order to ensure the perpetuity of 
the Falls of Niagara to the people. These agents in 
various parts of the country appear now to be re- 
sorting to the ever popular stereopticon lecture in 
order to try to establish the absurdity of such a 
proposition as this — half of the water of the Niagara 
I river withdrawn for power purposes one mile, more 
or less, above the Falls, will not affect the beauty 
of the Falls themselves. Such arguments are simply 
lies, which any high-school boy should readily be 
able to refute without hestitation. Ordinarily speak- 
ing, ever gallon of water taken from the river above 
the Falls to that extent injures the Falls. Every 
reader interested in the magnificent cataracts at 
Niagara, and we are sure all are, should show prac- 
tical interest by communicating with his representa- 
tives at Washington, both in the House and Senate, 
demanding their vote in favor of the preservation 
by federal authority of Niagara. It would be a 
national crime to destroy such a magnificent natural 
possession, and solely for commercial purposes. 
yf ^ 
A National Adl^isory Board on Federal Art. 
A bill has been introduced into the House of Rep- 
resentatives providing for the organization of a 
national advisory board on civic art, to be composed 
of five members, to be nominated and appointed by 
the President and with the consent of the Senate. 
The duties of this board when called upon by 
authority, or moved by its own judgment, shall 
consider and report their opinion concerning the 
artistic merit of plans “proposed by legislative or 
administrative act for public structures, monuments 
and fountains, for the placing of mural paintings in 
public structures, or for the opening, modification, 
or embellishment of any public space belonging to 
the United States.” Other provisions are, of course, 
made to assure the effective working of the act. 
The Public Art League of the United States, with 
headquarters at Washington, is distributing a 
pamphlet containing the bill, and a plea showing 
the demand for and the necessity of such a board. 
This pamphlet presents some very strong arguments 
in favor of the bill, and cites the progress of art 
development in relation to civic betterment, and the 
great number of art propositions now under con- 
sideration; and it also points out the enhanced 
values that have been brought about in cities and 
countries where art has been encouraged, as it 
should be, by the government. The unsatisfactory 
methods now in vogue in this country, the question- 
able influences often brought to bear upon it, and 
the absolute crudity of ideas maintained by so large 
a proportion of our population in regard to art, con- 
trasted with the absolute benefits to be secured by 
its careful nurture and practice make this bill one 
to be carefully considered and supported until it 
becomes law. 
