176 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
large number of accidents from trolley cars made advisable 
a special department of transportation which should consider 
measures for their prevention. Mr. Stilson spoke as follows 
concerning the lesson to be learned from the San Francisco 
disaster ; 
“When the writer of this paper viewed San Francisco after 
the calamity, he was absolutely convinced that the safety of a 
city could be greatly increased if it had two wide boulevards 
running at right angles, of at least 150 feet in width. It would 
be an extremely costly venture. But I would urge that in 
laying out new towns and villages, at least two such streets 
running at right angles be arranged for. It does not take long 
under the present system of building to develop a town into a 
city, and if provision was made as I have indicated above, the 
burning of a city would not occur as frequently as at the pres- 
ent time. 
“If a park system could be arranged by the use of the two 
boulevards it would serve a double purpose; first, cause a better 
fire protection, and second, by its position permit people to 
enjoy it in their daily vocations. Arrangement for the trolley 
and subway could be made in the center of such boulevards, 
thus disposing of the cause of accidents which at this time is so 
prominent in the life of our lai-ge cities.” 
Prof. Frederick M. Mann, of the School of Architecture 
of W.ashington University, St. Louis, spoke on “Architecture 
and Civic Progress.” He said there was scarcely any move- 
ment for civic beauty that was not concerned with archi- 
tecture. The external aspect of the city forces itself upon 
everyone and should be made an uplifting influence for a 
more beautiful civic life. Improvement in architecture 
he said should be in three directions: in the architects; in the 
builders; and in municipal regulations. Too large a propor- 
tion of the architects are not liberally educated but there 
are signs of improvement. Each building has a public func- 
tion and the builder has a responsibility to the public. A 
properly qualified commission should have the power to pass 
on the design as well as the safety of every proposed building. 
A general discussion followed, introduced by a talk by Dr. 
J. Q. Adams, a member of the Municipal Art Commission of 
New York, who told of the workings of that body. The 
commission is composed of ten members, three of whom are 
professional artists or architects, and four of whom are offi- 
cials, including the President of the Metropolitan Museum, 
the Mayor of the city, and the President of the Brooklyn 
Institute of Arts and Sciences 
A number of members took spirited part in the talks which 
followed, the theme of which was the right of the state to 
limit the freedom of individuals in the use of their own 
property, as in the case of billboards which are an offence 
to the community. The general opinion was that the state 
should limit the rights of the individual to make a nuisance 
of himself. 
W. H. McFetridge, of Baraboo, Wis., a member of the 
commission in charge of the work of promoting a state park 
at the Dells and Devil’s Lake, made a forceful presentation 
of the necessity for establishing a state park and told some- 
thing of the beauty and majesty of nature in these tracts. 
The association passed strong resolutions favoring the es- 
tablishment of this reservation. 
Thursday afternoon the meeting was turned over to the 
Woman’s Outdoor Art League, with its President, Mrs. 
Edward L. Upton, in the chair. After a brief welcome by 
Mrs. Thos. H. Brown, of Milwaukee, Mrs. Upton presented 
a broad and interesting review of “What Women are Doing 
in Civic Improvement Work.” 
Woman’s progressive and inquiring spirit and her talent 
for the practical details of improvement work have made 
her a potent factor in the municipal housecleaning move- 
ments. Women’s organizations have been equally success- 
ful and powerful and the broad national efforts toward civic 
betterment, as expressed in the influence of the General Fed- 
eration of Women’s Clubs in the Niagara campaign. Forty- 
seven federations representing 700,000 women in convention 
at Minneapolis sent telegrams and resolutions to congress 
that materially aided the Niagara movement. The Wisconsin 
State Federation of 151 clubs, representing 6,000 women, 
also aided materially in this work, and is leading in the 
movement to secure the Devil’s Lake and Dells reservation. 
Mrs. Upton addressed sixteen organizations that endorsed 
the Niagara campaign, and was influential in securing much 
favorable newspaper work. Notable work was done by the 
California branch of the Woman’s Outdoor Art League for 
the preservation of the Cavaleras groves of big trees in that 
state. The Kane County Federation of Women’s Clubs in 
Illinois have undertaken the preservation and improvement 
of thirty miles of the beautiful Fox River Valley, and have 
raised $1,800 for the work. A forest reservation of 650 acres 
was secured in Long Island through the efforts of women 
and they have established a winter playground in Cleveland. 
Many other instances of practical local work by women 
were given. 
Mrs. Edwin F. Moulton gave a very practical and enter- 
taining exposition of the methods to be used in promoting 
“Cleaning-up Days,” which have become an important aid to 
civic cleanliness in many communities. The best results in 
municipal housecleaning, she said, could be obtained by con- 
certed action; two periods a year were advocated, one in the 
fall and one in the spring. These should be incorporated in 
the laws and emphasized by proclamation of the mayor or 
other official. Systematic cleaning up by streets, wards or 
districts, with city officials to aid and inspect the work was 
recommended. Children should be encouraged to take active 
part. Some of the nuisances that could be abated were 
mentioned as dirty alleys, placards on trees, the smoke nui- 
sance, etc. One women’s organization secured the abate- 
ment of a particularly obnoxious smoke nuisance by having 
its different members send protests over the telephone to the 
owner of the building at intervals of a few minutes during 
almost an entire day. At the end of the day he was glad 
to capitulate. The passage of laws regarding the scat- 
tering of rubbish, dodgers, etc., on the street should be urged. 
The reports of officers and committees were then in order. 
Mrs. D. O. Hibbard, of Racine, the treasurer, reported re- 
ceipts of $508.21 and a balance on hand of $189.75. 
The nominating committee recommended the following list 
of officers for the coming year, which were chosen without 
opposition : President, Mrs. Edwin F. Moulton, Cleveland, 
O. ; First Vice-president, Mrs. A. W. Sanborn, Ashland, 
Wis. ; Second Vice-president, Mrs. J. C. Haynes, Seattle, 
Wash. ; Secretary, Miss Agnes McGriffith Pound, Ashtabula, 
O. ; Treasurer, Miss Mira Loyd Dock, of Pennsylvania; Di- 
rectors: Mrs. Chas. F. Millspaugh, Chicago; Mrs. Thos. H. 
Brown, Milwaukee; Mrs. Arthur Noble, Santa Monica, Cal.; 
Mrs. A. W. Griffith, Linbrook, N. Y. ; Miss Helen A. Whit- 
tier, Boston, N. Y. ; and Mrs. E. P. Turner, Dallas, Tex. 
Mrs. Charles F. Millspaugh, of Chicago, for the Civics 
Committee reported that women’s clubs in Massachusetts, 
Pennsylvania and Ohio are doing much for civic improve- 
ment. Fifty-seven clubs in California are making heroic ef- 
forts in reviving educational work in San Francisco since the 
disaster. The clubs in Ohio aim to have a civic improvement 
program at one meeting each year. Cleaning-up Days are 
reported from many states and laws pertaining to street clean- 
ing and the collection of garbage have been secured in sev- 
eral instances. Mrs. Millspaugh reported that the club house 
of the California branch in San Francisco had been totally 
destroyed. A complete file of their work which was on 
exhibition at the Municipal Museum in Chicago is to be 
returned to them to assist in starting over again. Resolu- 
