PARK AND CEMETERY 
AND LANDSCAPE GARDENING 
Vol. XXI Chicago, February, 1912 No. 12 
Park Efficiency 
There is positively not another city in the country that 
presents such an anomaly, even in a minor degree, as Chi- 
cago with its ten separate park boards, and in connection with 
this the Bureau of Public Efficiency has just issued a valu- 
able report showdng how, in municipal administration, econ- 
omy and efficiency may be realized. It urges unification of 
these systems and consolidation with the city government. 
Among its reasons for the sugg’ested change are: possible 
saving of $500,000 yearly in operating and maintaining public 
parks ; possible extension of public park system to meet, 
properly, demands and needs of the community not properl}' 
met under present arrangement; reduction to minimum of 
inefficiency of management and of money waste ; more equit- 
able distribution of park revenues and benefits over whole 
city. The charter reform which was strongly advocated in 
1905 would have brought about the consolidation, but machine 
politics and the public leeches prevented this very desirable 
consummation. It is devoutly to be wished that the report 
may help to bring about more successful results in the efforts 
to get rid of such an absurdity in city government. 
A Prime Object of Horticultural Societies 
The primary object of horticultural societies in which other 
than professionals are admitted to membership, should be 
to create a love for flowers, and, so far as possible, instruct 
its members and the public in their culture. The logical 
time to do the very best work of this kind is in the spring, 
when, in the very nature of things the garden lover is cast- 
ing about for new ideas, and young and old are in the 
mood for planting things. Acting on this idea the Horti- 
culture Society of Chicago will hold its first spring exhibi- 
tion on March ll-17th, 1912. Another departure from its 
usual custom will be in the place of holding the show. This 
year the Art Institute has been selected and the main exhibit 
will probably be placed in Blackstone Hall. In this beautiful 
palace of art the flowers will have an opportunity to per- 
form a two-fold purpose: first, to tell the story of their own- 
beauty; and, secondly, by their artistic arrangement they 
may be made to convey some idea of their relation to sculp- 
ture in gardens, home grounds, etc. The opportunity for 
such a really artistic display of flowers, shrubliery, etc., has 
never been afforded the Society and much real benefit should 
be the result. The great success of the Boston Spring flower 
show last year prompts an earnest appeal to the membership 
of the Chicago Society to spare no efforts or pains to make 
its spring exhibition a worthy type of floral displays. 
^ Ne VC 
The Lincoln Memorial — Niagara Falls 
The American Civic Association has considerable work on 
its hands watching and working to conserve the public's in- 
terest, and especially at this time in connection with the pre- 
servation of Niagara b'alls, in which it has been actively 
engaged for the past few years, and more recently in its 
efforts to prevent the absurd substitution of a public road, 
at a vast cost, for a great public monument in memory of 
Lincoln in the city in which his great genius and character 
were more potently exercised. As a national possession of 
world-wide and inestimable value, the grand cataract of 
Niagara should be preserved and it is naturally a possession 
which should be deeded forever to its owners, the people 
without a question of doubt. In this, as well as in the 
matter of the Lincoln Memorial at Washington, of which, by 
the way, a tentative ilesign is given in another column, it is 
really incumbent upon our rentiers who may be interested in 
these great questions to communicate with their representa- 
ti\es at Washington without delay asking them to vote for 
the Monumental Memorial to Lincoln in Washington and for 
the preservation of Niagara Falls against the raijacious pow-er 
companies. Illinois is, of course, particularly interested in 
the memorial to its great citizen, Abraham Lincoln, and Mr, 
E. J. Parker of Quincy, 111., of national reputation for his 
activity in civic development, is doing yeoman serx ice in the 
cause of this memorial as against a road scheme. In si)ite of 
the remarkably alluring arguments offered by the highway 
advocates, there seems to be no ground whatever for the 
assumption that a public road, of no matter what importance 
as to route, length or convenience, can teach the lesson’s that 
memorial sculpture or a purely artistic monumental structure 
can impart for concentrating thought upon the life and work 
of such a man as Abraham Lincoln, our great m.artyr presi- 
dent. 
v<e ve 
Disreputable Street Conditions 
It is anything but creditable to the City of New York 
that views of its streets and parks are seldom, if ever, used 
to illustrate conditions which should prevail in w'ell regulated 
cities. Almost invariably when discussing or lecturing upon 
the subject, .European cities, like Berlin and Paris, are called 
upon to show what city streets, shade trees, street adx-ertising, 
etc., should be. It is quite true that there are man\' hand- 
some buildings, both public and prixate, and some fine streets 
and drives in the metropolis; but photographs of any of its 
principal thoroughfares usually shoxv either a pile of garbage 
or ashes, or a billboard carrying signs utterly at variance 
with the dignity of such a city. Then again the streets of 
New York are almost continually torn up, or there are piles 
of bricks, stone or lumber in evidence to mar xvhat otherwise 
might be an attractive view. In spite of the fact that these 
criticisms may be freely applied to other large cities of the 
country, nevertheless, it is high time that New York’s authori- 
ties, and wealthy citizens, awakened to the fact that it is 
time to call a halt to the rank commercialism which has frus- 
trated many an opportunity for aesthetic development in the 
great city’s streets and buildings. 
Swatting the Fly 
It is evident from the report of the proceedings of the re- 
cent convention of the American Civic Association, tliat the 
“Swat the Fly” movement is to be by no means an unimpor- 
tant part of the work of civic improvement during the com- 
ing year. The term “Swat the Fly,” expressive, if not elegant, 
is said to have originated in the west : it does not necessarily 
mean that flies are to be destroyed by crushing or trapping, but 
by any method which may be adopted for their extermination 
— a consummation most devoutly to he wished. President 
Taft said, in speaking of National Parks, that the Depart- 
ment of the Interior is the lumber room for anything which 
cannot he definitely located in any other place, and if that 
is so. that department may )fct have to take up the “fl-y ques- 
tion,” for no one can seem to decide just where it belongs. 
It seems to be related to the Health, the .\gricultural. En- 
tomological and various other “departments”; but perhaps 
after all, it is most appropriately considered by Civic Im- 
provement Societies. 
