PARK AND CEMETERY, 
1 5 2 
vor, and a campaign along this line will suggest 
new victories to be won on other lines, to the ulti- 
mate benefit of all. 
T HE growing taste for art is a matter for con- 
gratulation. It is the sure sign of a progres- 
sive development on lines of permanent value 
to a nation. It shows that there is a reaching out 
for higher things in our national life, and that devo- 
tion to its sordid matters is becoming suffused 
with aspirations for those higher things that im- 
part a true zest to life, and give it tone and fullness. 
As with many phases of this remarkable American 
progress of ours, taste in art matters is developing 
more rapidly than the means for its rational guid- 
ance and control. Take, for instance, the question 
of monumental art for our public places. On all 
sides we hear of proposed monuments, in the great 
majority of cases in honor of men whom a grateful 
community believe worthy of a public memorial. 
Leaving out the important question of whether the 
community has intelligently weighed the claims of 
the subject to so enduring an honor, the still more 
important question suggests itself to what tribunal 
shall the matter of design, appropriateness and 
artistic merit of the proposed memorial be submit- 
ted? Hitherto, practically speaking, there has been 
none. A business organization is effected to carry 
out the purpose of the community, and in this is 
generally merged the authority to decide upon the 
points mentioned above, points of such significance 
that but a comparatively insignificant few, even in 
the largest places, are competent to pronounce upon 
them. A public monument is an important under- 
taking. In its inception the honor is not governed 
by considerations of a temporary character; a monu- 
ment carries with it the idea of the future. Not 
only is the subject honored for the present, but his 
virtues are presumed to be worthy of the respect of 
future generations. Here is enough to suggest the 
necessity of competent judgment on the worthiness 
of the subject; but it goes much further. It carries 
with it the suggestion of the necessity of presenting 
to future generations the best possible evidences of 
the civilization of to-day as represented in its plas- 
tic art. Even the portraiture of the subject loses 
its value in the higher consideration of the artistic 
merit of the work. For it is the artistic develop- 
ment as expressed in the monument that will speak 
most loudly in the future. To develope these sug- 
gestions will lead most certainly to the conclusion 
that to properly qualified authority must be submit- 
ted all questions of public monumental art, and, 
however much we may blind ourselves to facts, they 
declare that most of the public monuments now 
standing are unworthy the art of a great nation. 
What is the remedy? An art commission in every 
large center, composed of men free in every way 
from entanglements to warp their judgment, and 
thoroughly competent to exercise that judgment on 
questions of art. Public taste needs guidance and 
control, and within these limitations it will rapidly 
assert itself. 
RESIDENCE STREETS, I. 
It is proposed in the following papers to discuss 
certain features of residence streets — namely: Their 
location and drainage, the lines and construction 
of the roadbed, sidewalks, crossings and curbing, 
and the planting of the borders, with a view to as 
certaining if the present method is correct, and, if 
not, what improvements can be made that will add 
to the comfort of those who walk or ride. The im- 
portance of this subject is not fully appreciated. 
The street is a most important part of those envi- 
ronments which, wi^h one’s house and lot, go to 
make up his home. A good roadway, smooth and 
agreeable sidewalks, with roadsides made beautiful 
by suitable planting, and all well taken care of, 
add to the value of a man’s residence just as the 
beautiful house and grounds of a neighbor will add 
to the value of one’s own property; while, on the 
contrary, roads and sidewalks poorly made or out 
of repair, and dead or ugly trees, will detract 
from its value as much as would an obnoxious 
building. There are many who appreciate the 
beauty of a public park. The writer claims to be 
one of these, but still he thinks the artistic treat- 
ment of a residence street is as important as the 
acquiring of beautiful public parks. The streets 
must be used by all the residents, while the parks 
may be visited by only a portion of them. The 
streets are used by most people every day, while 
those who visit the parks may go at infrequent in- 
tervals. The streets are seen from the windows and 
verandas of houses almost continually. 
Some of the topics mentioned in the first para- 
graph may lead the reader to think that they will 
be treated from an engineering point of view, but 
the aim is rather to consider them with regard to 
their effect upon the popular use and enjoyment of 
public highways. 
Location. 
It is generally conceded that streets running 
north and south are better for residences than those 
running east and west, the advantage of the former 
being that the houses, even though close together, 
are sure to get sunlight from two directions, while 
houses on the latter streets frequently receive sun- 
light only from the south. The street itself also 
gets a better distribution of sunlight when running 
north and south. Streets running in other direc- 
tiops than those mentioned have an advantage over 
