36 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
up first, schools, and making the 
study of receipts and payments of 
educational departments in our cities 
one of great detail. Two school 
schedules, one for physical or general 
statistics and one for financial statis- 
tics, have been prepared. The infor- 
mation is being collected at the pres- 
ent time. 
It is hoped in the next year to 
begin a similar study of the admin- 
istration of parks. The form which 
I have the pleasure of submitting here 
to-day is merely the preliminary draft 
submitted to the park men of the 
country for discussion, in the hope 
that a uniform plan may be drawn 
up and adopted, and with the author- 
ity of this body behind it, may be 
accepted by the cities of this country. 
The Census Bureau can then follow 
up the work with its agents and col- 
lect such information as the accounts 
that have been introduced in con- 
formity with the general scheme will 
yield. It remains with the park men 
to give expression to what they think 
ought to be done. The Census Bu- 
reau will get all that is wanted if it 
can be gotten. It asks for co-opera- 
tion, for assistance, and would pre- 
fer if the park men through this or- 
ganization took the leadership for pro- 
gressive accounting and reporting. 
The standard form for park re- 
ports here submitted had its incep- 
tion in the collection and publication, 
by the Bureau of the Census, of finan- 
cial and other statistics of parks, as 
a part of its annual official statistics 
of cities containing over 30,000 inhab- 
itants. During the years since 1902, 
covered by the publication mentioned, 
the Bureau of the Census has consid- 
erably enlarged the number of its 
schedule inquiries and widened the 
field of its park statistics. These 
changes have stimulated a demand on 
the part of those interested in park 
development and management for 
more comprehensive park statistics. 
But with the existing lack of uni- 
formity of park records, accounts and 
reports, no great development of park 
statistics can take place without an 
undue expenditure of money. Fur- 
ther, without such uniformity of rec- 
ords, accounts and reports, the more 
comprehensive statistics would neces- 
sarily involve inaccurate statements 
for many cities, and these would viti- 
ate the value of the whole to a very 
large extent. 
Recognizing these facts and desir- 
ing to meet at the earliest practicable 
moment the popular demand for more 
comprehensive park statistics, the of- 
ficials of the Bureau of the Census, 
under the direction of Dr. L. G. Pow- 
ers, chief statistician in charge, has, 
after conference and correspondence 
with park officials, worked out the ac- 
companying standard forms of re- 
port and the instructions for their 
use. These are offered for still fur- 
ther discussion in the hope that the 
consideration which they may receive 
will lead to the adoption of uniform 
accounts, records and methods of re- 
porting data relating to parks, and 
that such adoption will lessen the cost 
of producing and increase the relia- 
bility and comparability of the Census 
statistics. 
The essential features of the pro- 
posed standard form for reporting 
financial transactions are as follows: 
1. It makes a distinction between 
revenues and other sources from 
which funds are provided or obtained 
by the Government for meeting the 
cost of its operation and maintenance 
(including its expenses, interest and 
outlays). Governmental revenues are 
derived from the following sources: 
a, From the exercise of the Govern- 
mental powers of taxation and police 
control, b, From the receipts of do- 
nations, gifts, grants and subventions 
for Governmental use, c, From the 
performance of services for compen- 
sation and the furnishing of mate- 
rials for valuable consideration, and, 
d, From the operation and manage- 
ment of the productive and quasi- 
productive enterprises, investments 
and properties of the Government. 
The revenue receipts of park systems 
are of two distinct classes: a, Those 
obtained directly by park systems 
from the four sources above-men- 
tioned, and, b, Those obtained indi- 
rectly from the revenues of the city 
through the grants of municipal ap- 
propriations. Park receipts other 
than from revenue are of two dis- 
tinct classes : a, Receipts on account 
of debt, (or from the sale of bonds 
or issue of short term obligations, 
from outstanding warrants or audits 
unpaid at the close of year, and from 
deposits and other transactions on pri- 
vate and trust account, and from 
transfers from sinking funds for the 
liquidation or payment of debt), and, 
b, Miscellaneous receipts, including 
all receipts not derived from revenue 
or on debt account as above stated. 
2. It makes a sharp distinction be- 
tween expenses or costs of care, oper- 
ation and maintenance, and outlays 
(capital expenditures), or costs of ac- 
quisition, improvement and equipment 
of permanent park properties. It also 
calls for the separation of the two 
classes of costs each from the other 
and both from all other expenditures. 
3. It makes a distinction between 
the following classes of expenses: 
Expenses for the care and mainte- 
nance of, a, Park areas, and, b, High- 
ways, c, For providing recreation or 
comfort for visitors, d, Police, e, 
Light, f, Expenses of quasi-productive 
enterprises such as those for provid- 
ing refreshment, transportation, etc., 
to visitors, and securing a partial or 
complete reimbursement therefor 
from those utilizing the services pro- 
vided, and, g, Expenses of central or 
incidental operating plants which are 
maintained for lessening the expenses 
mentioned in a to f, or for securing 
better service in return for such ex- 
penses. It further provides for the 
separation of the seven classes of ex- 
penses mentioned, and for the distri- 
bution of the expenses mentioned in 
g among those included in a to f, to 
which they properly belong. 
4. It provides for an orderly ar- 
rangement of receipts and payments 
under significant titles. This corres- 
ponds in the main with the arrange- 
ment and terminology of the financial 
schedules and reports of the Bureau 
of the Census. The aim here is to 
classify receipts and payments ac- 
cording to their character, and in the 
case of payments for expenses and 
outlays, according to the functional 
activity for which they are made. 
5. It provides for a classification 
of all expenses and outlays (other 
than expenses for general administra- 
tion and of central or incidental oper- 
ating plants) according to: a, Object 
of payment, and, b, The park, square, 
circle, triangle or boulevard to which 
the object is devoted. Thus payments 
for oiling macadam roads (an object 
of payment) are distributed to all the 
parks and boulevards for which the 
expense is incurred. This double 
classification is systematically carried 
out. 
All expenses for the operation of 
central or incidental operating plants 
should be charged to the special ac- 
count for those plants, and at the 
close of the year, or of other fixed pe- 
riods, the expenses so charged should 
be distributed to the functional ac- 
counts of the several parks in an equi- 
table manner. To accomplish this 
result, the records of stables should 
contain data relating to the hours of 
service for the several functional ac- 
tivities. Records must be kept by 
the electric light plant showing the 
number and character of lights and 
