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PARK AND CEMETERY 
Annual reports or extracts from them, historical sketches, 
descriptive circulars, photographs of improvements or dis- 
tinctive features are requested for use in this department . 
A LEAGUE OF MASSACHUSETTS IMPROVEMENT 
SOCIETIES. 
Improvement societies and allied organizations of 
Massachusetts held a conference in Boston April 28 
and 29 and formed a league under the name of the 
Massachusetts Conference for Town and Village Bet- 
terment. The conference announces as its object: 
“To contribute to the formation of a strong, definite and 
united purpose among the forces working for the improve- 
ment of civic and social conditions in Massachusetts, by bring- 
ing together all town and village improvement societies, edu- 
cation and arts and crafts societies, citizens’ associations, civic 
clubs and other organizations interested in this purpose through- 
out the commonwealth, for the discussion and comparison of 
principles, methods and results. There shall be an annual 
meeting every spring and additional meetings may be called 
by the executive committee.” 
The opening session was addressed by President 
Kenyon L. Butterfield of the Rhode Island State Col- 
lege on “Co-operation for Rural Betterment.’’ He 
outlined the problem by showing that farming enlisted 
$20,000,000,000 in capital, and enlisted one-third of all 
the workers, making it the largest single industry in 
the country. Among the agencies tending to better 
rural conditions he named the following: Better means 
of communication ; organization, the granges being 
pointed out as having proven successful; education, 
still defective, but rapidly improving ; religion, the 
farthest behind, but apparently destined to regenera- 
tion, through the spread of “settlement” work and the 
rural scheme of the Young Men’s Christian Associa- 
tion. 
J. Randolph Coolidge, Jr., gave an illustrated lecture 
on “Public Buildings as an Expression of Community 
Life.” It was a collection of views, with comments 
showing some of the best results in designing' thus far 
attained in public libraries, schoolhouses, town halls, 
churches, banks, monuments and the like, which are 
the joint product of town or village effort. He laid 
stress on the fact that excellence in design and digni- 
fied, satisfactory results were not necessarily denied to 
small or inexpensive structures. 
Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., read a review of an 
unpublished manuscript of his father’s, which out- 
lined the need of consistency in every general scheme 
of village improvement. Several examples of over- 
weighted and elaborated village greens were cited to 
show' that less elaboration of the greens would have 
shown far better results. 
Walter Sargent also contributed an address upon 
“Artistic Village Improvement,” speaking strongly 
upon the subject of good art study in the schools and 
caring for the taste of young people as the future 
builders. He told of the artistic treatment of telegraph 
poles in Holland, and of the elevated railway in Ber- 
lin, as showing what can be done with such unprom- 
ising material. 
“Legislative Possibilities of the Conference” was 
the subject of an interesting paper read by Joseph Lee 
at the opening of the second day’s session. He said in 
part : 
“One of the first needs, especially in country life, is the 
development of the aesthetic, and already legislative enact- 
ment in this state has been the means of inculcating improved 
advanced ideas which will be productive of excellent results 
later on. Cultivate beautiful surroundings in your town ; create 
a fitting and dignified setting for your public life. We value a 
thing for what it represents, for what it seems to say. 
“People go abroad to see Athens. How can they see Athens ? 
It is only because the old Athenians had the true sense of ex- 
pression that we are enabled to see in the Parthenon today 
some idea of what the former Athens was. We care for a 
picture because it tells something, expresses some idea, some 
sentiment. Village improvement should be along the lines 
of the aesthetic, and should lead to the proper upbuilding of 
the Commonwealth. What is the characteristic purpose of 
American citizenship? It is found in the best possible oppor- 
tunity for a fine spiritual life. Every American boy and girl 
should have the best constructive opportunity to develop the 
Lest there is in them. America stands for the proposition 
that you can create righteousness by legislation, and whatever 
is an expression of true citizenship will be a legitimate object 
for development by this organization. What, then, are our 
grievances? One is that there should be a single American 
boy or girl who is not going right. We have the proper spirit ; 
we should seek to develop its expression. Juvenile law-break- 
ing is to be deplored; juvenile crime is a question of athletics, 
the desire to be more daring than one’s fellows. A Western 
judge has said that ‘boys wjio “swipe” things are not thieves,’ 
for the act is not inspired by any commercial idea. There- 
fore provide playgrounds, which, however, should be of a 
suitable size ; for thus the boy has the opportunity for develop- 
ing his spirit of daring; create school gardens and vacation 
schools ; regulate hours of trade and inquire into the sort of 
trade at which a boy is working; look into the conditions sur- 
rounding the work ; extend the periods of probation in cases 
where boys are brought into court. These are appropriate 
matters for public action.” 
Following Mr. Lee’s paper came a series of reports 
from various societies throughout Massachusetts, all 
testifying to the beneficient influences derived through 
such mediums as the library, school gardens, vacation 
schools, manual training, etc. The work in many 
cases is yet young, but enough has been accomplished 
in the short time to prove that in each case there is a 
large field for development. The societies reporting 
and the subjects and speakers were as follows: 
