84 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
soon have prevailed in that latitnde — conditions which 
have forced the attention of the government, and such 
statesmen as have ability enough to look ahead inteh 
ligently. It was a gratifying note that was struck by 
[Mrs. Sarah Webb Maury, of Louisville, Ky., in her 
address at the Woman’s Auxiliary of the American 
Park and Outdoor Art Association, during its recent 
Milwaukee convention, when she said that the forestry 
work of the Louisville women’s clubs “is the greatest 
triumph of forestry the South has even known.” It 
is to be hoped and expegted that an intelligent com- 
prehension of this important subject may spread 
throughout all sections of the South, and that the 
work of the government, supplemented by the Agri- 
cultural Experiment Stations, Biltmore, the Appala- 
chian Forest Reserve, the coming Charleston Exposi- 
tion and the intelligent energy of the women of Louis- 
ville and its other great cities, may encourage a prac- 
tical knowledge and adaptation of forestry in the in- 
terests of both the aesthetic and material welfare of 
the common country. 
MILWAUKEE CON- The saying goes that comparisons 
VENTION OF THE odious, and yet one side or the 
cA.T. ANDO.cA.cA. ^ u • v 
other generally gains by compar- 
ison. When, however, the application is made to an 
annually recurring convention, with the result in favor 
of the latest occurrence, it at least denptes progress, 
and by inference that the work and results remove all 
odiousness from the comparison. This is undoubt- 
edly true of the recent convention of the American 
Park and Outdoor Art Association, held at IMilwau- 
kee June 26-28; for the amount of work accomplished, 
influences wielded, general results and promises for 
the future stamp this, the fifth annual gathering, by far 
the most important yet held. Two causes at least have 
influenced this — the convention city, Milwaukee, and 
the splendid activity of the Woman’s Auxiliary. Mil- 
waukee is naturally beautifully located, and offers 
opportunities for outdoor embellishment not excelled 
anywhere, and added to this an awakening desire to 
take advantage of its possibilities with progressive and 
hospitable citizens at the helm, imparted a spirit to the 
convention proceedings of more than usual force. The 
other cause, that of the aid of the Woman’s Auxiliary, 
was an important factor in the measure of success. 
Though only associated with the main association one 
year, the work it has accomplished has been remark- 
able, and this served, undoubtedly, to impress upon all 
the conviction that the progress of art out of doors 
will be greatly accelerated by the active co-operation 
of the women’s clubs in its development. An appre- 
ciation of the work done by both branches of the asso- 
ciation at its convention may be gleaned by a perusal 
of the reports of the proceedings given in this issue, 
and the instructive and practical papers read can be 
emphatically recommended for study, as they also 
appear in these columns. The citizens of Milwaukee 
are to be congratulated on the impetus the meeting 
will give to its work of city embellishment, to which 
they so generously contributed by a warm welcome 
and unbounded hospitality. 
A special word of congratulation and commendation 
IS due the Woman’s Auxiliary. It is due not alone for 
the enthusiasm, coupled with businesslike methods 
which characterized its share in the programme, but 
to the splendid papers presented by its members. The 
cause and possibilities of art out of doors are unques- 
tionably well understood by the intelligent women of 
the country, and it should receive the attention at their 
hands which it deserves, and which the Milwaukee 
convention indicates they are well disposed to bestow 
upon it. The election of officers, however, calls for a 
criticism, in that the method adopted has so often 
failed of the best results. Leading organizations of 
the learned professions generally leave the selection 
of candidates for office to their councils, subject under 
restrictions to modifications by petition of member- 
ship. In an open election, personal preferences, re- 
gardless of ability or fitness, oftentimes govern a 
nomination, which accidental conditions confirm in 
election. It looks to us that an important executive 
office in the Auxiliary was decided on these lines, and 
this criticism is suggested hy an appreciation of the 
vast importance of the work in hand, and the wide- 
spread attention it is attracting over the entire country. 
PcARKS cAND The appointment of Reuben H. 
POLITICS. W’arder, formerly a superintend- 
ent of parks, Cincinnati, O., to the- dual office of secre- 
tary and superintendent of Lincoln Park, Chicago, 
turns down a page in the history of that park which 
it is to be hoped may never be read again except 
as a lesson. It should give great satisfaction to Chi- 
cago people, for it promises a full divorce from poli- 
tics of this popular public property. Mr. Warder is 
an expert in park affairs and landscape development, 
and he terminated a seven-years connection with the 
parks of Cincinnati by reason of his determined oppo- 
sition to the interference of politics in the care of the 
parks. The great city of Chicago may well be con- 
gratulated on the acceptance of the office of commis- 
sioner by such men as Bryan Lathrop who, with hon- 
orable, independent and progressive fellow members, 
will soon be able to reinstate Lincoln Park and add 
further improvements to public recreation and comfort 
which are badly needed. The West Side Park system 
does not appear to have fared so well, for the appoint- 
ments being also in the hands of Governor Yates, he 
appears to have had a mental reservation in that case 
when he led the people to believe that he would not 
allow the politicians to injure the people in park offices. 
The new board is not credited with being any improve- 
ment over the old. 
