New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-03-27
THE GREAT PARK AGAIN.


growing City WAS to have now, aud for all tune
to come, Park commensurate with its sze, aud
warranted equally By the exsensiss of health,
morals and taste. Indeed, the show Of argu-
ment by the opponents of the measure was so
feeble in the public discussion thereon, especially
year SINCE that it 10 marvellous any man can DO
found TO rank himself in such an unintellectual
body. To the reformer-to the man pleased
with the vision that right is not wrong; evil,
good; and the abDegasion of the laws Of God and
Nature not the code for immediate and future hu-
maDity-to him who observes the great heart of
q democratic people, and feels its throbs for pro-
ere.s-to such o man, arguments in favor of
great Park in New. York City are like arguments
TO prove mathematics unerring.
We have here an island capable of holding, and
destined In few yesrs-literally few years
to hold three millions of human beings, gathered
from the uttermost ends of the slObe-with many
sided and colored fashions, customs, aud necessi
ties, but all here under an organic political sys-
tenn, which places honor, trust and power In the
hands of the entire people, claiming to be lowered
by their Creator with the genius for selfgovern-
ment. Such an impending sgglomeration Of
blended and yet Earring myriads, drawn
hither by the haste of commercial gain, or the
thrust of incisive poverty, will, and in
large degree already does, present social
phenomenon with few If any parallels.
The more We consider the componenss Of
New.York society, the more we feel the necessity
for larger humanitarian formulas than Change or
Tsmmany Hall can supply. The City, by common
copsept the receptacle of the worlds exodus, has
wants which are beg ond the calculation Of the rule
which makes the chief end of Man to consist In
controlling the largest possible quantity of the
earth's superfce, not calculating or caring how
such process defrsuds and degrades the mass
who are not born money -getssrs. That all the
CRIME, sweat and feculence of this City are to
have no baptism in the ether Of nature, but that
she must be treated as trull kicked out Of doors,
and gods of brick and stone set up for worship,
il now affirmed authoritatively. How, In the low
imsgitipg Of men who are hot for cutting down
the Participating fret this corner, and then that,
until not enough would be left for q cats play
grcund-do we find reproduction of the old
idolatries of material things. The creed Is bu.
changed In name; DAgon has his worshipers
thick ss in early days.
But Dsgon, too, had bis fall, and It looks %
if the Dagon of Eew-York had caught something
very like fatal fall. Such, at least, seems to be
the meaning of the veto which Mayor Wood the
other evening sent to the Common Council against
reducing the area Of the new Park. In word,
the Mayor has decided that nature cannot be dis.
pensed with; that per cents. are good things,
but that the human economy and the crowd Of
city like New-York, demand big breathing.
place at Its center. In common with our fellow
citizens, we have had occasion to speak we'll of
the acts Of Mr. Wood since he came to the office
Of Mayor, but In no act has he shown the same
breadth of perception a. In this which has vetoed
the isnoble and insane project of setting the ex-
perience Of European capitals in particular, and
Of human nature In general, at defsnce-afirm.
ing that city should be wilderness of houses,
without the religion Of green trees and verdure
for health and morale We do not deal gngerly
with these vetoed gentlemen. Their project to
Diminish the Park Is simply to destroy it.
They seem not to have the heads or
the hearts to understand what great
city requires for the common decencies and
certaintles of life, yet they make themselves
judges Of its destinies. But we have had such
before, among a.. They are not without prsce-
dents Governor Morns-an historical name
laid out on the map Of the City, noble Parade
between Twenty third and Thirty -fonrth. sts, and
the Third and Sevebth-sys., containing 300 acres
which was afterwsrd cut down to the present
Madison square of six acres In this, read the
history Of the new Park, II small men are to over
rule great projectors. The question now is: Mr..
Wood-the best Mayor whom the presen: gener-
alton can remember-is of one mind he believes
that we need Park, and knows that pairing it
down is preliminary to its extinction Bat he Is
oppoaed, o. we have stated. 1t 10 now for the
citizens of New. York to decide whether they will
sacrifice this great public necessity-whether they
will side with Mayor Wood, or with the vetoed
party.
The argument ssainst the Park as not being
central, il fsIlacious It 10 precisely central for
such Park. Parks must be laid out beforehand;
and the particular year or month when thsy are
chartered, may not find the population clustering
in the exact hairs breadth proportion around
them which pettifoggers may require. But
what Distinguishes ststesmanship from chicanery
il cognizant view Of what isto como hssssfter,
swell - Of what actually 10. II 10 enough that