The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-09-02
Easiera Promenade.
n M n H"stoTH HrOhHtHuucs
To the Editor of the Press.

| To the Editor Of the Press: t,..4
The writer who signs "Query" in Fridays
Press says "If the Promenade is worth having
it is worth preserving" Agreed We have
had it for more than thirty years, and nobody
ever supposed that special pains were needed
to preserve" it, until the present year, when
private interests sought to ''destroy" it, Tie
editorial paragraph in the same paper, refers
also to the danger of the destruction CT the
Promenade "by the hasty aud irrcparable &C
ton of interested parties ''t'l9'
submit, as before, that the first step to be
taken for the preservation of our public
| grounds is to protect them by laao from being
interfered with in any destructive way, by the
hasty faction" of any body-whether it be pri-
vate parties, or committees, or engineers, or
even by the City Council itself 1t was partly
by force of a sensible and wholesome ordi-
nance-that is, permanent city la,o-that the
recent destructive work was arrested AS mat
tiers now stand, there is nothing to prevent
rash and hasty interferences with any of our
public property. A bare majority OF bare
quorum of each branch of the City Council
might now vote to sell or give away the new
Park, or the market site, or to run streets
through either Of them, or to sell and cut up
the whole of both promenades, except the
mere carriage ways. A mayors veto might be
interposed, but lately, the mayors efforts were
not much needed until they were backed up
by decree of the Supreme Court. We saw,
also, that where both branches had voted
against the destruction of the Eastern Prom
enade it was insisted that motion to recon-
slider, carried in one branch, by one vote, was
enough TO rescind the whole action of the
whole Council, and the work was pushed OH,
until the court stopped it. 4lo .rf7-. 'ti
Public opinion is good protection where it
has fair chance to show itself. But the pub
lie krows very little of what is going on in the
City Council, till after it is over Private opin-
ion is manufactured by private interests, aud
is made to operate, while the public are off
their guard. ,- ,5s .rs1.sivl. s.zr..
1t is for such reason, that valuable public
interests require the protection of permanent
lao -5 5A' % 'a- ''al7'H 'zs.-'
1t does not follow that because useful BUSH
ness establishments might be created, and tax
able property increased, therefore our public
grounds should be at the mercy of Spectators
or committees. We could sell all cur public
grounds for good deal of money. Boston
Common would bring millions of dollars if
cut up into house-lots The New York Bat
terry would make the most splendid S hip-yard
in America. No doubt the city OF New York
could realize very great sum of money by
selling the Battery for that very purpose. In
stead of that, they are spending hundreds of
thousands to enlarge it, and keep it as it is, an
open public ground, by the waters side, for
health, for recreation, for parade and for the
beau ty of the city. n It'd III -srs...l.
But it does not need great deal of Science"
to point out ways by which every foot of the
shore around Munjoy Hill can he brought in
70 convenient use, for manufacturing and COM
e en- at all, and at far less expense than by
the schemes lately arrested. I'D 1T =
put nrSs OF all, let the Promenade be protect
Gu NY Id" $50 q JgrIefmH. fedf F-e u