The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1883-04-20

no earthly purpose but to occupy space. or
perhaps. to kindly furnish the surrounding /
neighborhoOd, each succeeding spring and fall, |
an open campus In which TO publicly dog all the |
old and decreplt carpets which Trustworthy |
economy has its periodical faculty Of resurrect-
great national holiday, these occasions furnish |
the only attractions of the season that can sue
cessfully draw an admiring crowd and hold
them spell bound. At other times, In the bright
sunny days Of summer--0n its Sabbath days
eSpecially-the moving throngs Of old and
young, the grave and the gay, go trooping by IN
needless groups, either wholly ignoring its
ing for the days recreation the fnconvenient and
lugruDrlOus shades OF the far-0h city burial
ground with all the uncongenial associations
engendefed within its dismal precincts"
:. What aattering Commentary
And TO what can this state OF things be at
tributed 2"
. Well, the shrilling. grasshopper that has
green 0siers and the municipal bull-frogs.
cr0aking hoarsely among Its 0oZy flags and the
n0atlng pads OF cOnfervB that choke the waters
OF its miniature lake, have long been conceding
this answer, to wit passive Yet inflexiDle, an
agonism-manifested by an almost st0lid in
difference toward everything intended to pro-
mote asoeial good. n-disass0c iated from the I'M.
gain. This is the trammel that has long set the
limit to your upward and onward strides"
:. tell you, in the direction OF public-splrited
enterprise. and progress. las q community OF
good and future excellence Of the common
Weal,- people united at all by sympathy OF
situation and interests In common name and
fame the me- majority OF you are dead@absolutely
you are unburied alone furnishing tangible
evidence to the contrary"
"Your city is one Of great beauty charming
in the happy combination Of its rural loneliness
my and high life. Your homes, even In their
humber simplicity, tell Of comfort and plenty
how many OF them, indeed, of elegance and
luxury Entirely surrounded or fronting on
broad, delightful ground of green lawn and
luxuriant shade, or partially hidden among
flowers and whispering foliage there is, to that
remarkable and rare degree an air of refine
unaccOuntable how community so generally
cultured in its tastes, so refined In its domestic
surroundings, so aspiring ia its private am
billions, so able in its abundance, can endure,
year after year, with such platonic tolerance,
so much that is unsightly, diScreditable, re-
proachfnl that ludicr0uS aim at which de-
luded strangers, not alone, level their righteous
| iests"
with homage and an undying allegiance. should
never be called upon to lift another finger in its
behalf. Allowing me to be judge, jury and de-
cree Of justice, It Is but imperfect praise 70 say
| have done it heroically! All that has ever
| been accomplished towards its improvement,
| all that has saved 1t from a greater disgrace,
| has been through their direct efforts. / can
not here recount. from its earliest history to the
present time, the zeal, the energy, the patience
with which from time to time, they have strug-
gled the headaches. the backaches. the
cause 1.-The drudgery, the slavery OF plcnlcs
| and festivals and entertainments and appeals
through stomashs and heels to mems pocket
| the dlScOuragementS. 1t Is as Impossible to en-
brace within these limits personal and honor
able mention OF all that have kindly and llDer-
ally encouraged. with material aid. or helping
hand in past years, these lndefatigable women
OF both, we can, at this time, but simply and
reverently say. TO each saint his candlel"
NOW the beauty OF your public grounds
occurred to you,Mthough readily, in what man
ner, you may not be able to explain, more than
it was one of your eccentric notions, OF, q
belief-that the scheme for improving these
grounds, which was finally adopted, while Il
possesses many attractive features in its far-of
Iideallty, possesses none In ITS near contrariety
ScrupulouSly and IN grand proportions, upon .
commensurate surface with harmonious sur
Iroundings, we might hope TO produce an almos
fairy land-SO picturesque Its beauty, so attrac
wash the golden sands of its reckoning shores
but, when these conceptions are reduced t6
the shriyelled dimensions necessary for hud-
ding them upon the few acres OF city square
the most cOnSummate skill cannot diveSt them
of that incOngru0uS artificial show which a.
once and forever pronouaces them as puerilt
and grOteSque."
can things considered, it would seem that 8
purely natural style of treatment would best
and quickest subServe the public interest anG
the crying need. To this end, think, with the
exception Of few modern adjuncts, 1t is hardly
desirable to make any marked innovation up
on the conventional idea OF a pretty. village
green with its clean-cut lines, its everywhere
tidy, swept appearance; the deep, rich emerald
foliage; its broad, encircling promenade undel
archlng avenues of trees the graceful, airy
pavilion, for Orat0ry or music, on an elevated
situation. its bright cOl0rS tinging. with holi.
day gladness, the SkylineS OF reStful perSpec'
tive /; the copious fountain, playing gayly In the
open foreground, each jet gushing and dripping
with the delicious freshness that falls into it:
broad stone basin below, making the very ali
vital with its association and suggestions O.
GOODNESS Its vantage grounds, with their rus
/, tic seats MarShaled for invasion: its more re-
meath the Yaulted vendure Of patriarchal oaks
its partially concealed SetteeS among the
clustered shrubbery. in its effective groupings
sequestered for the tender condolences of glow
ing youth; and lastly. at proper intervals, it,
broad, rectilineGl walks. traversing its length
and breadth, at such angles as best accommo
date the convenience OF the public, for purpose:
of pedeStrial transit"
This is all. 1t is simple, natural treatment
The constructive cost would be moderate, com
i paratively: maintenance trlfing enjoyment
how lasting For,-nothing of an eXtrinsi(
or foreign nature being introduced, those Strug.
gle after picturesque evidences which by theil
exaggerated made-to- order creations, positive
ly mar so much are wholly avoided and the
sympathies, in absence of all attempt, not being
continually appealed to for charity toward
hideOuS distortions, are prepared at once to en-
ter into harmony with the surroundings and to
enjoy, in its fullest extent, the peaceful repose
and quiet beauty OF the scene."
"But in some way-some how,-these grounds
should at once be rescued from their abandon
ment. The savage rOamed them for countless
ages, and after ALL left it for boosted civliza
ton to first lay on them the mutilating hand,
which, within the space of one short life, sue
cessfully inaugurateS the work, and then hope
lesSly abandOnS them to slow destruction"
"These public grounds should not be the
generous hand they should be fostered from
the civic purse AS your accepted ward-your
child by ad0pti0n-they are as entitled to due
and equitable consideration as any of your
many other charges, and their claims to proper
maintenance Is just as vital. They hold that
dignity and relation of your position presump-
lively warrant. If we judge the parent by the
child, what benign being must it be whom
such looking children as these address In that
endearing title?"
40, take them in out of the cold criticism of
the world, by making them decent and pre-
sentable before the half century shall have
rolled around in its completed fullness."
| His hand was already upon the door.
"I may be alone In these opinions !" he said,
with q serious thoughtfulnesS, as he quietly put
himself on the outside and closed 1t with an en-
" y0u," as he all along has so uncomfortably
persisted in addressing us, to reflection just as
IL we dear reader, did you ever think of it, were
individually ever, in any way. responsible in