Omaha daily bee., 1889-06-15

great measure defeat the object. Your
city is yet In its infancy. Its situation is
such that it nnIrsh OF necessity become a cen
tral point OF distribution and supply for the
vast regons'wh0se resources of wealth are
almost beyond conception, and the develop
ment OF which Is hardly begun. In view OF
these resources, and watching rs YOU do the
steady tramnof the armies which year after
year are "a marching through your
streets to their conquest do you still lack
faith In the future of your cityi Or do
faith by your worksi You have
| seen by the data 1 have cited how other
| cities have suffered from delay Can you
| hope to escape the same penalties IL you fail
| TO take warning from their experienced
MAY be psrdoned the use OF a fable in
illustrationisf 4
In the early and legendary history of Rome
| 1t Is related that sybil appeared TO the
emperor and offered him volume OF oracles,
IN which was recorded the future wants and
| possibilities of the infant city. She de-
| manded for it II price that seemed so eX-
| orbitant that the offer was declined, and she
| disappeared. Time rolled on, and q con-
viction of the coming grandeur of the city
| was dawning upon the mind of the emperor,
! when the sybil again appeared and once
| more offered him the rejected volume.
leaf had been torn from it on every day since
| her first appearance, but she still demanded
| the same price as then. Again 1t was de-
clined, and again she silently departed. A
| third time she appeared, when the city's
| magnificence was an assured fact, and, with
| an awakened perception OF the value OF what
| was lost, the emperor purchased the mutt
| lated remnant at the original cost, and
learned from the pages that remained the
| inostmable value of what he had failed to
| secure,
The sybil is immortal. She is making to
| you to-day the same offer she made two
| thousand years ago to Rome. No flaming
| advertisements proclaim the value of her
| wares, and no seductive arguments are used
| tn iu1ucp their nurrhaen Sinntly she dis
| plays them to us, and silently she turus
| away, and it is not till she tears the leaf
| from the rejected record that we awake to
| the fact that another opportunity is forever
| lost. No city ever secured the whole volume,
but the longer the purchase is delayed the
more exorbitant is the price that must be
paid.
deem it a matter of primary importance
| to secure pleasant and easily accessible re-
| sorts for pedestrians. The wants of the very
| large class, who rarely ride except in public
| conveyances, and who can not afford the
| time, except upon an occasional holiday, to
| visit the large parks, which are necessarily
distant, have even u stronger claim to atten-
| tion than those of the wealthy.
| Two methods present themselves by which
| a change from the monotony of the streets
may be secured.
| 1. BY the appropriation at occasional inter-
| walls of one or more blocks to be reserved as
| small parks.
| E2. BY the construction of broad ornamental
| dVCuuCS, hllOWu uS DUuiGNdTuS OE
| of such width throughout their whole extent
| as to admit of broad space of ornamental
| ground in the center or at the sides.
The system of small parks is on many oc-
casions exceedingly desirable, aud L would
l not only urge the reservation and improve
| ment of such areas at such points as to be
| easily accessible to those whe most
| need them, but / would insist upon tho
similar Improvement of the little vacant
| spaces which are liable to become offensive
| as dust holes and receptacles of rubbish. l
| would follow the example of Paris, as de-
| scribed by a very charming writer, whose
words 1 am glad to quote:
"ln Paris public gardening is not confined
| to parks in one end of the town, and absent
| from the places where it is most wanted. 1t
follows the street builders with trees, it
turns little squares into gardens, unsurpassed
| for good taste and beauty. 1t drops down
| graceful fountains, here and there, and mar
| gins them with flowers; it presents to the
eye of the poorest, workman every charm of
| vegetation, and brings him pure air, and
| aims dire city aud effectively at the recrea-
tion and benefitof, the people"
But these little parks are comparatively
| local III character, and but little frequented
| except by those to whom their quiet seclusion
| is their chief attraction.
A moments reflection will show the supe-
riority of the Broad parkway, with taste
full arrangement Of trees and shrubbery at
| its sides and in the center, for the reason
| that 1T provides for the wants Of far
1
easily accessible from adjacent quarters on
| either side, for its whole length; thaJ it
necessarily becomes thoroughfare in which
| the zest of constant active life, with all its
| attractive display of dress and e1uipage is
| combined with the graceful forms and re-
| freshiug verdure Of natural beauty; that
| property on its sides speedily ac-
quires very great value. whether for resi-
or magnificent shops, while no display of
| wealth in any other form contributes equally
to impress strangers with the idea Of civic
| grandeur as such liberal provision for the
| health, comfort and qualification of resi-
| dents and visitors alike 1t is, of course i'm
| possible to secure such avenues as 1 have
| suggested (Which ought not to be less than
two hundred feet in width in the already
| thickly peopled portion OF the city. 1t is for
| you to determine whether it can be done in
! any portion of the present outskirts, which in
| few years will became crystalized beyond
| redemption in the forms now given to them.
If such opportunity can be secured, would
urge its adoption for the reasons have given.
If not it is surely of vital importance to secure
| while you may, such vacant areas in different
| localities as are available for small parks
| and, in this connection, allow me to correct a
| prevailing impression in regard to park sites,
| which is that they must be intrinsically at
| tractive. and picturesque or beautiful in
| their natural character. However desirable
such features may be, there are other in-
| portant considerations which few people
think Of The same features which com
| mend them for parks make them desirable
for residences, and they can rarely be had
except at very great cost On the other
| hand, there are almost always areas
which, from some natural cause, are
Objectionable as being low and swampy, or
beset with outcropping lodges which render
them undesirable residence quarters for
want of drainage or grading, the cost Of
which cannot be incurred by individuals
Such sections are liable to become offensive
and unhealthy quarters, but for the very rea-
| son that they are undesirable, they may
often be secured at low rate, and then by
tasteful improvement as parks the whole ad-
jacent territory is rendered attractive and
property acquires such increased taxable
| value that the Investment proves far more
lucrative one for the city than the purchase
of more desirable and therefore more costly
| areas.
/ come finally to the question of large
parks, which, for obvious reasons, must be
at considerable distance from the central,
business districts of the city. The need of
such parks whenever the city attans such
proportions as in your case may be reason.
ably expected. has Deen so often proved and
so ably set forth in voluminous literature
that it is needless for me to enlarge upon it.,
1t would seem from the Geographical
character of your situation that the most
| cnnuanient nd sVstpm that la