The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-08-29
Twelfth Street Park.

Mr.. EDlToR-The statement made by
! the Evening journal on the removal of
| the beLches of Twelfth street park is true
In every particular The statement made
by the Sunday Star Is false in evory par
| ticular, and Is misleading to Its readers,
The Star says it would take policeman
| there every hour in the day to keep order.
| That Is not true, for l have walked
| through it since the benches were put in it
and never saw any disorder but by u
drunken colored woman lying on one Of
the benches, and 1t was the duty of the
police to remove her as that is what they
are paid for, and they have no excuse as
they have patrol wagon, with four horses
Kept up for that purpOse-two for day and
two for night-with two officers sitting
behind and driver before, which are suf
flCient to keep this Twelfth street park
free Of worthless vagrants.
The police can't plead it is too far away
rs 1t Is only six squares from the police
station, on the most public streets in our
city-Market and King The Star denies
that the removal of the seats has deprived
This Is not true. By taking the seats
away 1t has deprived many aged men from
resting under the shade of the trees in hot
weather, but the Star says you can borrow
chairs from these sensitive people living
opposite the park The proposition is
ridiculous and not worth comment One
would think the best way to do with these
aged men who are nearing life's journey is
to adopt General Weylers- plan in Cuba
take them behind wall and shoot them,
and end all their sorrows here below. The
Star Is ono of jobs comforters.
Now, Mr.. Editor, Sergeant Massey lives
in the middle Of the block of houses in
question, and 1t was his duty as paid
officer of the taxpayers Of the city to re-
port the many disorders complained Of to
Chief Dolan, and let him in turn order tho
day or night patrol out to the scene and
arrest all disordcrly persons and send
them over to the stone pile for thirty days
and that would have broken 1t up in q
short time No persons ought to be al
lowed in any of the parks longer than ten
o'clock at night, which is long enough for
any respectable person to be out of their
own home. The city council ought to
pass a law to that offect-but instead they
have put an electric light in Twelfth
street park to do nobody any good only
the electric company.
1t is like locking the stable after the
horse Is stolen. am told that Sergeant
Massey took seats out of tho park and
used them on his own porch when he had
company. If he did, it was breach OF
trust. Our learned city council has re.
Gently appropriated SSOG to build Il dancing
pavilion ut kirkwood park. They must
think our people need mirth, as their
stomachs are empty. These prosperous
times they can drive dull care away by II
jig or waltz $500 worth Of potatoes dis
tributcd amongst the poor the coming
winter would have reflected better on the
city council. Stop this prodigality in
wasting the peoples taxes and not educate
the rising generation to disreg ard common
deconcy. Our worthy park president has
taken Il iunketing tour to London to see
the many parks of that great metropolis.
He will call on our ambassador Z. F.
Bayard and he will come homo elaed over
what he saw in the big city, with his head
sweled with ideas and have no doubt he
will feel disgusted at himself, when he
thinks of the miserable failure he has
made in squandring the tax payers money.
in digging up the Braaaywno and telling
the people he was trying to make a park,
but was deceived by Boston civil cn-
gineer who knew more about the quality
OF dish of Boston baked beans than lay
ing out u park. But he will fix that up
with our clever councilmen rs he did with
them on the occasion of tho kirkwood
park shortage.
The committee appointed to examine
into that reported that they could not see
anything wrong These college bred ac-
CountantS who got their education be-
tween the shafts of barrow, can calcu-
late to the one-thousandth part of n frac-
ton, and of course could not make mis-
take, Quit buying park land; the trolley
system takes the people out to these parks
and lets them look mt their mcnageries of
monkeys, pet rabbits and South American
nOn'talkative parrots, imported by the
Dover beauty, Willard Salisbury the sec
ond, Let us have peace, stop building
parks, robblng the people, and put bnck
those benches, and let the police keep law
and order in Twelfth street park, which
they are paid for, or resign.
D. LEMON.