The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-08
PARK COMMISSIONS PLANS.
SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS CON-
TEMPLATED FOR NEXT YEAR.

The Amount Asked For by the Com
mission Needed to Properly Carry
on Its WOrl-The Need For a Prop
er Care of the Parks and Squares
Apparent-The Care of the Trees
an Important Matter to the City.
The parks and squares are showing the
lack Of the careful attention formerly
given them by the park and tree commits
sion
The great improvement in the appear
ance Of Forsyth park as the result Of the
work done there under the direction of
the commission has been generally com
mented upon. At present, however, the
park is showing the lack of attention. The
shrubbery needs pruning and the flowers
are dying out.
With the change of season under the
plan inaugurated by the commission
should come change in the character of
plants, varieties suitable to the season be-
ing sown or planted as the occasion re-
Quires. 1t is evident that whether or
not the park and tree commission
is continued, the council should make an
appropriation for the continuance of this
work and place its expenditure in expert
enced hands
DR.. George H. Stone, chairman of the
park and tree commission, was seen yes
terday by a Morning News reporter in
reference TO the condition of the work and
plans for next year. There has been some
criticism of the park and tree commits
"a fo
figures, SIS. 80, appear large but a little
explanation by DR.. Stone shows that me
commission has made no extraordinary
demands. For instance, $3.50 is asked for
keeping up Laurel Grove cemetery and
$500 for Improvements there. This
has always been separate item
from the park and tree work and should
not be charged against that department
because the cemetery happens TO have
been placed under the commission. Deduct
ing these figures from the total estimate,
the amount requested for park and tree
work proper, is $4,000.
OF this amount s. 900 is asked for the i'm
provement of the Bay street green or the
Strand. This is an appropriation which
council can make or not as 1t sees fit ac-
cording to the value 1t places upon the
proposed improvement
For the usual and necessary care of the
trees, parks, squares and grass plats of
the city, the commission only asks for
$1,000. This is a very moderate request
when the amount of work to be done is
considered. The council in years previous
to the appointment of the commission, ap-
propriated as high as $4,000 per annum for
the care of parks, trees, squares and grass
plats, and yet these matters did
not begin to receive the care
wi NC OF trixra h.K
commission.
For the important work or repairing the
damage done by the storms of recent
years and replacing the trees which have
already been destroyed or are dying out
the commission asAs s., 500. That this work
is very necessary is evident to any one
who will give a second glance at the
trees The storms of 1898 and 1896 costs
the city thousands of trees, only few of
which have been replaced, and many of
those still existing are so torn and ragged
that they should be replaced with others.
The council is required to appropriate
$500 annually to Estill park. The COM
mission also asks for $500 for a waiting
room for the colored people at Laurel
Grove cemetery. The only other item is
$500 for clerk hire and stationery.
Unless the council can appropriate the
amount asked for each separate item"
said DIR. Stone, 81 hope that 1t will make
no appropriation at all for that item. We
would prefer not to attempt a thing with
| out the means to do it properly. Next to
the appropriation for the regular care of
! the parks, trees and squares that asked
! for the improvement and special care of
| trees and providing new trees is most i'm
| portant. The condition of our trees is on
| the retrograde and unless special care is
| taken to bring them up to their former
| standard our city will soon lose the right
| to be called the Forest City.
| Not only have the damages caused by
| the storm not been repaired but age and
! decay and the natural enemies of the trees
are doing their work Many of the trees
! are badly affected with the scale
and steps should be taken to check the
ravages of this pest Had the commission
! been left In charge of the work and suffl-
Client means placed at our disposal it was
our intention to devote our attention prn-
cipally to this work this fall This is the
| proper season of the year for planting new
| trees, and there is an immense amount
of work that should be done on this line.
ANY one who will notice the trees can
easily see that many of them are worth
less and should be replaced and that
! there are many vacant places that require
| filling in Should the bill creating the
park and tree commission be repealed l
| trust that council will deem this work of
sufhcient Importance to make a special
| appropriation for it and place the expen-
diture of the fund in skillful hands"
The appropriation for the improvement
| of Laurel Grove cemetery is really a ne
! cessity, DIR. Stone stated. There is
great deal of work that should be done,
| in the cemetery, but the most important
| is drainage. This is necessary in order
to make a large amount of space avail
able for burial purposes, as well as to
maintain in decent condition the lots now
being used in the lower portion of the
cemetery. The fencing also needs atten-
| ton.
DIR. Stone said that the commission will
| probably not wait until next year to begin
this work, but viii endeavor to make some
| Improvement in the condition of Laurel
| Grove at an early date.