The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-04
PARK AND TREE MEN LAID OFF.
THE COMMISSION WITHOUT FUNDS
TO CARRY ON ITS WORK.

ats Appropriation Exhausted and the
Force Suspended-The Commission
Undertook More Work Than II
Could Pay FOr-The Councils Re-
fusaI to Make Further ApprOpri-
alton Put a Stop to improvements
No Provision For the Care of the
Parks and Squares the Remainder
Of the Year.
The entire force of the park and tree
commission will be suspended at o'clock
this afternoon. The suspension is inde1-
mite. The order for the suspension was
prepared last night by Chairman Stone,
and will be handed to Supt. Screven this
morning. 1t reads as follows:
City of Savannah, Office Park and Tree
Commission, June 8, 1S97.-George Screw
en-, Superintendent Park and Tree Com
mission: Sir-At 6 p. m, this date, you
viii suspend the entire force of this com
mission until further notice. The budget
having been exhausted requires this nc
ton. The property of the commission
will be secured and cared for by you until
further orders. Very respectfully,
George II. Stone, Chairman.
This order was made necessary by the
action OF the city council Wednesday in
declining to grant the commission an in
crease in its budget appropriation, the en-
tire appropriation of the commission hav-
ing been expended. The work of the COM
mission during the remaining six months
of the year will have to so undone unless
some other arrangement is made. The
probability is that the care Of the parks
and squares will fall upon the street and
lane department. 1t is hardly likely that
the city will allow them to be neglected
and to grow up in grass and weeds simply
because the commission, in whose care
they were placed, has no funds with which
to care for them.
The announcement that the commission
had expended its entire budget in half the
year was a matter of surprise to council
1t was also a surprise to the commission
ers. While some of their expenditures had
grown beyond the original estimates they
had expected, by close economy, to be able
to get through the year. 1t was part of
their plans to make their principal i'm
provements during the early part of the
year, and this much has been accomplish
ed. Forsyth park and Oglethorpe avenue
have been improved and additional i'm
provements made in Colonial park For
the balance of the year they had only in
tended to take care of the grass, trees and
flowers in the parks and squares, await
ing another appropriation before under
taking new work.
DIR. George H. Stone, chairman of the |
commission, when seen yesterday ex- |
planned that the expenditures for improv-
ing Forsyth park, including the new |
walks In and around the park, a large |
amount of filling in and other improve |
ments, had cost a great deal more than |
the commissioners had any idea of when |
the work was begun. Improvements to |
the grass plats on Oglethorpe avenue cost |
$1,000, an expenditure which was not cal |
culated upon at the beginning of the year. |
The clearing up of the old pound lot and |
extending the plan of Colonial park. in
Guiding the cement walks over the lot was |
another unexpected expenditure. Every |
improvement made seemed to necessitate |
some additional improvement and in this |
way expenditures crept upon them una |
wares, The commissioners knew that they |
were running ahead, but they did not |
know, until review of their finances were |
made the early part of last month, that |
they had about expended their budget, and |
had just about enough left to their credit |
to run them to June !. Under the circum- |
stances there was nothing left for them |
to do but to appeal to council for an ad- |
ditional appropriation, which was done, |
with the result already announced.
mo one can regret more than myself" |
said DR.. stone, the unpleasant condition |
in which we are placed. 1t is not only I'M |
pleasant for US, but Il is unfortunate for |
the city. Unless the trees, grass and flow
ers, which we have planted are cared for |
they will die, and e great deal of the work |
which has been done win be lost and our |
work generally will retrograde. l have |
suspended not discharged the force. We /
have a splendid force, and 1t has done /
splendid work. The men had begun to
learn their work and took a pride in it, It /
looks strange, acknowledge, that a lot |
OF business men should have been so bad |
~ fooled in financial matter. but that is
Just what happened and we are all ready /
TO shoulder the blame"
The park and tree commission will not |
suspend its functions because OF the lack |
of funds. Laurel Grove cemetery Is I'M |
der its care and the finances Of the GENE |
terry are in good shape. A portion of the |
Esfin park appropriation is still unex- |
pended and work will be continued there |
while the appropriation lasts.
Whether the refusal of council to give |
the park and tree commission any more |
money with which 20 carry on its work |
during the remainder OF the year was due |
10 the fact that the city is short OF funds |
or whether some of the members wished |
70 express their disapproval of the hasty |
manner in which the commission had gone |
through its budget is uncertain. Com |
generally, are not regarded with |
too much favor by the present board. and |
this may have had something TO do with |
the manner In which the request of the |
park and tree commission was turned |
down. The appropriation to the park and |
tree commission was only N2.SO for the |
year. and In view of the amount OF work |
that has been done, the city can hardly |
be said to have lost anything by the ex- |
penditure.