The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-07-25
NEEDS A PUBLIC PARK
Cars Would Be Run if the City
Owned the Gardens.
THE ONLY SUITABLE SPOT
Gardens Under Private Man
asement Became h Resort of the
Disreputable Glass Wires
Have Been Taken Down.

The special Columbia Garden com
mittee of the city council VIII meet at
the city hall this evening to see II II
can arrange with Manager wharton
of the street railroad TO run
cars out to the old resort. MI. Whar-
on has been invited to be present with
.he committee and will be there. Mr..
Wharton has begun t~eariny up the
tracks to the Columbia gardens and The
poles and trolley wires have been taken
down.
There is one proposition or which
we may come to an agreement said
Mr.. Wharton yesterday. Thai lie IL the
city will purchase the gardens and turn
them into q public park. IL tnIt Is
lone I will run the cars to the gardens
In a minute and will run al many ears
and run them as often as de3ircd. But
so long as the Columbia gardens are
under private management we will not
run cars out there. We can only do so
at a loss.
Butte certainly ought to have a pub
lie park. and the gardens are the only
suitable spot nearer to the city than
Lynndale. For years the endeavor has
been made to run the gardens success
fully. but each year things have b-en
getting worse. il has becop.e an I'M
plo1t " bGtIA'
to go. A a can't well take his fam
lily to a place where they viii surely
meet the same class of people that fire.
ouent the r~oadhouses and places of i'll
repute. The management has found II
to It's interest to cater TO the wprse elA-
ment. for they will spend the money
while a workingman and his family
might not spend % cents in the whole
day and yet would litter up the ground
with scraps and papers from their
lunch baskets. So IL has happened that
working people have ~frequentsd the
gardens less and less, and women Of
immoral character have thronged II.
So long as the general public Go not
~patronize the gardens, the stcect car
line mo pay.
"Of course the people who lease the
gardens var to make money. and so
long as the gardens are run 70 make
money they will be freuuented mostly
by the sporting class. But IL the city
Will buy the gardens and turn them
into a public park. stop the sale Of ir-
toNicating liquors on the grounds. and
have policemen there to see that Moth
ing happens of a disorderly or immor-
al character, they will be a gr Aat boon
TO the general public of Butte and the
street car line to the gardens can be
operated successfully.
1T is too late to run out there this
year anyway, but things can % got in
shape this fall so that the park can be-
opened in the spring. IL the city will
buy the gardens now, they can be fx d
up so that Butte win have q splendid
retreat for the people and a fine play
ground and m%enagerie, perhaps. for lie
children. | do not know of any public
park in any city where intoxicating
liquors are sold. and II the sporting
class is to be kept away and the park
reserved for the general public thee
must be no sale OF liquors on the
grounds"
Mr.. Wharton will meet with .he
committee this evening. when the mat
ter will be thoroughly discussed. Ac-
cording to the ruling of City Attorney
DeWolfe. the city cannot legally pur-
chase property. II IL is decided 10 turr
the gardens into a public park IL will
be necessary to institute condemnation
proceedings, which will cause much de-
lay. The gardens are owned by II L.
Frank and by Will Lewis as admins
traitor of the Paul Davis estate.