The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-27
To HAVE NO BUDGET.
CHAIRMAN of PARK AND TREE
COMMISSION NETTLED.
SAYS COUNCIL is JEALOUS.
WILL LET THE ALDERMEN Fla
APPROPRIATION AS THEY CHOOSE.

nue. of Oaks on Bay Street Has
Been Ruined by City Putting
Down Curbing in Center of Walk.
What the Commission Is Doing
Now-Mr. Dafin Says Municipality
Don't Like the Commission.
Chairman P. D. Daffin of the Park
and Tree Commission is not preparing
budget for 1902, and will not ask
the city for any stated amount for the
coming year. Mr.. Daffin says that
| from the way his budgets have been
treated the last five years, he has
come to the conclusion that it would
be folly to prepare a budget.
The chairman of the Park and Tree
| Commission did not mince his words
in referring to the City Council. Not
enough attention is paid by Council to
one of the most important branches of
the city government, he said. He vol
unteered the opinion that the alder
men are jealous of his patronage, and
have been disposed to let the city's
beauty suffer rather than make an ap-
| preparation of sufficient size to prop
| erly care for the parks and squares.
Chairman Daffin says he knows just
| how the municipality feels, and that
he does not think that he will ask for
a stated sum, for the reason that lie
would not recognize the figures when
| Council had finished with them. He
realizes that Council would like to get
rid of the Park and Tree Commission,
but those who are opposed to the COM
mission dare not act, he says. They
! realize that it would be political sui
eide, and that howl would go up from
the citizens. Council does not give
money to the Park and Tree Commits
sion, he says, because it wants to, but
rather because it is afraid of the peo-
| pie who have the best interests of the
| city at heart and who take a. real
pride in the beauty in Savannah.
Chairman Daffin's chief kick is on
the placing of a curbing in the center
of the walk on the north side of Bay
street, extending by the side of EN-
NETT Park. The curbing allows for a
15-foot sidewalk. Mr.. Daffin says that
the curb destroys the vista of beauti-
full avenue of live oaks that have
been greatly admired by visitors.
Council appropriated $3.50 for the i'm
proving of Emmett Park. and the only
thing it has done with the money, he
| says, has been to mar the beauty of
the avenue by putting down some old
curbing taken off Bull street.
Mr.. Daftin says the space left for a
grass pot will really disfgure the ave-
nue., and the Commission will not be
able to do more than plant grass in
the space between the park proper, and
the curbing. Members of the Council,
| however, appear. to have a different
| nta a nd q will
ably be set aside to be used by the
Commission for beautifying the plot. 1t
is proposed to take something from
the sum to be allowed the Commission
and direct that it be used exclusively
for Emmett Park.
Under the circumstances I can't say
just what we will be able to do next
year" said Mr.. Daffin in discussing the
work of the Commission. Il have al
ways urged, and asked for more money
to push the work of improvement
throughout the city, but Council has
been misery with a persistence that
has been painful If the municipality
had done the right thing five years ago,
when / was first made chairman, the
growth of the trees at this time would
be surprising. Savannah is known as
the Forest City and We should live up
to our name by planting trees. The ap-
preparation by Council for the present
year was for $14,500 but only $500 of
that amount could be used for the
parks and squares. The other was for
Laurel Grove Cemetery, and tree plant
ing on Thirty street, and in
Thomas Place. We have made some inn
provements with this money, but the
amount should have been much larger.
The strand on the east side of the City
Exchange has added greatly to the
appearance of Savannah's Wall street.
L
have visited the Cotton Exchange and
the water front.
THE amount placed at the disposal
of the commission was SMALL" said
Mr.. Daffin, land has been used in
making improvements and caring for
the trees that we now have. We are
at this time engaged in planting hard
wood trees The larger number of
them are live oaks, with scattering
of magnolia, dogwood and sugar berry.
! The money has been expended judi
ciously and the commission is holding
it's own despite the action of the Coun
ell. We are also replacing at this time
trees that were planted by us for citi-
zens. but which died. When we plant
these trees we have to agree to "a
place them if they fail to take root,
and we are doing some of this work
now. We are also cutting down the
last of the forest of stately pines that
made Forsyth Park famous. One by
one these old trees have died. and the
remaining six or seven are being cut
down now. With the pines a thing of
the past. we are making the park
beautiful in another way, and besides
the flowers and shrubbery. we have
planted a large number of live oak
and other trees. My observation has
been that the pines live only by them
selves and are destroyed when hard
wood trees are planted in the same
soil. The constant raking away of the
straw from the roots probably had
something TO do with the death of the
trees also. ! have taken a pride in
the work of the Park and Tree Com
mission since / was made its chair
man and the work will be continued as
in the past"
Chairman Daffin has a live oak tree
just east OF the Cotton Exchange which
he says Is the largest OF its kind he has
every seen. The tree is only eighteen
months old and is very much larger
than a tree Of the same variety plant
ed near the city Exchange about Is
years ago.
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