Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1903-10-30
CHARTER NOT TALlD


ordinary township this is to be alb
solutely owned, controlled and i'm
proved for the exclusive use of the
stockholders taxation Is limited TO
valuation put upon unseated wild
lands of the state, a valuation
equalling probably one or two dol
lars per acre. Certainly the resi-
dents and taxpayers of Pike county
we're interested in the subject of the
bill But the title does not intimate
in what county of the sixty -four
counties the Park is located it may
be in Philadelphia county or any 9TH
er. If the title had read Blooming
dale Park Association in Pike county
this might have attracted the atten-
tion of those interested in the sub
ject Of the bill
But not only does the uame fail to
call attention to the location but we
think It misleading. The subject as
seen from the body of the act, to
our mind, not only does not indicate
a park in the ordinary common ac-
ceptation of that term but it plainly
points out something entirely diff
ferent. 1t may be conceded, that
the word ''park" has been used in
other ages and in other countries,
occasionally to mean a tract of land
enclosed and stocked with beasts of
chase, such as that described by
Xenophon as belonging to Cyrus,
King of Persia, filed with the wild
BEASTS which he hunted on horse
back but we doubt whether the
ordinary citizen of Pike county got
his notion of a park from Xenophon.
Nor is it probable the members of
the General Assembly had his
Anabasis before them when they
passed the bill, at least not in the
original Greek letter which the
leanned counsel for the appellee
have so aptly quoted and printed in
their paper book. Nor do we think
they got their meaning of the word
from Abbot's Law Dictionary. "a
portion of ones ground which he
has by lawful right enclosed and
stocked with beasts of chase. There
are other somewhat exceptional
definitions which would perhaps fit
certain parts of the subject described
in the act, but the American mean
ing of "park, " is that given in the
Century Dictionary No 3, "a piece
of ground set apart and maintained
for public use and laid out in such
way as to afford pleasure to the
eye as we'll as opportunity for open
air recreation. This definition
gives the common understanding of
the term. 1t fits Fairmount Park,
Philadelphia Central Park, New
York; Highland Park, Pittsburg,
and probably every. public park in
the country. 1t is not applicable to
private Enclosures enjoyed by the
few to the exclusion of the public !
it is not applicable TO a Game and
Fish Preserve, which the subject of
this act clearly is, as understood
both in this country and England.
BY this title the resident Of Pike
county, even if he knew the park
was to be located in his county,
would assume it would be an open
place for his and his faInily's
recreation along with others of
the public. He would not dream
that it was for the exclusive en-
joyment of the few that he would
be hailed before a magistrate by a
deputy sheriff, fined and possi-
bly, imprisoned, if he set foot upon
it, We think therefore, while the
title did not express the subject of
the act at all, it was at the same
time misleading. because it would
prompt belief, that it had reference
to a wholly different subject. Dor
sey's Appeal, ~ Pa. 1876.
It must be noted, that this act
was passed in 1871, three years be-
fore the constitution of 1874 went
into effect; and while the amend
ment of 1864 had cured the evils
arising from omnibus" legislation,
there was another evil not yet
touched, that of reading bills by
their titles alone and at once passing
them. 1t was not unusual at that
timet to pass a score of bills in an
hour, that were read only by their
titles this can no longer be done
by Article Of the Constitution
every bill must now be read al
length on three different days in
each house besides must be printed
for the use of the members before
the final vote be taken.
While the main objects of thi.
bill are commendable, we doubt il
some of its penal provisions could
have obtained a majority of the
General Assem- bly, if the entire bill
had been read in both houses on
three different days, and printed
for their uaa bafora a final vote