The morning journal-courier., 1908-02-06

|, have formed the habit of gathering are"so often without these attractions that they can be considered only in- cidental advantages
 The foregoing objects in park-mak- ing seem fairly obvious and distinct. yet thus far the idea most firmly as sociated with parks has scarcely been mentioned. namely, the enjoyment of outdoor beauty.
 It is because of the immense yari- ation in ideals of outdoor beauty be- tween different individuals and in the same person at different times that there is the utmost difficulty in pursu- ing a husinesslike and economical method in securing such beauty. In stead of precise and well-recognized aims for attaining which the public can hold it's agents responsible. here we seem to come to chaos of possi- bilties, to a region of personal pre- ference and individual discretion, and by consequence to undeiined aims vacillating with changes in the per sonnel of the agency which the pub lie places in charge of its parks. Awakement to beauty, like experienc- ing religion, is apt to fill the converts with such an earnestness of apprecia- ton for those aspects of the beautiful which have aroused their emotion that they are blind for the time to all others and thus the man who has been aroused to an ardent apprecia- ton of picturesque informal landscape may fall to destroying straight ave- nues and clipped hedges: or he who is filled with enthusiasm for the dignity of great avenues of spreading 'ellns with their long straight vistas may heedlessly plant one so as to divide and ruin a beautiful composition of meadow land and scattered trees. They forget in their ardency that in art it often matters less what you do than how you do 1t, that the kind of thing most attractive of man or to a people varies with time and mood. but the thing which Is good of its kind has | quality that outlasts all moods and fashions and brings the perpetual joy of perfection.
 To attempt an enumeration of the various kinds of outdoor beauty which should be distinguished one from an other in a city park system in order
 that each may be pursued in it's own ! place in a consistent and economical
 manner, would he an absurd under 1 taking They are infinite in number:
 for every landscape has its own char
 acter whether 1t be self -consistent strong and effective. or confused weak
 and ineffective. But I cannot for
 bear to point out certain aesthetic mo. tives which are so distinct that they
 may easily be kept out of conflict witt
 one another by diligent and intelligent
 effort, yet which are constantly being
 confused and intermingled in way
 that precludes any positively satisfac.
 tory results.
 There Is. for example, the enjoy
 ment of formal decorative design, st
 to call it, in which we take pleasure
 in noting that some one has deliber
 ately and appreciatiyely arranged tn,
 elements of the scene so as to produc,
 certain compositions, certain definit,
 effects. All of the numberless type,
 of formal design have this in common
 that they speak strongly of the mten
 ton of the designer and his h nev.,l
 ent control of the result They ar,
 stamped with the hallmark of civlliz
 ation, like the whole mass of thing
 for the sake of which people are con
 tent to live in cities They are l.
 that extent notably appropriata a
 the decorations of cities, and tft prn
 ciples and motives of formal 1asigl
 may well have q hand in shspin
 utilities into incidental beauty, | determining details Of tie locati )r form and treatment of streets and ath
 CT areas left open for pas lgc or fo
 light and air, of bridges, or wharvo and waterfr >nts, of ele ated and otke railroads and the like Similarly i the treatment and laNi1g out of arc primarily devoted to park purpose. the use of formal design is nltahl , appropriate in those GAS $ which ar
 intimately associated wi:n the norma city life. the promen4les, tn, place of gregarious pleaSdrcs, and thos squares and plots and strips whic form the decorations If city ra:ht than places of relief ron r.. Con pact trees in orderly r1ws and avenue 5 gard ike beds of flowers. hedges an 3 hedge-like masses If shrubs. four tains. monuments. and Sctilptural ,le, orations. all forming, with iurr an 2 paths and roads inl gathering nlac,
 designs well organisel aHd obvioui B these are particularly appr9priate r the smaller and narrower park are;
 scattered through g ciiS, both b, Q cause they can generally he sttaint . in greater perfection on such are Q than can any marlia fly informal - naturalistic compo si,'on, and becau
 such areas are so intimately a p4 n of city life that it seems anly reaso n able that they sho1ll appear nigh s civilized themselves anl give eviden u throughout of vsry perfect cor - plete and obvious human contr ,l 1T This does not mean, however. th n all the smallest dcta is in such plac l. ought necessarily ,o hc regulated. t O foliage all clipped Gnd the flowers q $ herbaceous plants al, grown in c if cloth patterns a6v m lra than in 2 civilized the details of dress m DC l. sonal habits are exactly prescribed f = each citizen The larger and mq s vtal relations must le Carefully re l. nlated. but the interest If life | pen 10 upon the freed ,m of 'ho indivilt d to exercise personal preferences 'e his own affairs. an in ilst thA sai le way the formal design af civ slual d and promenades ind the like shot d fix in obvious and rderlv way { n large relations. the position cf all [ Q greater masses. Nhie tho detH le should be permitted to take on some
 that accidental an 1 individual char'
 ter. to show that tout' nf SD ,ntane Id V thout which any sign Is mocha d cal and hard. Just w1ere IF pass