The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-07-05

nizing playground sentiment in their
 localities. These services are given
 without charge. as MT. Hammers ex-
 penses are met by the National Asso-
 citation, which even goes so far as 70 furnish cities interested with working
 organizations, and aids them in orga-
 plans for playgrounds and with pro- grams for odganizing them and tax
 ing care of the children. It will also assist in finding efficient playground
 supervisors for those who need them.
 All of this is done with the idea of
 encouraging every city in the United
 States to provide adequate play facil-
 ities for children, in the belief that the
 child who does not have to play on the
 streets has a better chance to grow up
 Into a healthy. law abiding citizen than
 one whose sole recreation Is playing
 around street corners. in danger from
 trollsys and automobiles and rom the corruption of the street.
 "The playground idea certainly Is spreading" said Mir. Hammer. With out exception. every city visited gave me not merely a thoughtful hearing. but entertained me most royalty. CIVIC organizations, commercial clubs, wo- men's orRanizatIons, boards of trade, mayors of cities. school officers. church organizations, held meetings and Iuncheons at which many of the lead ing citizens were interested listeners. Tn many cases there was no need to in- spirit enthusiasm. They either had all ready started playgrounds. or were ready to start them, and simply wished to learn what was being done in other cities to make the work most effect- ice. Others wished advice as to laying out their grounds. or locating them. and as to the apparatus necessary for their conduct.
 "As an indication of enthusiasm. can cite the fact that California alone has set aside, recently. si.s6O,o0O or playgrounds. Of this. San Francisco. burdened as she is with her problems of rebuilding. set aside s741,000 for playground sites and equipment, and gave the new playground commission S20 900 for maintenance this year. Oak land has set aside $500, 900 for parks and playgrounds, and Alameda has ap- propriated $125,0O0 for playgrounds. The city officers of Palo Alto will favor the lively playground movement now active there. and in Berkeley there Is a campaign on for s50O.ooo worth of playgrounds.
 Los Angeles, of course, has fine playground system, as have other cities.
 "They are learning in the West the lesson which we in the East learned too late. They have seen how New York was forced to pay S1,000, 900 an acre for a playground because the need for playgrounds was not appreciated until everything was built upon and land was high. One Western city got a, taste of this. They had to pay twice as much for 6 piece of ground as had been asked the year before. As con sequence. many cities are beginning to anticipate their growth into crowded by setting aside play space while the land is yet cheap. In the State of Washington they passed A bill, afterward vetoed. which re- ouired that every new oity laid out should set aside 10 per cent. of the land for parks and playgrounds. This bill is to come up again. What Is most hopeful. however. is that the play ground movement is not limited to those cities which are so crowded that the municipality must condemn ground to give its people air. Many smaller cities are planning complete playground systems, and some day they will reap the full benefit of this wise invest ment.
 "whsle the idea of the usefulness of is fairly well established and in many places enthu- siastically accepted, I found that the fact that playgrounds, to be useful, require supervision. was a fairly new One city in the West had been of the opinion that all that was was to get the ground, equip t and turn it over to the children.
 The experiment was not a happy one. The boys soon broke the apparatus and generally made such a nuisance of themselves that people around the | asked to have them clos | sd. This was done. I am glad to say. | however, that these places are now | ,pen under the direction of competent | play supervisors, and are meeting with | unanimous commondation.
 For long time, there was belief hat A playground minfstered only to | he physicial welfare of the child; that t was good for lungs and muscles. | md there it's usefulness stopped. The new view of the organized playground. hat Is, playground under the supervis- on of play expert, is that 1t Is social | .ather than physical undertaking. This is a far larger purpose. and it is | ,ne that immediately attracts support. | IS 1t is concerned directly with the de- | relopment of citizenship. The citizen s one who lives in peaceful co-opera- ion and association with his neigh | DOTS. The playground gives the child a | aste of this experience.
 "In group games and in his play with | ifs fellows, he develops Ire habit of afr play, cooperation, team work. which later are his habits in ifs civic relationship as an adult. For his reason, we are emphasizing the importance of keeping these play open at night for working oys and girls. But of course. to make he playground an effective social gency, it is necessary to have excel snt play supervisors. At present there 3 a dearth of teachers of this kind.
 T am glad to be able to state that lany normal schools are now adding lay courses to their work. and short 7 a special committee of the associa- lon headed by Dr. Clark Hetherington. the University of Missouri. will is- ue a suggestive course of study for ormal schools and universities. many f which we hope will give training long these lines. Such courses will e an excellent thing for college stu ents. as the college student who is in these hnes has little or no in getting pleasant and well aid work out of doors during vaea-