The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-19


 l recognize this principle-that thing to be ornamental is much more securely so if it is also useful Money spent to make the paths through a public square tor tuous and with steps in them Is worse than thrown away: making flower gar dens of them that would require fourth of the eitys revenue to keep up and in order is bound to result in neglect, weeds and ugliness. In the square at the corner of Seventeenth street and Fifth avenue there is a pile of unsightly stone Qike chid's playhouse) that must have cost the city many dollars. It has been ugly and useless from the day it was put there. It has one distinction and the city could in part get back the money it wasted in put ting it there if this was emphasized as an example of the extremest case of how not to do it. It Is certainly the most hdeous result of an effort to beautify that could be found anywhere. After going over the same experiments Oike people, they re- fuse to learn from their elders) all cities finally come to their senses and see that public squares are to be used as breath ing places for the people, and that they should be furnished and ornamented in the plainest, the most useful and the most indestructble manner
 ! When they have walks running di- agonally across them the hurrying bust ness man and the tired workman have l the pleasant anticipation of cutting off a part of the journey by cooling walk un- l der trees and over a straight and smooth ] pavement. Before the High School park was turned over to that school for an athletic ground the paths were graveled and tortuous and torturing to walk over instead of being Q pleasure. It was full of costly plants of all kinds which in a few weeks, for want of the care it need ed but which a city of 10 times our cty's wealth could not afford, grew up in Il jungle which afforded hiding places for several hold-up gentlemen. Such a park was fine for tramps to loaf in by day and night but was no pleasure to walk through because the city had actually spent money to put obstructions in the way of the man who otherwise would have had that much of a cool and pleas ant break in the twice daily walk to his store or shop. Trees were planted directly in the path Now this walk of 500 yards twice daily 300 days in the year is no small item in the time saved and the rest and pleasure given to even one man and when we remember that several hun- dred are affected by it we should pause and consider whether these individuals have any rights or not On the four sides of Rittenhouse square in Philadelphia every house is occupied by a million
  large, noble trees; it has asphalt walks 20 feet wide running d;agonally through it from all corners for the rest 1t is cov- cred with grass for the children to romp over when they are not skating on the walks and the walks are lined with benches for the weary or idle to sit on To a stranger 1t looks as though all the money that has been spent on our public squares (as they should be called) had been used to obstruct, baffle and annoy the taxpayer who might thoughtlessly stroll In there for pleasure. Admitting the justice of taking the High School park away from those who would go there for rest and pleasure, there are two other parks that could be changed from a use- less and ugly piece of vacant real estate into public squares hat would be of the greatest value; for very little expense they could be made useful and beautiful
 Our draymen and hackmen probably pay larger privilege tax. approximately, than any other of our necessary and useful citizens and yet in hot weather it is not only most difficult for them to get water for their horses bur for themselves. Thirty or 40 ornamental drinking fountains scattered over Greater Birmingham would be the best investment the city could make. It would be not only common jus tice and humanity, not only the most inl- portant step we could take in ornament ing the streets but it would speak volumes to the stranger within our gates. They should be placed at the corners of all the public squares and in front of all city property where there Is room. The one place of all where fine one Is most needed and where it would be most orna- mental is at Highland Circle. There should be others at Richmond Place, city hall and the Union station and one or more fin all the different cities, towns and neighborhoods that will go to make up the greater city. ''To accomplish this an ordinance might be passed to authorize them and the water company could be asked to supply the water free. To buy the fountains and put them up 1t would be necessary only to open subscription list at every neigh borhood drug store and the money woud be quickly raised. This would be splendid matter for | City Beautiful advocates to lend their efforts to-"