Newark post., 1911-07-12
Continued from last Week.)

tOWll COlilillOllS, dS VIC Sdll liiSlll III
New England. Every town and
every rural neigFborhood ought
to have such open public grounds.
The public buildings belonging to
the community should be placed,
not upon the public squares, as is
often incorrectly done, but just
outside and facing upon the pub
lie squares. If tn. court house,
schoolhouse, postoffice, church
and town library can be grouped
about such a public square, the
best effect is produced, both as
regards beauty and dignity of
grouping and as regards practical
economy in the transaction Of
business. Villages and farm conf
munities also ought to have spec
ial public grounds reserved for
play. Play grounds in the city
are regarded as a necessity, but
the farmer and his family are just
as much entitled to their recrea-
ton as the street car conductor
and his family. 1t is one o; the
characteristic faults of country life
that sufficient plans are not made
for recreation. Country boys like
to play ball as well as city boys,
and country girls like to go pic
nicing as well as any other sort.
Country life has ben SO free and
easy in this land up to the present
time that few people have felt the
need Of play grounds under pub
lie ownership. But the time is
coming when the neighborhood
which trusts to private owner
ship for public recreations will find
itself entirely without such oppor-
tunities. | ventrue to say there is
not a man here, 40 years old or
over, who does not realize that
the woods where he used freely to
hunt and fish are all posted and
only a privileged few can catch a
fish anywhere. Hunting and fish
ing, which used to be the normal
and common sports of country
boys, are now almost recollections
Of the past. Swimming and ball
playing are going in the same way.
With the advent of automobiles it
is hardly safe tor the country boy
to take his girl buggy riding on
Sunday any longer. What is the
por fellow going to do' Evil
IDENTIFY the only thing he can do is
to move to town, where he may
enjoy the airdome and the moving
picture show
Speaking of public owncr5:lp
OF recreation grounds, l carrot
refrain from adding a word on
public ownership of other prop
property, especially land. OF
course public ownership is more
or less Of political question in
America and open to debate. | am
not clear myself with regard to
the present feasibility OF public
ownership in RAILWAYS electric
lines and telephone exchanges.
However, | have recently seen
some things in the way of COM
munity ownership of land which
were very attractive to me.
Last summer visited a number
of villages in Germany and Aus
tria, where extended tracts of land
are held in communal ownership.
In the majority of cases there are
forest lands, though not in all
cases. These forests are managed
for the public benefit, and return
a revenue to the cities, towns or
cantons ownin gthem. | learned
that there are I4o towns in Ger
many where a greater or less pro-
portion of the expenses of govern
nrert are met by the revenues
from such town lands. | learned
that several of these towns secure
sufficient revenues from their own
lands to pay the entire expenses of
government-police force, street
Improvement, fire department,
schools, and even the salary of the
preacher. Even then some of the
towns have surplus left at the
end Of the year above all expenses,
so that in some instances on the
first Of the year the town govern
ment distributes $40 apiece to it's
citizens.
In this country we say we can
escape everything but death and
taxes; in well managed German
towns they escape taxes.
Another matter on which every