Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-23
President and the Park Plan.

President TaftS Washington talk yes
terday afternoon was wholesome and in
spring. Washington's development In
rarks and public buildings and the crea-
ton OF the ideal National Capital. III
which its unrepresented people should re-
ceive fair play. constituted his text and
upon il he preached a civic sermon which
was simple. direct. forcible and effective.
The present campaign for park develop
ment in accordance with the Mcmillan
park commission plan, with especial re-
lation to the proposed chain of outlying
parks. thus gets good start. The Board
of Trades special committee can do a
grand public service i'm pushing the park
acquisition proposals designed to give the
capital a system of connected parks rival
Ing any in the world. The function of the
committee is not to engage in a resultless
wrangle over the proposed method OF de-
veloping the Mall, an area already in
possession and use as park. but to press
for park addition by securing the park
way connections necessary to coordinate
the scattered park areas into a har-
monious whole.
The Board of Trade in 1899 suggested
and urged this system of outlying parks.
and the Mcmillan park commission re-
port wonderfully and artisticalIy devel-
oped and elaborated the suggestion.
The park areas to be connected and
united into symmetrical whole by the
proposals of 1890 were: The Mall res
cued from the then existing railroad &C.
cupatoa; Potomac Park developed in
beauty and usefulness. connected by a
memorial bridge and boulevard with
Arlington and Mount Vernon. and con-
nected also by boulevard along Rock
creek with the Zoo and Rock Creek Park;
the latter connected by a boulevard along
the line of Fort drive or through Sol
diers' Home Park with Anacost!a park
that is to be. Two grand curving boule-
wards were proposed. one sweeping
through the Mall and Potomac Park, and
up Rock creek to the Zoo and Rock Creek
National Park. thence by boulevard to
the Soldiers Home. and. finally. by boule-
ward to Anaccstia Park, back to the Cap
itol And the other through the Mall and
Potomac Park across a magnificent me-
mortal bridge to Arlington. and by ma
tional boulevard along the Potomac to
Mount Vernon and the tomb of Wash
ington- 1t was suggested that the park
system which permeates the original city
should pervade in like fashion the new
Washington. and that the ancient park
of the forefathers plans lying between
the Capitol and the White House and
touching on the Potomac should merge
into a great river park system, which
should include, as already suggested,
both banks of the Potomac, the valley
of Rock Creek. and the flats and heights
of the Anacostia.
AS was said in 1909. in urging de-
termined effort to develop on broad, artis-
tic and practical lines the park system Of
the capital, and in predicting the glorious
results of this centennial campaign:
Let us of the Washington of today. in
building up the nations city of the sec
ond century of it's life. emulate the
breadth and holiness in design and the
vigor in execution which were displayed
at the end of the last century and in 1900
by the founders of the capital