Arizona republican., 1913-11-12

rounding the Carnegie library; the court house plaza and the city hall p!aza-aI ot them used more or less fer park purposes, but each of them failing to meet the peoples require r1cnts, in that each is used for other than park purposes. And there is a possibility that this number may bc lcssencd. a. there is unquestionablY a considerable public sentiment in favor of selling the count house plaza. or the city hall plaza, or in fact both. and devoting them to business purposes. .rl
 The sentiment in favor of scllfnS one or both of the plazas is founded largely, I think, on tWo assumptions: CD that the pIazas have become too valuable to devote to park purposes and CD that their value as parks is negligible because of the fact that they are not available, except in restricted way, for those who are supposed to use and need parks the most-namely. the women and child ren of the city. And, indeed, it is not to be questioned that a park situated it., or near the business district of city must be under constant police l supervision if it is to be of any l avail for women without escorts. In Los Angeles for example. the park which is bounded by Fifth and Sixth Hill and Olive streets, has become so completely within the business 1 district and therefore so frequented | tH men, that the city has found it 1 necessary to set off one small DOT ton of the park for the use of women and children, and women without escorts. and even in this ! limited area policemen must be in | attendance at all times to see that men of questionable motives have no opportunity to molcst the women. It j., therefore not to be disputed that | t park in which women and children may have real recreation must be situated somewhat remotely from the business district and from lodging house districts in which unattached CT idle men are found in large numbers.
 When the time comes for the city to purchase sites for the proposed parks it should be kept in mind. therefore, that the locations ought not to be near the business section of | the town. Also, it should be kept 1 in mind that the matter of distance is not very important, provided the parks can be reached readily and cheapIy by trolley car-transporta- tion cheap and rapid should be the first consideration
 Considering the optimistic spirit iu which every town is laid out'-the fact that from the very first the builders of a city are confident that the place will soon be metropolitan in size, it seems extraordinary that all most invariably there is failure to make adequate provision for parks and yet nothing is more generally admitted than that every city must have parks. In failing to dedicatc suitable sites for park purposes the builders of Phoenix committed, there fore, only the common fault. And low that We find it necessary tc tax ourselves in an extraordinary manner for the purpose of acquirine park sites, We are exercising a be- lated vigilance, just as they do every where else Anyhow, we have at last started on program of park build ing. and that we have done so is due in a large measure to the activ, work in this behalf by the Woman. ] club of Phoenix"
 Mrs. R. M. Tafel dcplored the bill 1 board situation in Phoenix.
 - If we cannot eliminate the bill beard entirely, perhaps we can, by