Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-11
HOPES TO BRING ABOUT
THE IDEAL PLAYGROUND
Commissioners cIaxton Tells
Parents League Child's.
Health Is First Importance. !.

-. -.
Asserting that a city that. could not
provide its children, with Fairgrounds
was very poor and not worthy of exist
ing as great city, Commissioner ,Philan.
der P. Claxton of. the bureau 81 educa-i
ton. addressing the Parents League last
night. said he hoped to bring about ideal
playground conditions in Washington
great schools with ierse Fairgrounds
The meeting, WAS held at the James Or
mond Wilson Normal School
Dr. Claxton, traced play: back to- the
Romans and the Greeks and he declared
even the old Germans who away back
lived in the forests INDUCED in play.
There is nothing new in the desire for
play, he said. - -
I'VE have come to be. cliff dwellers, by
living in flats and apartments" he said.
When l first came to the city as COM
missioner of education. had a house
with a. nice front yard and it was fine.
But this year we moved into an apart
'ment, where you come in. off the con-
crete. streets and .payements,s get into. a
lift as an Englishman would say, and
want to go to. Then YOU step into Your
apartment. l have watched children play
in the streets, and have seen them have
nothing but the small piece Of ground
around the trees IN which to shoot their
marbles in. Children are very poor if
they: do not have square foot of ground
to play marbles on. don't care II they
live in houses that cost N,00o.O CO.,"
'"The very first thing Of Importance
in educating the child is physical
be strong in every way and the lungs
and muscles strengthened SO that they
Will answer the will In every way. The
establishment of health is of first i'm
nrta no q ar ~
for the child to have no fear that his
physical health will give away under
him.
Other, Cities Methods.
I'VE all know that best results will
not come unless the child has the best
physical development The city, boy
play and real development asaeur an
cestors did in old ENGLAND or in the
You seasSs going to bring Ii G about? You
cannot do it in the city street. and you
cannot do it in the crowded school
yards.
/. Commissioner Claxton then told of va,
rious plans in other cities for bringing
this about. He told of one city where
school was divided. the girls remaining
in the original building to enjoy them
selves in the gymnasium and pther places
III the school, while another building was
constructed for. the boys five miles away
and out in the county. He also explain
ed where in one city there We're city
schools in the country, where the. sons
of the wealthy went during the day and
studied, and then played in the open, and
came back to the city at night to sleep.
1T is going to come about, he went
on, that city schools will be in the
country, or, on the other hand, our chill
dren will be given the same as in Salt
Lake City.
There no public school is built un-
less it has ten acres of ground around it,
and the greater part of this Is for play
grounds. / hope the same will he done in
this city. The schools should be spread,
instead of crowding up. You are poor I'M
less you can do this: YOU very poor
too poor to exist as great city unless
you can find Fairgrounds.
Sounds Note Of Warning.
Commissioner Claxton then sounded a
note Of warning. He said the playground
work would best be done when consid-
cred as part of the educational sys-
TEN, where it can be supervised by the
boards of education. There is danger, he
said, unless it is done properly, and il
cannot be done properly unless super
viSed by school boards. IT is necessary
to study the child.
This is what ] would like to see
brought about" continued DR. Claxton:
"Real, organized play, with old folk
games and dances, as of old DR..
Claxton said that If "a father left
81. 000 900 to his son on becoming
twenty-one it would not compensate
him for the play of which he had been
deprived in his younger years.
But, he went on, take. 20 per cent of
this money earlier in the boys life and
invest 1T in Fairgrounds it would be
a good investment. and 1t would be
better than leaving the whole 100 per
cent years later
Miss Margery Snyder of the Peabody
Conservatory, Baltimore, entertained
the audience with several violin solos
and was forced to. respond to several
encores Mrs. +. l.. Ransome gave the
history of the Parent League. and Mrs.
William K. Loney read q report or the
Fairgrounds committee