The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-04-28

come through the use which is made of the leisure time. We spend $2o to $25 per year per capita to educate our child, and then in many instances through the misuse of the child's Ieis-l ure, bad influences come into his life which#nu1lify all the time and money which has been spent on his educa- tions
 Our large factories which are the life of our city have created condi- tions which we have never. had to deal with before. A boy or a girIwil1 work at a machine all day performing ov- CT and over again the same mechani- cal motion. This boy or girl must have some intensely interesting play outside of factory hours to counter act this work if they are to become useful citizens Our men need diff ferent recreation than our boys; our women need something that has not yet been discovered; our girls need some sort of recreation where they can meet young men under favorable and legitimate conditions. At pres. ent the only place many girls have is the public dance haI1, which is run on a commercial basis only to make non- sey. There are plenty of problems to be solved along the lines of public recreation.
 In our public school buildings we have large plants which are used only six or seven hours a day, i've days in a week. for about thirty weeks a year, which with comparatively slight expense could be made available for recreation purposes almost every day in every week of the year.
 RECREATION SECRETARIES.
 Eighty three cities out Of the e4s which are conducting recreation now have recreation secretaries who are employed by the municipalities to give their entire time to the rec reation problems. The work of these recreation secretaries covers:
 Organization and executive man tenn; se1eceIbn and training of play Ieaders selection, purchase and install lation of equipment; planning of buildings for recreation purposes.
 Responsfbi1ity for recreation cen. = Responsfbility for. children's gar. dens.
 Responsfbility for conducting badge tests for both boys and girls through ou the city.
 Arrangements for the celebration of holidays.
 Arrangements for pageants. Z
 Cooperation in the promotion of Boy Scout activities.
 Co-operation in the promotion of Camp Fire Girls Activities.
 Arrangements for summer camps.
 Provision for band concerts and other municipal music. s
 Studying recreation conditions in different sections of the city to att. tempt-to meet any special conditions found.
 Arrangements for ice skating in winter, if necessary through flooding of vacant lots tss
 Arranging for eoasting places if necsssary. by having certain streets set aside and properly guarded
 Promotion of school athletics, of school baseball, basketball. vo11ey- ball leagues and Of all recreation ac- tivities for school boys and girls out side of regular school hours
 If you feel that you would like to have started in yeur city an adequate comprehensive recreation system which will in time give every person opportunity for play and recreation, not only for few months at time but for the year around, the Play ground and Recreation Association of America will be glad to cooperate with you and with the help of one of their field secretaries will accomplish this result So far in every city in which they have worked they have accomplished results that are entire ly satisfactory to the community which invited them to come.
 t recently, a. inhab bitants, an example of American needs ahd opportunities which are i'm portant, but little understood.
 Four years ago the city council app prepriated $7,000 for playgrounds, that it became a recreation move mentn backwards. growing weaker year by year. Finally, the original ago: ."The latest appropriation (on1y $2,5001 is the last that Exyi11e will ever make for playgrounds; we have tried them and found them unsatisfac- tory.''
 How many Exvilles are there ?a Altogether 533 American cities were active in playground or recreation movements last year. But only 285 had supervised playgrounds- The oth- CT PAS, at least, are in danger of au- o-vaccination-of having such made quate, unsatisfactory p1aygrounds that the people will become discouraged and the development of effective rec reational facilities will be prevented or postponed.
 WHAT SAVED EXyILIE
 ssswhat is the answer?'' Exactly what saved Exvil1e. One of the nine field secretaries of the Playground and Recreation Association of America gave, on request ten weeks-about one-f1fth of a year-of competent ser vice. This cost, TOT salary ana all expenses, $1soOO It gave Exv1lle: First, an understanding of her own needs; second, a vision ofsw1lat 8 mod ern recreation movement means in the most successful cities; third. a program progressive. ir- resistfble.
 This s1 ,000 will bring to ExvilIe's children at least $7,5oo, this year, and: within a few years, from s100,o0o to $5Oo,00o. And. the very first expen- allure will be for a commissioner or director of recreation-to select and train play leaders, to exercise a grow ing inuence over all forms of recre-s ation, and, in short to do for leisure time what the superintendent of schools does for the hours of formal education.
 Five daxs, time of a field secre-