The Washington herald., 1914-06-28

view Entrance to Glen Echo Park, sho
When the late Mr. Homer, OF Athens.
I and some six other places tuned his
famous Tyre to suit the temperament of
Circe and the immortal Ulysses, there are
q lot Of learned people who think he was
putting into poetry one Of the worlds
most stirring romances.
In the light of later happenings it be-
comes apparent the Greek poet was really
training for the job of press agent at
some Athenian pleasure park. The rea-
son for this deduction being that nowhere
in the literature of the world is there to
be found descriptive matter Of nature
similar to the story of the landing Of the
hero Of old on the magic island Of the
wicked Circe than in the press agent sto-
ries that have been sent out from time to
time TO extoI the wonders of the estab-
ushments they are paid to boost.
. And Homer needed the money almost
3 as bad as the ordinary press agent needs
his-aIthough he probably didn't have to
work hard for it The facts are, how
ever. that the famous garden into which
! Homer introduced Ulysses was more like
! what the press agents describe a pleasure
park than anything else.
An American InstItutiOn.
II is generally COnCeQeO IndI picdS-
ure park Of commerce is an American in
stitution. Just cancel that concession
While there isn't any mention Of 1t In
the books relating to the subject, there
is every reason to deduce from his habits
that Grandfather Noah had something OF
a roof garden on the ark; the famous
King of Babylon u known to have made
a masterpiece of his hanging gardens
and all through history there are ref
hn
more than prehistoric hkenesses OF the
kind Of things that people utilize to-
day to take the curse of of existence
during the dog days and to make life
bit more than the grind II has become
But IN America the promiscuity of fore
fathers created a combination OF desires
and the American pleasure park is the
result In that respect, therefore. the
pleasure park as we know it is essen
TALLY American.
Homer started Idea.
Now, having established the fact that
Homer started the press agent fame and
Noah was the granddaddy of the park
idea and that the original immigrants
came here with an appetite for pleas
uring to satisfy in a parklike way. we
come to the present day and its myriads
OF parks.
There il a stereotyped form of sum-
mer park copied from the big specimens
Of this type around New York. that find
duplicates in almost every section OF the
country. These parks are equipped with
all sorts of devices for the amusement
Of the people who frequent them and
there seems to be a perfect mania on the
part of the managers of such places to
make their establishments unique for
the variety OF thrills that can be obtain |
ed in rides or slides or jumps or things
Of that sort.
While thrilling yourself into believing |
that the day is not hot or giving your
nerves such a tinKle that you'll forget |
fine way for the citizen OF the average |
American town TO spend his day off-it |
has been found to lack something in |
Washington. Whatever you might say /
about It. Washington is a town that
takes IT'S pleasure in a calm way that is |
not equaled elsewhere.
Town of ThouRhtfuI People.
This is a town Of thoughtful people
people who analyze things, and their /
pleasure comes the result OF the |
analysis. Therefore. exploiters failed TO |
satisfy the public here in the matter of
pleasure parks Something had to be |
provided that would combine all the in
terests Of the famous parks elsewhere
and yet provide a calm, philosophic
quiet. where communing with nature /
could be done alb lib, not TO say with
ecla-whatever those ways may be.
Some twenty-five years ago experiment
ers in this direction thought that the
educational thing was the pleasure-giv-
ing impetus Of the learned capital Of the
nation. And with this idea in view, a
party OF educators searched the coun-
try surrounding the District with the
idea Of establishing a place where the
fountains Of learning could be turned on
in a sylvan dell setting-where, in. a
word. all Washington could come and
inabibe nature and knowledge at one and
the same tine-and thus get the acme
of pleasure in so doing. II
In a quiet glen way up the Potomac
River-at least IL was way up the river
then-the ideal spot was found 1t was
hilly and woodsy and rocky-rilly to the
very last degree. There was nothing
lacking in sylvan dell scenery to make L
IL an ideal place for the purpose Of edu-
cation or pleasure. The knolls covered
with giant trees, the view up and down
the winding river, the little streamlets
and brooks. and the thousand and one
things that 60 to make up a beautiful
glen were all. there. Picturesque build
ings Of field stone were erected, a great {
organ was Installed. and the place was {