Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-09-28
CONMENDS CARE
Of SHADE TREES
Newark Second Only to City OF
Washington, f. w. KeI-
sey Declares.

| one of The planners of Essex coun-
| ty'- park system commends the intel
| ligence and diligence of Newark dur
| ing the past tea years in its shade
| tree department To a reporter for
The Star Frederick w. Kelsey, of Or
ange, an expert in all that relates to
gardening and parks. declared that of
! all American cities only Washington,
the municipal show place of the coun-
try, has surpassed Newark in achieX-
ing the beautiful in street foliage.
In the course of an extended talk
Mr.. Kelsey said:
fortunately the men appointed
since NeWaTl, adopted the act and
the commission inaugurated this inn
provement have been interested in
il, and the comprehensive plan of
effectually and systematically pltnt-
ing the cit streets has gone steadily
forward.
"Therc are now aboiit fifty cities
and towns In New Jersey having
! shade tree commissions. The appli-
cation of the law establishing a COM
mission is optional with the local gon
erning board. and after the passage Of
the New Jersey Act Of 1913 it was
some years before public opinion
awoke TO the Importance of these
street improvements and the opportu-
mites offered for increasing the at
Effectiveness of a place at compare
lively small cost, as obtained under
practical workings of this law.
'As chairman of the Orange Cit
2ens Committee which drew ll1s
original act, approved March ~, 1895.
have since been somewhat CON
versant with the subject and the
rapid growing interest in New Jersey,
and more or less in the various cities
of the country. Pennsylvania and
number of other states now have
similar laws, and some features OF
their Shade Tree Commissions were
copied almost verbatim from the New
Jersey statutes.
..In this State Passaic was the first
municipality in establishing Shade
Tree Commission. East Orange the
same year with Newark. 1904, and
few of the smaller places about tIla'
time. Jersey City followed IN l9us.
Most of the other New Jersey COM
missions have been created wlthlh
the past half dozen years.
.'lt is a matter OF not infrequent
remadks that the city of Orange
where the movement and the law
originated should etill be behind so
many Of the communities in not yer
having Shade Tree Commission.
"That attractive streets are val
liable asset in every community is
now generally recognized. 1t is es=
timated that in normal times PARIS
alone is benefited bS the eXpendi-
ture of $40000,000 from the attrae-
tiveness Of its boulevards, parks and
other outdoor embellishments.
1T is such object lessons and the
increasing attractions of Urban and
suburban communities everywhere
that continuously aceen.uates the
Shade Tree Commission movement.
when it is also borne in mind that
the natural growth of street trees
with proper care nearly or quite
doubles in value every year for
number of years. the economic ad-
vantage of this improvement as now
being cerried on. in Newark and
other places having shade tree COM
missions, is manifest.
MANY European cities now have
municipal street departments, or as
i'll Philadelphia and Pittsburg. a.
bureau of street tree care and plant
ing as a part of the park depart
ment organization.