Evening star., 1915-12-31
Shows Also That Civic Art Is Grad
ually Finding Its Way to
Rural Districts.

dhHudi convention OF the american
Civic Association. which adjourned at
the New Willard Hotel today.
"In a like manner said Prof. Fran
els. we must approach every tree
planting proposition from a landscape
standpoint. 1t is absolutely essential.
II we shall have good shade trees, that
these trees be planted with due consid-
GRAFTON of their relation to the sur
roundings now and twenty-five years
from now.
Art in Rural Districts.
Civic art is gradually finding its way
into the rural districts. 1 say 'gradu-
ally because in such places as our
cities. where considerable attention has
been turned to civic art, it has made
really just a start.
Rural planning, which shall do for
the great stretches of the open country
serve and extend the beauty of urban
and suburban communities, was put
forward by Prof Frank A. Waugh of
the Massachusetts Agricultural College,
velopment
Richer than the city in possibilities
for development along lines of beauty.
sanitation and wholesomeness. said
largely neglected and allowed to grow
in haphazard manner. Country peo-
pie, he declared, are living in uncom-
Portable and inconvenient houses, are
using unsightly and inefficient roads
and schools and are dying of tubercu-
losis because there has not been ade-
quate planning to make the best use of
country resources.
System Of Trunk Highways.
ernment of system of highway trunk
forming a network Of good roads
throughout the country was advocated
by Cyrus Kehr of Knoxville, Tenn, in
an address on "A National System of
Highways" The development of such
a system Is needed, said Mr.. Kehr. to
supply civil, commercial, military and
recreational needs. Mr.. Kehr suggest
roads auxiliaries to the system to
the major roads. which, he said, would
carry at least three -fourths of all the
highway traffic outside the cities.
President J. Horace Mcfarland an
nounced the appointment of chairman
Of several committees that will direct
important activities during the coming
year. as follows:
Park, Col: state and county parks, DR..
John Nolen, Cambridge, Mass; schools
as community centers, Miss Margaret
Wilson. Washington, D. c.; city plan
ming. Lee J. Ninde. Fort Wayne. Ind:
committee on noise nuisance, Mrs. Imo-
gen B. Oakley, Philadelphia, Pa; mar
kets, Mrs. Elmer e. Black, New York
city; country planning, Prof. Frank A.
Waugh, Amhert. Mass, and billboards,
j. Horace Mcfarland. Harrisburg, Pa.
Elected Honorary Members.
The association elected the Marquis
and Marchioness Of Aberdeen and
Temair honorary members for life, in
recognition of their work for civic
betterment in international fields. The
only other honorary members of the
association are Theodore Roosevelt,
Lord Bryce. former English ambassa-
dor to the United States. and former
honored in recognition of their efforts
to save the beauties of Niagara Falls.
NJ. c. Belts of the Office of public
roads and rural engiineer,ns in,. OF d.,hd the Pc
what the government is doing to pro-
mote civic betterment in rural COM
munities.
Homes Poorly Built.
Machinery was never better housed.
working conditions for the men better
planned or the surroundings OF the fac
tories more attractively arranged, but
when you leave the factories and &C
into the homes Of the workingmen you
find poorly built and inaamma BILE
surroundings" said Perry r. Mac
Nellie of New York city. in an address
on Industrial Town Development" de-
Iivered at session yesterday after
Housing" THE neglect of employees
home conditions is not confined to the
war-made towns" he said. but is even
more marked In such cities as Pitts
a..
the country"
The subject also was discussed in a
paper on Planning for Mushroom In
dustries:" by DR.. Caroline Hedger of
tee, New York city; and by Lawrence
veiller. secretary Of the National Hous-
ing Association, New York city. whose
subject was Housing Safeguards"
planning and adequate financing. and |
directed attention to tho numerous ills |
of society traceable to unwholesome !
housing conditions.
Needs of Small Communities.
Questions of the needs of small urban |
communities were presented at the |
afternoon session by Edwin T. Fiske, |
mayor of Mount Vernon. N. Y, in |
paper on THE Practical Problems of
City Planning for the Small City" The J
toplC WIS uloCu5oSo Wy LII. JOnn NOlen |
Of Cambridge, Mass; Thomas Adams. |
town planning adviser to tho commits
Frederick Law Olmstead, Brookline, |
Mass. and DR.. Werner Hegemann Of |
Berlin, Germany.
Mayor Fiske said there is a large
amount of literature in existence in re-
gard to city planning, but that the |
greater part of 1t deals with large ur-
ban centers. and Is useless to the small |
city.
"One serious problem which we prob
ably share with many other cities" he
said, "is the development of isolated
sections by real estate speculators.
These sections. usually outside the
control of the city, are mapped out
according to plans OF the owners Of
the property. The location and width
of the streets. the pavement, lighting
and sanitation are all done according
to plans which for the time being can
not be controlled by the city. When
later the section is taken over these
conditions need to be brought in har-
mony with the plans followed in the
rest Of the city"