The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-09-22
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PARKS AS FAIRGROUNDS.
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(Board of Health Bulletin)

Out-of-doors is more healthfu1
than indoors.
Sunshine and fresh air-the
kind one gets under the open sky
or beneath the protection Of ma
lures umbrellas, the trees-are
more health-giving than the most
beautiful homes.
We accept good many things
as facts because others accept
them, without Analysing the
reasons why we or they take
them for granted. We believe
that public parks are public ne
cesities, but why?
What are the benefits of parks
to tbs individually? They are the
breathing spots, where we come
from our busy, confusing civic
life, into touch with nature, with
natures wildness tanned and i'm
proved in accordance with ma
lures methods, under the direc-
ton OF expert observers of those
methods.
They are, or they should be,
the Fairgrounds where ''keep-off-
the-grass" signs have been ban
ished and men, women and chill
dren are free to walk over the
smooth turf, to lie on it and roll
on it,, to play their games, where
they find facilities for such
amusements, and where they are
encouraged to come for health
and pleasure.
The public parks of the mod
ern, up-to-date city are object
lessons for the home owner,
showing him the possibilities for
improving his own surroundings,
for the Identification Of the
grounds about his habitation
with flowers and vines and trees.
No argument is needed to
prove the value OF parks to the
average citizens, citizeness and
all the little citizens. More i'm
portant it is to urge their more
general use.
The relation of the municipali-
ty, of the authorities, to the park
system is often misunderstood.
1t is an old time theory of gov
eminent that its duties are neces-
sarily confined to the serious al
fairs of common interest, such as
establishing and maintaining fire
departments, police and jails.
public waterworks. pavements,
sidewalks and the like. Health
is considered a matter for private
regulations, excepting in time OF
epidemic, and Fairgrounds and
amusements are not listed as Sc
rious affairs.
That theory was discarded long
ago by the advanced students OF
municipal matters, and according
to this new thought, the physical
and mental welfare OF the citi-
zen is considered quite as impor-
tant as his protection from ply
steal injury or the vagaries OF his
designing neighbors.
The need of Florida cities for
public parks, more OF them, prop
erly improved and beautihed and
maintained, is as great as that of
northern municipalities. Ma
ture is prodisal in her aid in park
construction here. AS popula-
ton increases, greater cities will
stand where are now little vii
lagos, and it duty that the au-
thorities OF today owe to posteri-
tv that large areas shall be set
aside for the parks of by and by.
More than this, it is much more
important that there should be a
number of smaller breathing
spots scattered about in all parts
OF these coming cities, than that
all the playground space should
be in single area. To be useful,
they must be convenient for those
whom they are to benefit.
Hardy better illustration of
this point can be recalled than
Chicago. which has thousands OF
acres in beautifully improved
parks. scattered through the two
hundred square miles within the
city limits, and nearly all these
areas were set aside when land
was cheap and before the tide of
population preempted these
lands.
WHY should not Florida be
known in the years to come as
the state OF beautiful cities, as
she is known now as the Land of
Flowers