Omaha daily bee., 1915-01-17
CALL RESERVOIR
CORRUGATED WART
Bemis Park Residents Grow En-
phatic in Discussing Water
Board Improvement"
WILL KEEP ON PROTESTING

Residents OF the Bemls park district
are beginning to resent the dilatory and
arbitrary tactics of the Omaha Water
board with regard 20 identifying the
Walnut HIN reservoir grounds.
This resentment was vigorously voiced
by speakers at a meeting Of the Bemis
Park Improvement club at the Franklin
school last evening. ]. II. Rushton, pre-
sided. and there were a number OF
speakers.
Shall we leave this weed-covered, cor
rugated wart of a thing standing UP at
the city's highest point to be a contin-
ual eyesore?" demanded George G. Wal
lace. Mr.. Howell and the water board
say it is not their intention to do that
Then why do they not inform us what is
their intention.
Whose property is this? Does it be-
long to the water board or to the citizens
Of Omaha? II is an unfortunate circum-
stance that the water board and COM
missioners are OF different minds and
thus the citizens, whose servants both
bodies OF men are. are ground between
the upper and neither milestone"
More Harmony Needed.
Dr. II. Nj. Mechanism called atten-
ton to the comprehensive civic beauty
plans which such municipalities as
Cleveland, Denver and Kansas City are
developing. He, too, threw an Irish
bouquet at the water board
IF the water board whom we elect to
run the water plant would run the water
plant We would get what we want. They
are our stewards, put in charge of our
property and must give an account OF
their stewardship. We need moro har-
mony between the water board, the city
commissioners and the citizens of Omaha
before we move forward at our best
stride. II we had that. Omaha would
have 10000 people today"
H. A. Thompson, 7. @. Northwail and
others, expressed the same sentiments.
DR.. Cyrus E. Stimson. the playground
expert, was present with City Commits
sioner Hummel and made an address on
how Omaha ought to plan for the future
OF at least a hundred years In that
time the outlying fields for several
miles around will be covered with dwell
ings. he declared.
Apartment houses and apartment ho-
tells may cover much OF the space where
now are cottages and single houses. Then
the property that 10 now open fields will
have been built upon and It will have
increased immensely In value. The time
to acquire property for the park and
boulevard purposes of the Omaha Of a
hundred : ears hence Is now. Get the
beauty spots surrounding your city, get
them now, get them. II necessary, with
state aid. But at all events get them,
possess them for your, city, for all time
and for your children's children"
Good start Made.
DR.. Sttnson complinented Omaha on
the use that has been made OF the little
money that has been at Its disposal for
parks and boulevsrds. and said that
among moro than seventy American
cities that he has visited and studied no
has seen none that surpasses Omaha in
this regard.
Though II had been announced that
Park Commissioner Hunmel was to
speak, he was not called upon. A reso-
luton was adopted that a committee of
nine members be appointed by the ex-
ecutive committee to take I'd "and con-
tinue to take up" with the water board
the desires Of the citizens for the i'm
provement of the reservoir grounds and
the extension OF the boulevard through
them. President Rushton will appoint
this committee at a meeting of the ex-
ecutive committee at his homo next
NNaU H.