The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1916-05-18
THURSDAY, MAY Is, 1916.
The Friendless Children.

found Judgement in the heart of lot
of Kenosha people, or these same peo-
pie are not in favor of getting accus-
toned to things relating to the
"Kingdom.'' 1t is just possible that
these people want to have it all for a
great surprise when st. Peter calls them
and they fear that mingling little
with that particular class, of which the
Kingdom of Heaven is to be made up,
is going to make them so blase that
they will be prone to find fault with
the harp and the crown when it IS
handed them after "life's ftfu1
fever" is all forgotten.
Kenosha people show the same cor
diality toward play grounds for the
children that they show pest house
in which patients i'll with smallpox
are to be taken care Of The insistent
demand is for play grounds, but every
body seems to think that the play
grounds should be located at least
mile from the place that they call their
homes. The city has land which was
bought with the idea that it was to be
used as place for the happy Riddles
to gather and enjoy themselves, but
property owners in the neighborhood
are bombarding the aldermen with
protests against the property being put
to the use for which it was purchased.
In the meantime the friendless child
rem are trying to dodge automobiles
in an effort to find the place for the
natural outlet for childish spirits on
the streets of the city. True enough,
some Of the people who are loudest in
their protests, have children of their
own. Perhaps this is one cause that
they are afraid of the children of
others. We are not inclined to believe
highest enjoyment in sitting up in
straight chair in the old fashioned
parlor. Perhaps after all they would
like to play just like other children
and perhaps after all their parents
would be willing to have them-pro-
vided the play grounds were located
forninst the home of some other man.
Isn't it about time that the people
learned that the child has some rights
as we'll as the man and the woman. A
play ground is not pest house. On
the other hand play ground near
your home brings something of the
brightness of life into your heart.
There is nothing in the world more
frightening to life than happy child
hood and there should not be the
necessity of the tie of blood to make
this happiness contagious. The child
rem of Kenosha are entitled to a place
to play. If you have insisted on build
ing house near a play ground then
you should be one Of the people who
should not object to the property
being used for the purpose for which
it is purchased.
Some people have the idea that park
property is sacred. That park must
be all flower beds and cement walks
with a police officer on either end of
the walk to see to it that not single
blade of the grass is disturbed. The
most splendid decoration that can be
made to any park is a band of happy
healthy children getting the joy of
life out in the open air and claiming
for themselves some of the pleasures
that a less modern civilization gave
you and me when we were in that
same hey day of life.
The idea of crowding the children
out of every phase of modern life is
all too pronounced. True enough there
may be some selfish fellows whose
hearts have been burned to ashes by
the disappointments of life who may
put up buildings for homes over the
door to which the sign "children
barred" may be posted, but this does
not seem to be the slogan for great
and growing city. The children are
entitled to play grounds. The people
have voted to give them to them and
the voice of the people should be fol
lowed in this the same as in other
great matters effecting the municipali-
ty. There will always be some people
who will object to the play grounds
~N - w SOUAASAA1 PAIN OOdTQ anu
the school board wait for unanimous
consent to open play ground for the
children the question will be one to be
solved by the children s children.
Kenosha now has enough parks which
are devoid of the joy of living What
1t wants now is not flower beds alone,
but flower beds about the edges of plats
where the children may play in the
sand, where their play is not going to
be interrupted by the honk of an
automobile many times in the hand
of the careless driver.
It's the children's right, the peo-
pie have given it to them by ballot
and the expressed wish of the people
should not be nullifed by small
coterie Of discontinued neighbors who
happen to have built homes near CITY
property designed for play ground
purposes.