Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-07-25

On the Palatine an artificial lake has
been created which affords good swimming,
and will supply splendid fishing in the near
future. 1t has been stocked with small
mouth bass, and Chicago fishermen say it
is one of the finest bits of water for this
fish in the state. 1t is intended to allow
angling under permit as soon as the fish
have become numerous.
For naturalists, amateur and professional,
the forest preserves are great boon. The
Prairie club and other Chicago nature study
clubs, regularly take long hikes in the
forests. Needless to say the Boy Scouts
have not been slow to appropriate these
wild lands as their own particular stamp
ing ground.
While various classes and organizations
have been quick to appreciate these play
grounds, the same cannot be said Of the
general public. 1t appears that the great
mass of Chicagoans have so long been city
dwelIers, and know so little about the de-
lights and advantages of outdoor life, that
they will have to be educated to them. In
1917, the first year that any of the forests
were opened to the public there were only
100 picnic permits issued. In 1918 about
800 persons applied for permits, and this
year the number will be much larger. Thus
the forests are rapidly becoming more pop
ular, but the number of Chicagoans who
have made use of them is surprisingly
small.
In Chicago's poorer quarters there are
thousands of children who have never been
outside the city, and who do not know that
there is such thing as soil covered with
grass and trees instead of with cement and
cobblestones These are the individuals who
most need the fresh air and exercise which
the Fairgrounds can give Them and Peter
Reinberg, the president of the board of
commissioners, has made it his special bust
ness to introduce these little Chicago cock
news to the wild woods Every year he
nf n mn
which has been built by the city in one Of
the prettiest of the forest preserves. Each
of these camping trips lasts about ten days,
and some two hundred children and moth
ers from the poorest quarters of Chicago
are the city's guests They are taken from
the parts of the city where fresh air is most
needed, and especially from those places
where bad air and undernourishment have
given tuberculosis hold In the camp the
mothers and children are given all the fresh
milk and eggs and vegetables that they can
eat. There are hikes and camp fires and
swimming parties. The camp is under the
direction of trained nurse and a physical
director. Many starveling slum child
gets new lease on life and a new concep-
ton of it's beauties and Joy on these camping
trips. The pity is that only few thousand
can be taken each year, while there are
hundreds of thousands of children who have
never breathed anything but Chicago's no.
torious smoke
Those who have charge Of Chicago's forest
Fairgrounds emphasize the fact that they
have just begun their work. The forests
will not come into their full usefulness, in
the first place, until transportation to them
has been extended and improved. Mean
time, the board of commissioners is making
all kinds of improvements. AS springs are
somewhat scarce, they are drilling wells to
supply the campers with water One golf
links has been laid out ond others are con-
templeted. Another artificial lake is being
made on the Palos forecast and wild rice is
being planted in the Palatine lake to attract
The wild fowl. which have already appeared
in considerable numbers.
The time will come, no doubt, when these
forest areas will be GASES of GOODNESS and
fresh air within this titan city, which seems
to have no limit of growth and then they
will be worth many times what they have