Evening star., 1919-12-29
CITIZENS SUPPORT
ASKED IN GREATER
PLAYGROUND PLEA
Letters of Board of Trade
to Go to Associations
Throughout City.

Letters Will be sent by the Board of
Trade to every citizens association In
the city. urging the necessity of hav-
ing Congress buy all of the play
grounds now in use but not owned
by the District as well as additional
recreation spaces recommended by the
supervisor of Fairgrounds.
The sending Of this appeal by the
committee on parks and reservations
of the Board OF 9'rade rs tfe FIRST step
in campaign to convince Congress
of the need for better recreational ia
cilities for the children of the National
Canital.
This need has been brought strong
ly to the attention of the people at
this time by the fact that several of
the Fairgrounds now in use may have to
be abandoned, as the owners OF the
ground on which they are located de-
sire to sell or build.
signed by Officials.
The letters to be sent to the civic
associati tions will be signed by Charles
S. Bundy. chairman of the committee
on parks and reservations, and j.
Harry Cunningham. secretary of the
Board of Trade.
The appeal for support in the move
ment to have Congress buy play
ground sites will form only part of
T..
will urge the associations to support
the proposal to ask Congress for au
thority to buy additional public parks
with the more than $4,000,000 of un-
expended District revenue which has
accumulated in the Treasury.
The letter which the Board of Trade
proposed to send to the civic bodies is,
in part. as follows:
1T is now more than seventeen
years since the park commission. act
ing under the authority of the United
States Senate reported comprehen-
siVe project for the development and
Improvement of the entire park sys
TEN of the District of Columbia, since
known as the Mcmillan plan.
at is by no means new plan, but
on the contrary. so far as it applies
to the old city, south of Florida ave-
nue. formerly Boundary street) it is
a development and extension of the
original plan of Washington and JET
ferson as they communicated 1t to
L'Enfant for his guidance in 1890;
and so far as it applies to the subur-
ban portions of the District, it is an
adaptation of the original plan to
the topography and prospec- i've de-
yelopment of the greater Washington.
-The war of secession left chain
of dismantled forts skirting the city,
on it's north and east sides. They have
ended their usefulness in defense Of
the capital, and henceforth could serve
no other purpose than to mark the site
of an indecisive event in the great civil
war.
at was a happy thought of the park
commission that by means of a boule-
ward or parkway connecting them
these forts could be converted into
picturesque features of the park sys-
TEN of Washington, and, since they
already bore historic names, they
would be welcomed by all parties as
,ns,,tl;al monuments to American
!heroism. .
vened. have delayed the execution or
this admirable design until now fhat
peace is daWning and the streams of
revenue are beginning once more to
flow toward the Treasury, the time
would seem to be auspicious for un-
locking the vaults wherein more than
$4.OOO.0 900 of District taxes lie i'm
bounded as if for just this purpose,
to wit. the purchase of park sites. If
it could be restored to circulation, the
fund so obtained would be ample for
the purchase of the parkways ahd
park sites hereinafter named.
Unanimous for Proposal.
"The Washington Board of Trade at
it's meeting on the 21st day of
October. of the present year, made
mediate accomplishment of the Nc
Mil an plan, by the unanimous adop
tion of the following resolution, to
wit:
"Resolved. That Congress be urged
to provide for the immediate acQuisi-
ton of the following tracts of land
in the District for parks and recrea-
ton purposes: namely:
1.-The Patterson tract. containing
S1.76 acres; estimated cost, $429.240.
The Mount Hamilton tract. contain
ing 44933 acres; estimated cost.
$240. .016, 500.
"The Dean tract, containing 9.25
acres; estimated cost. $624.637.50.
1.-The Klingle Ford tract, containing
924 acres; estimated. cost, 100000.
1.-The tract required for the exten-
sion of Piney Branch parkway; es-
timated cost, 100000.
Fort Drive, and sites of forts from
10Th street to the Anacostia river;
stimated cost, $4,000.
Fort Drive and site of fort from
Pennsylvania avenue southeast, to
Continued on Fifth Page.)