The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1919-09-27
SOLDIERS PARK

NAT Is the now nVlng question. IL
Greeneville is to have a park, when
and where are two important inter-
rogatories. Some months ago, when
the Hirsch lot was offered for sale, a
few of the liberal. public spirited
men agitated the question of buying
that property for the purpose Of
building on it Soldiers Memorial
Park. The question was most fa-
vorably discussed by many of the
best citizens Of Greeneville and by
thousands of the best men and wo-
men of the county, Why? Because
the courage and patriotism Of Greene
county stands at the top as county
furnishing as large a number of SOL
diers as any county in the state that
ever mustered Under the Stars and
Stripes to bare their bosoms and Of
fer their lives, if need be, for the de-
Tense of home, county, flag and lber-
ty. Without these life is not worth
the living. Do not the living moneyed
men and women of the city and coun-
ty owe a debt of gratitude to these
noble, brave, patriotic soldier boys,
and to the widows and sons and
sons and daughters of the thousands
who died on the fields of battle, in
hospitals, far fra mhome, and to the
old gray-haired survivors of the va
rious wars? We certainly do. We
should honor them in every way lau-
dable and patriotic.
Now to show to you what Greene
vile needs, it is necessary to point
out what Greeneville has not got. 1t
is not necessary to name all Greene
vile has. She has a lot of swell
ups, lot Of boosters, who will say
Grecneville is the best town in the
State; the best town in the South;
the best town in the nation to it's size.
1t is the cleanest, the best citizenship
and on to the end of the catalogue
of boasts. Some of this may be true
and much more is true to the honor
and glory and history Of Greeneville.
But one thing Greeneville lacks in
a high degree; one thing that Greene
vile needs, and one thing that is to
her shame and disgrace because she
has it not. Greeneville has not a
public park.
If our soldiers of any and all wars
since the American Revolution who
may yet survive the cemetery want
to celebrate any national day, as the
It'll of July, and call together their
friends for happy reunion or any
military organization in which they
served, they must assemble in the
streets or seek refuge on private prop
erty-Greeneville has no public park
no place to offer them. If our noble
mothers, sisters and friends, want to
give a public dinner or have a picnic
to do honor to their noble sons, their
patriotic brothers and friends, they
must get out of town, or hunt back
alley, or stop on some vacant private
house lot or cow-pen to have their
picnic dinner, for Greeneville has no
Park; no place to offer.
Now the Hirsch lot of about 5
acres of land has been bought in for
the sum of 100000, and some ex-
ira charges for execution of papers.
income tax and interest accumulated
can be bought,
1t is a central location. 1t is at
the most available poiirt. 1t is of
easy access TO al our soldier element.
Why not buy this cheap property,
this elegant, beautiful lot?
1t would add to the beauty and
honor of Greenoville. 1t would make
the best advertisement the town can
get for S10O,0O00O.
Why not make it into a Soldiers
Memorial Park?
You will hear Mr.. Director say that
the Hirsch lot is not the place for a
park. Where, within the limits of
the Greeneviile corporation, can you
get five vacant acres so centrally To-
Gated? Answer, Mr.. Director. You
can get other locations. Point out
one that is better. Where is it? Is
it East of the Big Hill? Is it toward
old Mt. Bethel? Is it on the black
jack, stony, sharp-edgcd ridge east
of the terminus of Main street? Is it
away out toward Newport in the Ter
rill field? Is is West of the Gallows
Hollow, on tho old Davis or Arnold
tracts, a mile from the Greeneville
depot. and off the Southern Railway
where it would never be seen or
known to the travelling public? Or
is it south or east of Browns Hill,
on some of the ragged knobs of the
old Major Rpavps farm. a mila from