Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-07-25
Boy Without Playground
Father of Man Without Job
(Continued from page 1)

4 l(OnIknuG0 ITOm paB9NAJ
| recreation centers. Before we discuss
what a playground Is as to ground,
leaders and equipment let us look at
! some city satisfies.
| This extract from the superinten-
dent of schools report is suggestive:
superintendent s. E. Shull report
ed that h number of boys enrolled
In the schools during the past year
was 4,275; girls, 4,064, making a total
Of $3.50. This is 322 more than the
number enrolled last year" Add on
to this eight thousand. the-children
that go to other schools, st. Mary's,
the Danish and Polish schools, or esti-
mate yourself how many children
there are in a population of so, 600.
comes to doing something outside u
routine life. Is there any man or
woman who does not want to get out
In the evening-out in the open.
Again the keen observer will remem-
Der the innumerable pictures of whole
families sitting on the porchss and
steps of their ouses. Why? Because
there is no place offered by the city
that is less dusty and noisy n less
dangerous for the children to play in.
We are not talking about You who
have green lawns and a quiet street
and trees, but about those hundreds
and thousands of homes in Perth
Amboy where none of the three men,
toned ~luxuries exist.
What has Perth Amboy already in
the way Of Fairgrounds or recreation
in the evening. For her two thousand
young people and her older boys and
girls, or we will say her so, 900 in
habitants she has seven playground
instructors, she has four Fairgrounds
opei. this summer washington Park
afternoon and evening; School g.,
morning, afternoon n two evenings
a week; School A. morning and after
noon, and Hayes Park morning, after
noon and EVENING" h has a baseball
league which keeps the boys busy;
she has two swing frames which at
ford six swing seats, one playground
slide, one pair of flying rings, ana
one swinging bar; h has one set of
four See Saws, she a a large enough
appropriation to give about two or
three balls, one or two bats and quoits
to each ground; and she has four Vol
ley ball courts and one Victrola. She
has at least a thousand more children
to entertain and develop through
right ideals In sport and plays n
through the offering of leadership and
grounds. She has not n fenced In
playground, the result Is that n
apparatus that the appropriation MAJ
allow will become a nauisance to the
& AtoOA AAOO0 Ia AA0 ~
In fact there has already been COM
plants to the authorities hat in the
evening after the playground instruc-
tors go the lawless element get on
the swings and the bamboo slide and
are a nuisance. Is this allowed In
other cities, in those cities that have
put over a practical working scheme
of recreationf
You may not know that there are
no real Fairgrounds In Perth Amboy,
that the work done here Is that OF
play centers which Is necessarily the
first step toward a playground. 1t Is
a good start toward a real playground,
but in this life nc movement ever
stands still, 1t either goes forward or
goes under. This first year after the
war will prove which way public SEN
timent, to the extent of hancial as
sistance, to the extent of getting back
of that ely appropriation, II going to
push. Are you in earnest about your
interest in These children n young
boys and girl swho are looking to you
for occupation. Are you at all re-
sponsible for the traffic accidents to
these boys Of ten and over, who are
longing for something to hang on and
swing on and are you responsible for
those stone fights that go on in one
| end of your town. What has O fellow
| got to throw and let out his surplus
energy on?