The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-18
For Good of
 the Community
TOW comes the Community Band.
 M Good. Birmingham needs 1t quite if ,aoa1n6c

TOW comes the Community BanQ. IN Good. Birmingham needs 1t quite as much as it needs new industries
 "A variety in form of entertainment after the days work is done and the dol- lars are made, is quite as important as variety of industries to round out man cial and commercial symmetry
 A Municipal Band costs money and brings none in But what is money? It is the measure of that which we wish. 1t is not eaten, worn, does not heat, does not cool, does not love- does not suffer, does not feel It is made that we may have what we want and for which we have worked.
 Churches cost money and bring in no cash They are constant outflow of money with no return in kind The Boy Scouts cost money and bring in no money. One who sees what they do would rather have them than thrice the sum which it costs for their maintenance.
 The Community Sings have brought in no money. They have cost their packers much with no money recoupment. One who sees the packed audiences of his fel- low citizens enjoying the sings free of charge is more than compensated for
 
 about
 Better to have these forms of commun- ity pleasure ahead of time than make a post-dated effort to have them in per- formance to allay the heated passions of a disgruntled body polite. Far better are these bands and Sings to keep a contented people content than belated effort to bring them around when they have ac- cumulated discomfort for lack of recrea- tion.
 There is nothing new about this sense of obligation of the community to the community The Roman circus and the Greek stadiun1s were for the entertain ment of the restless masses There was no. charge for seeing the combats between gladiators or for witnessing the death of martyrs at the rush of hungry lions. There was no charge for the chariot races, none for the athletic games. These spectacu- lar events were staged to make the masses forget themselves. They were necessary for the peace of Rome and Athens.
 Caesar and Pompey and the other dic- tators of the decadent republic of Rome brought in ships of grain and distributed the contents to the disaffected peoples whom they would control Communities now seek to do that which cuts out the avenues of restlessness before lack of en- tertainment shall have paved them for the iron-clad hoofs of real trouble
 There is no money in the Y. M. c. A. There is none in the Y. w. c. A. It is all outlay. The return is better young men and better young women The return on Boy Scouts is better boys to be better men. The return on the Community Sing and the Municipal Band will be happier citi- zens. No money back, but plenty of the stuff which cannot be measured in money, but is measured in the hearts and souls of men,
 Pressing on the heels of Birmingham for greater attention is the parks. Should there not be park department of the municipal government? There is in, other cities. There is in Cincinnati, where park development has attained well-nigh per- lection and hundreds of thousands of peoples enjoy the many forms of recrea- tion which they provide.
 There are many times in the lives of