Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-05-06
AID ORGANIZED
PLAY SCHEME
Movement is Being Rapidly
Advanced Nation Wide
How to Play is Idea.
BY FREDERICK J. HASKIN.

& -
BY FREDERICK j. HASklN.
WASHINGTON, May G.-Organ'
lied playtime for city and village
il rapidly becoming a nationwide
fact. The Community Service whlct
concentrated on soldiers and san
ors for the past few years, has nov
revised its program to fit the ciNli
ian, and is busy showing the busl'
ness man and his wife how TO play
Perhaps you think we know wei
enough how to play. We spend more
on a-nusements than any olhel
country in the world. we are
champions of the world at being en-
tertained. But amusemens Is a sec
pnd-hand sort of sport. When II
comes to amusing ourselves by tax
ing part in games, dramatics, ano
impfomptu concerts, we have MOI
distinguished ourselves.
This is unfortunate because tht
value Of doing sometimes, instead
of watching all the time, is obvious
After sitting on the edge of a seat
at a ball game you limp out with a
back stiff from cramping. After
PLAYING bait an hour or two your
self, you are stiff from using muscles
that need the exercise.
That people are acquiring the
fixed habit of wanting to enjoy al
their a-musements Vicarfously IS at
tributed to two facts. one IS that
a wonderful organization of COM
mercial amusements has been evolv-
ed. and the other is that people
have not been encouraged to get to-
eether, to make sport for them
selves Now they are being en-
coura9ed and by legislatures, town
councils, and local organizations
thaY work for city betterment.
Community play is being promot-
ed by local governments ecaus IL
has been demonstrated to be a pfac-
Neal business proposition. CITY OH
.Icials accept as an axiom the state
I ment that the leisure hours of the
city must be either an asset or a
liability. The people of this country
have about a billion hours a day to
spend outside of work and sleep.
In this leisure time most of the crime
and vice and delinquency occur. ac-
cording to James f.. Rogers of the
Community Service headquarters,
who has carefully studied the leisure
time problem.
Value of Children
Mr.. Rogers tells us that If a child
is rated by the Children's Bureau as
an investment of from $1,000 to 81
600 a young boy represents easily
$4,000. If he fails to become a good
citizen. the city that sent him TO
school and provided him with other
benefits not only loses that invest
ment, but it has to pay for the result
of his failure.
Thus. if a boy spends his spare
time with a rough gang on the street
and gets a juvenile court record for
arn,t,ittjnp va rinnS pnrp6DtInnG he
goes to a reform school and the peo-
pie pay for his maintenance there.
If he steals to get money to take his
girl to amusements, as a boy in Den
yer did. he goes to jail, and the COM
munity pays for that. If he is hurt
In a fight in the street. the commun-
ity pays for the ambulance and his
hospital bill. The leisure time of a
city is an expensive proposition.
Because hospitals, jails and police
organizations. paid for by taxation,
are to a considerable extent employ
90 al a result of misused leisure time
city officials are becoming convinced
of the dollars and cents value of pre-
ventive measures. 1t has also been
shown them hat advantageous use
of leisure time is of definite benefit
to a community. Recreation that
really rests and re-creates mean
greater efficiency in business. And
what is true of the cities is equally
true in the small town or rural COM
munity.
The realization of these facts has
led to the development of a Com :
munity service organization, growing
out of the Wal Camp Community
Service. 1t works by sending out or
ganizers to places hat want to es-
tablish some form OF community re-
creation. Song leaders, athletic di-
rectors. or other experts. are also
sent from this community service
headquarters at New York If they
are needed. The aim. however, is to
help the community develop its own
workers, and as soon as community
center activities r running smooth
ly the imported helpers go on to
other work.
A different plan has to be worked
out for each city or town. No two
cities have exactly the same inter
ests. Or the same amount of money
to put into recreation. or the same
facilities.
In Chicago, the local community
service is particularly concerned with
promoting organized play among the
stock yard workers. Play where the
adults are concerned means. of
course. baseball. dancing. athletics
singing and contests of various kinds
Flint, Michigan. is interested in
pageantry. Richmond, Virginia, Is
working especially with roped-ofi
street play. and play grounds f.
children. In Connorsville, Indiana
community sports have developed
from the use of a vacant lot. where
the men pitched horseshoes in the
evening. into three well established
community centers. Lowell, Massa
chusetts, sp~ecializes in girls athletic
clubs, and Wilmington, Delaware. Is
trying community recreation to pro.
mote good citizenship among foreign
ers. MS @s
Altogether $50 communities ar,
organized under the Community Ser
vice. One hundred and thirty o.
them are operating without assist