The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-24
M E N, w o M EN
 A N D I'll IN G $

Keep Off the Grassp' For years this
 was the sign that stared at you in every
 public park in the United States.
 II was in those days when the books
 of Library were about as accessible to
 the public as the money in the treasury
 vaults of the government The volumes i were not for the people, but for the custodians.
 Along came some practical reformer
 and said to himself: What is the use
 of calling the places in which books are
 stored a public library, when they are
 shut out from them by desks and rails and any one venturous enough to- pass
 them is elected with scorn?2
 1 It was found out that the best library
 was the one giving the best service. the
 test being the number of volumes which were used during the year. There soon grew up a rivalry among the librarians ], to have it said of their institutions that
 more books per capita were taken out
 than in any other in the country.
 l never enthuscd much. although q pro- hibitionist over the raids Carrie Nation made with her little hatchet. but when some one got on the war path and went
 out Into the public parks and knocked down the Keep Off the Grass signs, l | wanted to shout for pure joy, for hated them from my bovhood up. It always
 semed to me that the very place wanted 1 to % Uass always fahooed
 1 Hundreds, yes thousands, of children
 in the city had to keep in the gravelled paths while the inviting lawns were kept
 trim and pretty for the eyes of the elect
 who did not vearn with their whole ach- ling bodies to just get down and roll over in the sheer joy of feeling something green and soft beneath them. am sorry
 for the man or woman who at some time does not yearn just simply to stretch out I oil the carpet which mother earth has spread for her tired children.
 1 Now. there is campaign going on to keep the children from skating in the streets. and I am in sympathy with it, I for sooner or later fathers and mothers icdi to WILL DS DlOhCh py tAiC of9iiS VI eA.~
 limp or mangled form of their loved boy or girl It was a risky thing in the days of horses and carriages to venture into the roads afoot but now when high powered cars and heavy trucks are speeding or numbering along the highways it's difficult matter for even grown>
 ups to keep out of harm's way.
 
 1 Every day on my way to town see q lor of school children on their way to school on their skates. Now. it's too
 hitch on to street car or catch an au- I tomobile going his way. But to do so
 Is to flirt with death, for only too frez uuently in letting loose some vehicle speeding in the rear hasn't time to slow up before an accident has occurred. This, with darting in and out among the nov ing traffic. makes the life of every driver
 miserable.
 I see it's un to Solicitor Tate to pass on the legality of the right of skaters on the county highways do not know what his legal opinion will be, but l am sure that fathers and mothers ought
 to dos their dead level best to instill into their children the terrible risks they are Itaafine. and if after warnings they rs. Ifuse to heed the advice. then the skates ought to be confiscated Better to make
 the child forego a pleasure than to have
 It killed or crippled for life.
 l So much for repressive and educational methods. Something ought to be done to revive the plavgrounds which were made prominent by George Ward when he was mayor and later as head ofthe commis-
 sion The playground propaganda was going fine until slump came in the city's l finances. I do not know much about the condition of the city's exchequer, but l lhope way can be found for Commission CT Brown to spend some money on pro-
 viding adequate facilities in the, parks for the beneft of the children of BirminE-
 ham.
 It's not right to criticise parents who football grounds. The school grounds should be made to serve not merely dur
 ling school hours. but when school is out. Not to utilize them is on par with the old spirit of putting up keep Off the Grass signs or shutting folk out of their rights to 20 into the library and walk
 up to the shelves and finger the books
 at will. I ann glad of any movement which causes churches to be used on week days or schools to furnish meeting places for community work, and the grounds
 kept in commission at other times save
 recess.
 Birmingham is big enough and has
 parks enough if some way can be found to equip them to furnish an outlet for
 men and women and children It can boast of some undeveloped ones which
 for sheer beauty are hard to beat. Let
 roads be put throush them. bathing lbeaches. swimming pools. athletic lsrounds. swinxs and other conveniencea installed. It may be that the money can not be found in tho city's coffers' pu' ;sthere arc public-spirited men and women
 who. if they catch the idea. can put . Iworth-while programme on foot.
 It's not rifht to criticize parents whe llet their children play in the streets un- .tless we do our best to aid parents IT providing suitable places in every section of Birmingham where their boys and ETH can find a chance to indulge in then tfavorite pastimea am for doing every thing possibie for the starving children Ia 1c,,rona and Asia. They should be fec