Evening star., 1924-09-29
THIS AND THAT
BY C.. E. TRACEWELL

Hampshire avenue. will go the same
| way?
Sand and dirt mix in Dupont Circle
being tracked out of the play spaces
on to the race track around the cir
cumference. The introduction Of this
| circle, 15 feet wide, marked tho pass
ing of the old park. 1t has never
been the same since.
The old charm Of walking through
| the circle and dropping down on a
! bench almost anywhere disappeared
overnight with the new arrangemtnt
OF seats. Now you sit around the
track or you stand. The track fea-
ture really reduces the park to its
| own dimensions. Whereas formerly
residents had the use OF the entire
park. now all they use is the rim
Children may skate on the other
walks. of course, and their elders
| may walk through, but the walks are
cracked and in bad condition, so that
roller skating on them is not good
Walkers find nothing to look at in
SIDE, except the memorial and beds
of roses.
This park is a good demonstration
OF the tendency, in late years, to cut
down and reduce privileges once
granted. With success seems to come
a withdrawal OF old privileges. / in
| tend TO take this up later in another
article in this column, AS it's extent
| Is surprisingly large.
Ihe memorial fountain is a pretty
thinS, vast improvement over the
( old statue. The figures, in bas-relief
. are a good example Of how the nude
NAV be used in America without af-
front to any one. The lady, for in
| stance. is not so decidedly without
clothes as the faun girl OF the Oar
| Hngton memorial in Courthouse
! Square.
! For Children Only" saws n sicr
stuck in the sand pile Ore wonders
II this is warning to mothers to lei
| their Kids play unmolested. or .
gentle hint to grown boys and girls
to stick to the benches
! Over in the piles, now leveled b,
use over months. small children dig
methodically, in the painful way some
children have of enjoying themselves
Tired mothers and harassed maids
make themselves comfortable on the
! benches.
40 white dog, cleaning as if jus,
from bath in flea soap. runs intc
the park under the wires, halts or
the poor grass. Man made regulations
and inhibitions are not for him.
Tall shrubs and bushes are placed
behind the benches. so that the circle
is somewhat shut off from the ap-
preaching streets. Men, women and
| children come along, now and then
! from all directions.
/ Where do the people come from, and
where are they going?
They come from the 10000 homes
OF the city. and they are going &c
some of the other homes. or some
| OF the thousands of stores or theaters
or other places of amusement "They
are on their way" that is about all
one can say. 1t is life in a big city
that is all.
l see a way to help solve the traffic
problem. sitting here on one of the
comfortable benches placed out OF
the sidewalk. facing the Mount Pleas
and and Georgetown car lines.
1t is to make street car riding
pleasant, Such an easy thing-bu,
III bet that all the official solvers
of Washington's traffic problem never
thought of it,
This is one of the few places in
Washington where the walters for
street cars are given benches where
on to rest themselves.
If every car stop had its bench, if
every car was only comfortably full
if there were more cars. IL conductors
and motormen were always courteous
and polite, if people would start
taking ride on a street car for
fun as they once did. wouldn't that
help solve the traffic prohlenp