Evening star., 1924-10-08
SEES j. S. RECALL
| PARK CONCESSIONS
Col. Sheriff. Says Joint Wei.
fare Board Will Direct
Fairgrounds.

Public recreation facilities operated
by the concession system in Wash
| tnSton under the office of public
buildings and grounds are to be taken
out OF the hands of concessionaires
as soon as possible and placed under
the direction of the Joint Welfare
| Board. Col. c. o.. Sheriff., engineer
officer in charge of public buildings
and grounds. told a joint, meeting of
| park executives with the American
civic Association at the New willard
| Hotel today
Col. Sheriff. said that while in
many cases a monopoly in the main
| tenance and operation of facilities
for sports and public recreation in
the parks is desirable provided eff
cient conCeSsionnaires can be found
such system does not always work
to the best business interests of ad-
| ministration. For this reason, he
! said. all the sports facilities in the
public parks of Washington under the
office of public buildings and grounds
| ultimately will be placed under the
! guidance OF the Joint Welfare Board
! composed OF officers within the Gov
! ernment service.
! Sees Adequate Parks.
| Turning to the need for additional
| park facilities in Washington, Col
| Sheriff. said he believes that under
! the National Capital Park Commits
SION Washington will ultimately have
| not only adequate park areas, but
| adequate playground areas properly
distributed throughout the entire ex-
| tent of the city.
ut is my hope" he declared, that
! in the course of the next few years
we shall see in every 10 or 12 squares
| n ha ,;%
| square set aside for park and play
! ground purposes. In many cases
| these squares can be ideally adapted
to playground purposes and park pur-
| poses at the same time by creating
! Fairgrounds in the center of the
! squares surrounded by appropriate
planting and parking between the
playg DIS and the adjoining
streets"
Golf is the most popular sport III
the parks. measured by the number
of participants. Col. Sheriff. said
with 27,777 individuals playing one
game during the last fiscal year
And the history Of public golf In
Washington. he added, dates back
only to 1914, when three-hoIe
course was opened in West Potomac
| Park. The first complete nine-hole
course was opened in East Potomac
Park in July. 1920. and with this
| start it has been necessary to add tc
the golf facilities until at the pres
ent time there are in the parks two
nine-hole courses in East Potomac
| Park. one nine-hole course in ives,
Potomac Park. one nine-hole course
for colored near Lincoln Memorial
one nine-hole course in Rock Creek
| Park. one additional nine-hoie course
under construction in East Potomac
| Park and one additional nine Ne
course under construction in Rock
Creek Park. "Ail the courses are
taxed to capacity" Col. Sheriff. said
/ >,any as $50 players to play on a
single day on the Rock Creek Park
or Potomac Park courses"
Brunner Also Speaks.
Fred J. Brunner superintendent O.
the municipal swimming pools OF
! Washington, gave short talk or
hetplace of swimming in recreation
/ holding up swimming as one Of tht
tu1ost healthful forms of exercise
Other speakers today included Capt
Horace w. Peaslee. architect: c. T.
Brewer of Detroit, J. r. Bachelor O.
the Playground Recreation Association
OF America and V. x. Brown of tn,
board of South Park commissioners
! of Chicago. Mrs. Susie Root Rhooes
| superintendent of Fairgrounds of thu
District, was unable to fill her place
on the speaking program because o.
| illness.
One hundred and seventy-fve dele
! gates to the meetings of the Ameri
can Civic Association, the American
Institute of Park Executives and tn,
American Park Society visited th'
Arlington Experiment Station, wher'
they took lunch this afternoon ant
| were taken later in the day on al
automobile trip through the park
and public Grounds of the city.
Another joint meeting is scheduled
to be held at the Willard tonight
at which the topic for discussion will
| be National Parks and Forests.
Speakers include ]. Horace MacFar
| land. president Of the civic organiza
ton; Arno B. Cammerer, assistant di
| rector Of the National Park Service
L. +. Kneipp, executive secretary o.
the National Conference on Outdoor
! Recreation; Ovid NJ. Butler, secretar,
of the American Forestry Association
and w. W. Ashe, secretary of tn,
| National Forest Commission