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Show j CITV PLEASURE GROUNDS. I A Public Fark is a Publh Necessity. Neces-sity. ; lotion Uaul-l: j Salt Lake Citv, Aug. -7, is; l. In your report ot the last meeting of the City Council a paragraph stated that Councilors Young, Little and CarrinRton were appointed to consider the propriety of purchasing laud for making parks aud pleasure grounds. There is something about this that I cannot understand, and as one of the taxpayers, ask for public information. Pleasure grounds and parks should be had by all means; then, why not lir up the Eighth, Tenth and Sixteenth ward squares for this purpose? Each of these squares contains ten acres; they are already the property of the city, as we understand; under-stand; some improvements have been made on them, and they have been held in view by the people of Salt Like as the future parks of this city. It is true they are not very extensive, hut they will, doubtless, prove large enough for our citizens for a few years 1 yet, and if they are small they are better than nouo at all. Another fact is true, also, that the available funds in the treasury arc not very extensive. ex-tensive. The propriety of purchasing land for this purposo when we have at least, thirty acres in our city, is very questionable, hut there would be some just propriety in laying of), improving 1 and beautifying the squares mention-1 mention-1 ed above. Some pleasant places of public resort should be provided by the City Council, and, Messrs. Editors, you would be performing a lasting good by presenting this fact in a manner man-ner that will obtain the interests oi the people and tho city government, that steps should be immediately taken to this end. ! We want recreation grounds and ; parks, and we want them now. All j of the public squares above noted are in such condition that they, or either 1 of them,- could be fitted up at comparatively com-paratively small cipeuse, when they would be of greater present and future benefit, than would be the purchasing purchas-ing of more land, and the whole lying unimproved and unprepared for the. purpose intended. J Old Taxpayer. I The subject of one or more public parks for this cjty has long exercised the minds of the community and de-1 serves serious consideration. . We have a growing city which is every yr increasing in population, and j one of the chief objects a tourist has! in crossing the continent is to see Salt Lake. When strangers come here and learn there are no pleasure grounds, no parks, no drives, 'much of the imagined beauty and supposed attractiveness of the Queen City of the great inferior basin vanishes. True the city itself is a sort of populated popul-ated park with its rows of trees, beautiful beau-tiful flower gardens, crasa plats, broad avenues and its numerous streams of sparkling mountain wafers, but something different is wanted. We need at least one large, public park made attractive both by nature and art. Groves of trees, lakelets, runnin-; brooks and sparkling fountains, foun-tains, promenades and carriage drives, flower beds.'grassy lawns, vine covered cov-ered arbors, these are what we want, not only for the 1 entertainment of travelers and tourists, but for the diversion di-version and amusement of residents. And we think new is the proper time for the City Fathers to take the inia-tive inia-tive in this matter. Every year and every day count, both in the increase of the first cost of the required land and in the time lost. Eligible tracts of land can now be secured for a reasonable rea-sonable sum, yet these tracts are ! steadily increasing in value. Concerning the public squares referred re-ferred to by "Old Tax Payer." we do not agree with our correspondent, nor do we think he would seriously advocate advo-cate them very strongly. The Bquares are entirely too small for parka they are none too large for respectable play-grounds for boys, and should be kept for that purpose. A park large enough for this city should contain not less than 100 acres. There are several points near the city where this amount of land could be secured, and we hope tho special council committee, who have the matter in hand, will select one of these locations and if reasonable terms for its purchase can be agreed , upon, recommend that the corporation buy it and immediately commence the required improvements. |