Full text of "Planning and civil comment 1939-40"

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1038429

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Planniilo OTii
Civic Comment

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

CONTENTS

Page
Planning Progress in the United States 1

Editorial Comment: Conservation of Scenic Areas in Na-
tional Parks and Forests 5

Who Owns the Scenery? 7

Zoning Round Table: A Court Dissects a Planning Com-
mission 9

For Better Roadsides 11

Town Planning in Nova Scotia 15

Proposed John Muir-Kings Canyon National Park 17

State Park Notes 35

The 19th National Conference on State Parks 38

Institute on Landscape Management 39

National Resources Committee Notes 40

Watch Service Report . . 43

Hearings on the John Muir-Kings Canyon Park 44

The Senate Bill to Make Permanent the National Resources
Board 44

Boston Planning Conference, May 15-17 45

Special Summer Planning Courses to be Repeated 46

Santa Fe Park Conference, October 9-10 46

Book Reviews 47

Recent Publications 47

JANUARY- MARCH 1939

AND
jjGjIVIC COMMENT

Published Quarterly
Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

Official Organ of: American Planning and Civic Association,
National Conference on State Parks

SCOPE: National, State, Regional and City Planning; Land and Water Uses;

Conservation oj National Resources; National, State and Local Parks,

Highways and Roadsides.
AIM: To create a better physical environment which will conserve and develop

the health, happiness and culture oj the American people.

EDITORIAL BOARD

HARLEAN JAMES FLAVEL SHURTLEFF CHARLES G. SAUERS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

FREDERICK J. ADAMS S. HERBERT HARE

HORACE M. ALBRIGHT .. P. J. HOFFMASTER

HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW HENRY V. HUBBARD

EDWARD M. BASSETT JOHN IHLDER

RUSSELL V. BLACK RAYMOND F. LEONARD

PAUL V. BROWN RICHARD LIEBER

STRUTHERS BURT THOMAS H. MACDONALD

HAROLD S. BUTTENHEIM J. HORACE MCFARLAND

ARNO B. CAMMERER HENRY T. MC!NTOSH

DAVID C. CHAPMAN KATHERINE MCNAMARA

MARSHALL N. DANA MARVIN C. NICHOLS

S. R. DEBOER JOHN NOLEN, JR.

EARLE S. DRAPER ISABELLE F. STORY

CHARLES W. ELIOT, 2o L. DEMING TILTON

L. C. GRAY TOM WALLACE
CONRAD L. WIRTH

MANAGING EDITOR

DORA A. PADGETT

$3.00 a Year

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EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATION OFFICE: 901 Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C.
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1038429 Mutt? '41

Planning and Civic Comment

Vol. 5

January-March, 1939

No. 1

Planning Progress in the United States, 1938

By F. A. PITKIN
Executive Director, Pennsylvania State Planning Board

AfY complete appraisal of
trends in planning should
give separate consideration
to planning at each level of govern-
ment, or to planning for each kind
of political or geographical unit
Federal, regional, state, district,
county, city or borough, town or
township, and neighborhood. Dis-
tinction should also be made be-
tween planning by specialized plan-
ning agencies, planning as an inci-
dental part of the operations of
administrative agencies, and plan-
ning by unofficial groups. Still
further distinction probably should
be made between the 45 varying
blends of social planning, economic
planning, physical planning and
information service which we have
been rather loosely calling State
Planning. Since only a few pages
have been provided for this ap-
praisal, I will perforce do some more
of the generalizing that the planning
fraternity should, but does not
always, avoid.

In 1938 American planning pro-
grams have given evidence of having
made a distinct advance in the
direction of practicality. It seems
to be more generally realized that
there is not an infinite time ahead
in which planning by state and
local governmental units may with-

hold, because of professional caution,
political caution, or any other sort
of caution, any contribution that
it is in their power to make to the
pressing problems of today. It may,
indeed, be that "it is later than we
think."

Planning is a relatively new field
and it has rightly been inspired
with an anxious care for accuracy
in its data, all the more because of
the fact that the very first attempts
at physical planning for neighbor-
hoods and for larger units have
revealed how little was known con-
cerning even the most essential
matters with which government
ought to be concerned.

Ten years ago we apparently did
not know, on any dependable basis,
many things of importance about a
large variety of human needs. We
did not know much about popula-
tion growth, or its laws. It was a
common practice to project the
prevailing growth on up to the
zenith, or if inclined to more con-
servative estimates, toward the
North Star, and to use those projec-
tions as our data for planning and
zoning any area, whether of a state
or a minor civil subdivision.

Ten years ago we were also pro-
jecting the American commercial
and industrial growth not only on

Pfdnriirig'dnd Civic Comment

upHoj tiit-elearthfougrr 'the-z'eVwth,
and all econom-kjAftcl social laws
were being repe^iIeSi by common
consent. The planning movement
and much of the zoning activity in
American urban centers originated
and began to develop under the
handicap of such new-era psy-
chology.

In these past ten years, planning
has had to go after facts. It has
had to develop approximate stan-
dards of all sorts. In planning for
our increasingly mobile age it has
had to work out methods of traffic
counting and the application of
traffic information to road dimen-
sion. It has had to learn to estimate
population and industrial changes
on a basis of reality far removed
from anything possible in 1910 or
even in 1920. It has arrived at a
more realistic technique for estimat-
ing the proportion of a commu-
nity's building space which should
be set aside for commercial use.

About these essentials of planning,
and the many other factors not
mentioned, much still remains to
be known. But the important point
is that progress is being made every
year and much of this progress is
due wholly to the planning move-
ment. Though our progress may
seem inconsiderable from year to
year, cumulatively it represents a
very great achievement upon which
dividends can now be collected.

In recent years planning has
proceeded from a period of "expert"
opinion to a more scientific tech-
nique that has accumulated, or is
in process of accumulating, the
essential information as to the
probable needs of States, cities,
counties and towns. It is because

of the sum of this accumulated
knowledge that a new and highly
interesting phase of the planning
movement has now begun.

Those who have been impatient
of Federal, state and local planning
boards, and are inclined to class
their work as impractical or theoret-
ical, have not considered that in
these past years the creation of a
whole new branch of applied science
has had to be undertaken. This new
science has been compelled to digest
into its practice to mention only a
few of its contributing sources the
laws of population movement and
growth, the migrations and changes
of industry, the relation of recreation
to public health, of highway trans-
portation to highway engineering,
the chemistry and geology of agri-
cultural land-use, the physics of
erosion and the bacteriology of
stream pollution. It has had to
weld into a body of practice and
administrative procedure elements
as diverse as the structural strength
of concrete and the need of a tene-
ment child for a sight of green fields.
In the year 1938 the effect of these
efforts is beginning to make itself
clear at last.

The National Resources Com-
mittee, through the effectiveness of
its work, has become more firmly
seated than ever as an essential
part of our governmental structure.
Although not yet established on a
permanent basis, it is not con-
ceivable that such action will be
long delayed by Congress.

There are today active planning
boards in 45 of our States and three
of our territories. The range of
their publications and activities
during 1938 indicates the wide

Planning and Civic Comment

variety of local interests and pres-
sures. It is impossible in so brief
a survey to do more than indicate
a few of the directions that public
planning has taken. Omissions from
this listing must be ascribed to lack
of space, rather than to any failure
to recognize important work.

Many State Planning Boards
have paid particular attention to
the stimulation of local planning
and some have prepared literature
or manuals for the use of local
planning bodies.

Some have attacked the problem
of county consolidation.

Some have given special atten-
tion to the development of rec-
reational possibilities as a source of
well-being and profit.

In several States the importance
of forestry has been stressed and
programs of forest development
suggested.

Roadside improvement has been
emphasized in a number of States.

Tax delinquency, industry, low-
cost housing, land-subdivision con-
trol, rural zoning, agriculture, public
health, public works, population
trends, flood control, public educa-
tion and governmental reorganiza-
tion are some of the subjects on
which many of the State Planning
Boards have been working.

One state board has promoted
pedestrian pathways along main
roads to save human lives, partic-
ularly the lives of children.

Roadside protection, including
control of billboards and other
deleterious developments, has made
real progress in many States, in
most cases through the cooperative
efforts of citizen groups and State
Planning Boards. Especially sig-

nificant in the field of roadside pro-
tection is recognition by California
Courts of esthetic considerations as
legitimate factors in zoning controls.
It will be seen from this very
cursory list of state planning ac-
tivities the extent of the field, and
the value of the accumulated knowl-
edge that 1938 has bequeathed to

1939-

In addition to these activities,
regional planning bodies in New
England, in the Pacific Northwest,
on the Delaware Basin and else-
where (The Baltimore-Washington-
Annapolis Area, the Ohio Valley,
the Great Plains Area and the
Tennessee Valley) have investi-
gated the resources and problems
of the areas with which they are
concerned, have continued the pub-
lication of reports on their findings
and are translating these reports
into action programs.

City planning programs have
been adopted by a number of large
and small communities and a gen-
eral program of zoning revision
seems to have begun to adapt urban
zoning to the changing conditions
of city life and to the new knowledge
accumulated during the past decade.

In many of our States the county
planning movement is gaining in
impetus, and that is particularly
true in regions where unwise ex-
haustion of soil or of forest re-
sources has left behind it a heritage
of submarginal land, and also in
counties involved in the problems
of great metropolitan areas. Such
progress and activity has been
notable in California, Washington,
Wisconsin, Michigan, Connecticut,
New York, New Jersey, Florida,
Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Planning and Civic Comment

Obviously, county planning is as
yet being undertaken mainly as a
result of the pressure of unavoidable
necessity. But in that fact is no
ground for discouragement. Let it
be used so for ten years in those
areas in our country where the
heedlessness of the past has pointed
the most severe lessons to the pres-
ent inhabitants, and planning will
become so essential a part of local
government that its true function
of preventing such unhappy neces-
sities will be readily accepted by all.

Although complete information
is not available, it appears that few,
if any, local planning agencies have
been abolished. Unfortunately, how-
ever, many of the newly estab-
lished planning bodies, as well as
many of our older ones, have re-
ceived appropriations so small that
effective work is virtually impos-
sible. Misguided attempts at gov-
ernmental economy have too often
crippled the one governmental arm
which might have contributed most
toward the attainment of real
governmental economy. This same
observation on budgetary restric-
tion applies with equal force to plan-
ning at the state and Federal levels.

Strengthening of local planning
authority, especially in the field of
subdivision control, has been ef-
fected in some States during 1938.

AP & CA Annual

The Annual Members* Meeting
will be held at the Statler Hotel,
Boston, Mass., on Monday, May
1 5th at 4:30 p. M. at the time of the
National Planning Conference An-
nual Reports by the Executive
Secretary and Counsel; election of
Board Members. At the Annual

Noteworthy is the State of Wash-
ington's new legislation, which re-
quires that real estate developers
prove that their proposed subdi-
visions are necessary from the point
of view of the public's convenience.

Among other States enacting
planning or zoning enabling legis-
lation, or strengthening subdivision
control are Georgia, Kentucky,
Mississippi, New York and Vir-
ginia. Studies of subdivision con-
trol made during 1938 will probably
result in legislative action in other
States during the 1939 legislative
sessions.

All over the United States com-
munities more and more are taking
advantage of the existing laws to
guide their growth and to protect
the interests of their citizens
through planning and zoning.

If progress over a single year may
seem small or painful, one must
again remember that though we in
the field are well aware of the
necessity of planning and zoning,
the idea is still unfamiliar to a very
great number of our citizens and is
frequently confused in their minds
with purely Utopian schemes of
social improvement. The success
of the movement may well depend
on every step now made being
justified through positive results
for the public good.

Members' Meeting

Board Meeting on Jan. 28th, the fol-
lowing officers were elected : Frederic
A. Delano, Chairman of the Board;
Horace M. Albright, Pres. ; Samuel P.
Wetherill, ist V.P.; Richard Lieber,
2nd V. P.; Earle S. Draper, 3rd V. P. ;
O. H. P. Johnson, Treas.; Harlean
James, Executive Secretary.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Conservation of Scenic Areas in
National Parks and Forests

THERE are pending proposals
to transfer certain lands of
superlative scenic value from
the U. S. Forest Service to the
National Park Service. This is no
reflection on the Forest Service. It
is a simple question of extending the
land-use program to place lands in
the right category. Areas are not
removed from the national forests
where they were included, often, in
blanket transfers from the public
domain, to become national parks,
necessarily because they are threat-
ened with immediate danger. In
many fine scenic areas the Forest
Service has reduced or discontinued
grazing and prohibited or postponed
wholesale cutting. In the redwood
region, it is well known that the
Forest Service preserves all "big
trees."

It is no valid argument against
the proposed John Muir-Kings Can-
yon National Park to say that the
Forest Service is already protecting
the area. If these yosemites and
high mountain crests merit national-
park status, they should be made
national parks as soon as possible.
Most careful students of conserva-
tion deplore roads in such areas as
the South Fork of the Kings River,
described by John Muir in this
issue. But perhaps many people
do not realize that a highway already
has been built by the State of Cali-
fornia through national-forest lands,
well into the canyon and that work

is still proceeding to carry the road
further up the floor of the valley.
A rider on a recent pack-train trip
down the canyon and on the trail
past the famous Lookout Point to
Horse Corral, observed that big
bull-dozers were noisily pushing
their way down the walls of the
canyon to build a forest road. Per-
haps these roads were inevitable in
the present state of public opinion;
but the argument that the Kings
Canyons and surrounding high coun-
try should not become a national
park because the National Park
Service will build too many roads,
will not stand examination, nor will
the argument that the Forest Ser-
vice is already giving adequate pro-
tection to the area from other ad-
verse uses.

No doubt both Services are sub-
ject to heavy pressure for roads and
other economic uses. Many of us
hope that public sentiment will be
mobilized sufficiently to resist un-
justified pressures in both parks
and forests at least that careful
studies will be made in every case
to ascertain whether the damage of
roads will outweigh any promised
advantage, and the public informed
of the facts.

Now that the Olympic National
Park has been established, it is
devoutly to be hoped that the high-
way projected through the former
forest and monument across the
Quinault, through the Enchanted

Planning and Civic Comment

Valley, over Anderson Pass and out by
the Dosewallips will never be built.

A few years ago, the heat was
turned on the Department of the
Interior to improve an old road in
Yellowstone National Park to Cook
City. And there is a modern high-
way today! Now the Idaho legis-
lature is memorializing Congress to
authorize an entirely new highway
through the Southwest corner of
Yellowstone which we have so many
times saved from proposed reser-
voirs. There is already a very good
western entrance by way of West
Yellowstone, but this happens to
lie above the Montana line, and
Idaho claims that it must have its
entrance in the twenty-odd miles
of Yellowstone boundary which
touch that State. The argument is
that it would give Idaho an entrance
of its own, that it would "cut off"
a few miles in reaching Old Faithful
from certain points in Idaho. The
fact that the Southwest corner is
one of the precious wilderness areas
protected in Yellowstone should
command support to preserve this
part of the park from roads. Many
people think there are too many
roads in Yellowstone already.

It is true that national-park

status gives protection from certain
uses permitted in national forests,
but in the matter of road-building
both the Park and Forest Services
need the aid of their conservation
friends to protect their lands from
over-development. Neither Service
is in a position to throw stones at
the other. Both have, on occasion,
been forced by powerful local in-
terests, reflected in Congress, into
building roads not wanted by either.

Our task, in which we hope that
we may be joined by other conser-
vation associations, is to give our
very best support to both of these
Federal agencies for a program to
hold "developed areas" to a mini-
mum and give protection to highly
scenic areas which lose their scenic
qualities when cut up with roads
and over-used in other ways.

In the meantime, lands which
would have been placed in the
National Park System, had there
been an authorized Federal agency
to administer them at the time they
were reserved from the public
domain, should now be added to
the system. This is in line with the
testimony given by Chief Forester
Silcox at the House hearing on the
Gearhart Bill.

Two Important Planning Conferences

The Second Annual Indiana State-
wide Planning Conference was held
at Indiana University, Bloomington,
Indiana, March 15-16, sponsored by
the State Planning Board of Indiana
in cooperation with the Indiana
University. A wide range of plan-
ning subjects was presented and
discussed. On April 27, 28 and 29,

the Fifth Pacific Northwest Regional
Planning Conference will be held
under the sponsorship of the Pacific
Northwest Regional Planning Com-
mission and the Northwest Regional
Council. The major conference
theme will be: Migration and the
Development of Economic Oppor-
tunities in the Pacific Northwest.

Who Owns the Scenery?

Reprinted by special permission of Tie Saturday Evening Post. Copyright 1939,
by The Curtis Publishing Company.

rnpHERE are in the United
States approximately 3,068,92 1

-* miles of highways. This is the
greatest highway system in the
world. All of Europe has only a
couple of hundred thousand more
miles.

Every foot of these 3,068,921
miles of highway belong to us you,
me, and the other fellow. We paid
for these highways, we maintain
them, and we're going to build
some more. We pay, and have paid,
this gigantic but necessary and
profitable bill by means of federal
taxes, state taxes, bond issues,
gasoline taxes, and various other
moneys, all of which come directly
out of our pockets. We not only
own our highways you, I, and the
rest of us but all rights apper-
taining to or created by them.

This has already been decided by
several court decisions, including
the famous decision of the highest
court of Massachusetts, handed
down in 1935.

That decision created some in-
teresting precedents, among them:

i. That the values along a high-
way were so obviously created by
that highway that the rights in
them belong to the highway and the
people who created and use the
highway, and not to the private
property abutting. In other words,
that hot-dog stands, gasoline sta-
tions, signboards, and so on, clearly
had no value in that particular
stretch of country before the high-
way was built.

2. That the scenery of a State
was an asset and belonged to the
people of the State and the country
as a whole.

3. That the people of any com-
munity had a right to zone and
otherwise to regulate the appearance
of that community.

4. That there were visual nui-
sances that came under the same
heading as any other kind of
nuisance.

The last is to be especially noted.
As far as we know, it is the first
decision in English or American law
that definitely protects the sense of
sight in the same way that our
senses of smell, taste, touch and
hearing have long been protected.

The Massachusetts judges, more-
over, remarked upon the growing
trade resistance, the increasing re-
sentment, of the traveling public to
unnecessary ugliness and adver-
tising along our highways, and they
spoke of this sort of advertising,
whether of hot-dog stands, gasoline
stations, local or national adver-
tisers, as constituting a mental
trespass. A symbolical finger was
poked at you, in other words, and
you were forced to read. In all
other advertising you could read or
listen as you willed.

Upon this Massachusetts decision
there followed others, and so the
way is clear for us to repossess in
peace and decency, also profit, our
highway system. To increase at
once its safety by a percentage not
yet known, but certainly a large one.

Planning and Civic Comment

And to demand that wherever,
under careful zoning and other
regulations, our highways are prop-
erly used, we shall be properly
recompensed for such use. Only
inertia prevents us, and for the
past three years has prevented us,
from effecting this necessary clean-
up. The tools are at hand. But all
of us have not been idle. Millions
of men and women all over the
country, scores of organizations,
have been at work. Automobile
associations, tourist bureaus, cham-
bers of commerce, real estate boards,
service clubs, highway councils,
historical associations, garden clubs,
hotel associations, property owners,
public-spirited citizens, highway en-
gineers all have been actively en-
gaged, not to mention those national
advertisers and local business men,
a long and increasing list, patriotic
and far-visioned enough not to
desecrate our scenery and sensible
enough to know that consideration
of the other fellow's rights pays.

Now the fruits of all this work
have suddenly become startlingly
visible. For the first time the ques-
tion has reached a climax, and it is
up to us we, the owners of the
highways to do something about
it.

What can we do?

In most of the coming sessions of
state legislatures, model highway
bills will be presented. If tonight
you will send a post card to your
state representative just one line
the majority of those model bills
will be passed. If you wish to go
further, send another post card to
your highway commission it is on
your side.

Signboards are only one factor of
many. Planting, zoning of buildings,
upkeep of adjacent properties, elim-
ination of automobile graveyards
and junk heaps, of ribbon slums and
unsightliness in general, are of equal
importance.

Last year Americans on pleasure
bent spent about $5,000,000,000.
People who spend that much money
have some right to their scenery.
And it would be sensible to listen to
them.

Safety is the particular factor
stressed by the automobile asso-
ciations and the highway com-
missions. Last year we killed about
37,000 people on our highways and
injured about 1,000,000 more. Let's
put it simply. Suppose, before you
got on a train, you were told that
at unknown intervals all along the
tracks other tracks came in at any
moment, used by other trains that
had stopped off for food, drink, fuel
or other supplies. Suppose, in
addition to this, along your right-of-
way there was every known device
of human ingenuity to blind, dazzle
and distract your engineer. Suppose
the average speed of your train was
fifty miles an hour.

Would you get on that train?
You would not.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The above editorial by Struthers
Burt appeared in the January 14 issue of The
Saturday Evening Post.

Arno B. Cammerer, Director of
the National Park Service, has been
named by the American Scenic and
Historic Preservation Society of
New York to receive the 1938 Cor-
nelius Amory Pugsley Gold Medal
for distinguished service in park
development.

Zoning Round Table

Conducted by EDWARD M. BASSETT
A COURT DISSECTS A PLANNING COMMISSION

AVISORY planning commis-
sions existed numerously in
many States before 1925. In
that year George B. Ford assisted in
Cincinnati and perceived the im-
portance of the Ohio method of re-
quiring more than a majority vote
of the council if the council did not
follow the advice of the planning
commission. This stiffening of the
planning commission was pro-
claimed by Mr. Ford in a paper
read before the City Planning Di-
vision of the American Society of
Civil Engineers in New York City
on January 21, 1926. Cities grad-
ually became convinced that it was
futile to have planning commissions
that could be laughed at and whose
advice could be lightly ignored. If
it were necessary to obtain more
than a majority vote of the council
to disregard the advice of a planning
commission, or even if a report from
the commission were necessary be-
fore action, this requirement in-
creased the dignity of the commis-
sion and helped to give the studied
advice of a planning commission the
importance that it deserved. This
was done without taking away the
legislative power from the council.
It insured, however, the serious
attention of the council before the
advice was disregarded. It was a
method of putting planning com-
missions on the map without im-
pairing the legislative powers of
councils.

In 1926 the Regional Plan of New

York and Its Environs recom-
mended to the state legislature the
establishment of advisory planning
commissions whose advice must be
asked and received before the coun-
cil could act. The Village Law and
the General City Law of the State of
New York were amended in this
respect on April 30, 1926, and one
year later the same provisions were
inserted in the Town Law.

New York City could, if it wished,
resolve to come under the provi-
sions of the permissive General City
Law. Inasmuch as this city had for
several generations been developing
an excellent planning method in
its charter, New York City in this
respect as in many others did not
take advantage of the General City
Law of the State.

On December 15, 1928, the Re-
gional Plan submitted to the city
administration a carefully prepared
"set-up" as a charter amendment
providing, among other things, for
an advisory planning commission
whose advice could only be disre-
garded by the three-fourths vote of
the Board of Estimate. The forms
of charter amendment contained in
this "set-up" were passed by both
houses of the legislature but they
struck a snag in the closing hours
due to the sentiment of legislators
from outlying boroughs of the city
who feared an impairment of bor-
ough autonomy. Many of the words
of this "set-up" are used in the new
charter.

Planning and Civic Comment

New York City had no planning
commission (with the exception of a
short-lived one-man commission)
until after the new charter was
adopted in November, 1936, by a
municipal referendum. The new
charter provided for an advisory
planning commission whose recom-
mendations could not be disre-
garded except by the three-fourths
vote of the Board of Estimate. The
new Planning Commission was ap-
pointed January i, 1938. In the
meantime many municipalities in
New York State had appointed ad-
visory planning commissions whose
advisory reports must be asked for
before the council could adopt or
alter an official map. New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, California and Mas-
sachusetts passed laws providing
for such planning commissions.

The new charter of New York
City is not entirely clear in its
zoning provisions. It says that the
Commission after a hearing can
"adopt" an amendment to the
zoning regulations and report its
resolution to the Board of Estimate.
Unless the Board of Estimate shall
modify or disapprove such resolu-
tion by a three-fourths vote within
thirty days it shall take effect. Is
the legislative act in such case per-
formed by the Commission or by
the Board of Estimate? The cor-
poration counsel appears to think
that it is the Commission, which is
the same as saying that the Com-
mission is a legislative body.

The charter also says that if a
20 percent protest has been pre-
sented, the resolution shall not be
effective unless approved by the
unanimous vote of the Board of
Estimate. Should the protest be

filed with the Board of Estimate or
the Commission? The corporation
counsel favors the Commission.

A controversy involving a change
of map arose in Brooklyn Heights.
The 20 percent protest was filed
with the Board of Estimate after
the Planning Commission had acted
favorably. The vote of the Board
of Estimate was not unanimous as
required by the charter where a
valid 20 percent protest has been
filed. Inasmuch, however, as the
Planning Commission "adopted"
the change and the Board of Esti-
mate did not over-turn this deter-
mination by a three-fourths vote
within thirty days, the corporation
counsel ruled that the zoning change
in Brooklyn Heights had been
lawfully made.

Mr. McCabe, a landowner who
did not like the change, asked the
Supreme Court to declare that the
change of map had not been law-
fully made and was therefore in-
effective. On February 6th of this
year the Supreme Court decided in
favor of Mr. McCabe, ruling that
the Planning Commission is an
advisory body only, that the 20
percent protest was rightly filed
with the Board of Estimate, and
that because the vote of the Board
of Estimate to make the change was
not unanimous the change was not
made (McCabe v. City of N. Y.,
Supreme Court, Kings County,
New York Law Journal, February
7> 1 939> p. 614). In other words, the
court emphasizes the position that
the Planning Commission is an
advisory and not a legislative body.
So far as we know, this is the first
time that the question has arisen in
court.

Planning and Civic Comment

If the New York City Charter
Revision Commission had plainly
said that the non-action of the
Board of Estimate for thirty days
was tantamount to its voting in favor
of the report of the Planning Com-
mission, all would have been well.
Such a statement was omitted. It is
supplied by court interpretation.

If the courts of the various States
should decide that planning com-
missions are legislative bodies, tur-
moil would be sure to follow. The

administration of planning laws
would be made uncertain in several
States. The general rule is that an
appointed board composed of non-
elected officials is not a legislative
body.

The distribution of powers and
duties in the rapidly developing
field of community planning is not
a simple matter. Bill drafters and
legislators cannot exercise too much
care in making their provisions
fundamental, simple and clear.

For Better Roadsides

By FLAVEL SHURTLEFF

In the bulletin entitled ROADSIDE
IMPROVEMENT, published by the
American Planning and Civic Asso-
ciation last December, a program
was offered for improving conditions
along the highway and for prevent-
ing or restricting the use of land
which conflicts with the public's
right of full enjoyment of highway
travel.

Obviously the key to better travel
routes is the land bordering the
highways and the surest way to con-
trol the use of these border strips is
through public ownership. Thus,
true parkways, or roads through
elongated parks like those in West-
chester County, New York, set up a
strip of buffer park land between the
travel lanes and private land. These
park barriers automatically elimi-
nate private frontage which can be
used commercially and regulate al-
most perfectly the right of access to
the parkway from private land. The
policy of acquiring wider rights-of-
way for all kinds of highways is
almost as effective, especially when

coupled with the right to limit access
to the travel lanes from private land.
Both parkways and wider rights-of-
way for commercial highways are
limited by their cost to new routes
through undeveloped or cheap land.
On older routes where the border
land remains in private ownership,
effective control of its use is pos-
sible through state and municipal
regulation.

The three principal recommenda-
tions in the Association's roadside
improvement program are: (i) Out-
door advertising along the highway
should be regulated by the State.
Although such a measure is directed
against only one of the objectionable
uses of highway frontage, it will be
found an expedient first step in
many States. (2) State highway
departments should have the right
to establish existing roads as limited
access highways and to construct
new limited access highways in
suitable locations. (3) Highway pro-
tective areas should be established
in which a state agency should have

Planning and Civic Comment

the authority to define commercial
zones and restrict all kinds of busi-
ness to these zones. The protective
area would consist of all land within
five hundred feet or preferably one
thousand feet from the center of the
highways included in the state high-
way system.

These recommendations were ac-
companied by proposals for legisla-
tion which were to be used only as
the basis of acts in each State de-
pending on the needs, legislative
precedents and state of public
opinion.

Encouraging support for the cam-
paign for better roads has come from
the recent action by the American
Automobile Association, the Ameri-
can Association of State Highway
Officials and by organized citizen
groups in many States. The Ameri-
can Automobile Association, repre-
senting several hundred thousand
motor owners, at its annual conven-
tion in Cleveland last November,
sponsored a law which completely
adopted the principle of a highway
protective area. The Highway Offi-
cials in convention at Dallas in
December, adopted a resolution
which closely follows the three rec-
ommendations contained in ROAD-
SIDE IMPROVEMENT. At least fifteen
of the state legislatures now in ses-
sion will consider legislation based
on these same recommendations. A
brief outline of the proposed legis-
lation follows.
Regulation of Outdoor Advertising:

MAINE. Amending and strength-
ening the present outdoor advertis-
ing law chiefly by increasing both
the license fee on those in the busi-
ness .of outdoor advertising and the
permit fee for each billboard location.

VERMONT. Amending and
strengthening the present outdoor
advertising law.

CONNECTICUT. Amending and
strengthening the present outdoor
advertising law and attempting to
confine outdoor advertising to built-
up business areas by the following
provision:

No advertisements and signs in any
location where, within a quarter of a mile
of such location measured in both direc-
tions from such location along the highway
upon which the location fronts and includ-
ing the buildings on both sides of such
highway, the buildings upon such one mile
of frontage are more than one hundred
feet apart on the average or where fewer
than a majority of such buildings are in
actual use exclusively for business or
industry.

NEW YORK. A bill to regulate
outdoor advertising which provides
among other regulations that a spe-
cial commission may declare any
state highway or portion thereof a
scenic highway along which there
shall be no billboards. Up to this
year all attempts at outdoor adver-
tising regulations have been defeated
by the advertising industry.

NEW JERSEY. Amending the
present outdoor advertising law
chiefly by removing the exemption
from fees now enjoyed by about
fifty percent of the advertising
structures.

ARKANSAS. A bill to regulate out-
door advertising chiefly by imposing
license fees for the privilege and a
permit fee of two cents a square foot
for the space used for advertising.

PENNSYLVANIA. A bill to regulate
outdoor advertising, chiefly through
taxing and the establishment of pro-
hibited areas.

TEXAS. A bill to regulate out-
door advertising.

Planning and Civic Comment

Limited Access Highways:

MASSACHUSETTS. A bill to au-
thorize the State Department of
Public Works to acquire from abut-
ting property owners their easement
of access to and from state high-
ways, when required by public
safety and convenience.

WASHINGTON. A bill authorizing
freeways or limited access highways.

CONNECTICUT. A bill defining and
authorizing the establishment of
parkways and freeways.

PENNSYLVANIA. A bill to extend
the maximum right-of-way which
can be acquired for highway purposes.
Highway Protective Areas:

MARYLAND. A bill establishing a
highway protective area consisting
of all the land within five hundred
feet of the boundaries of the rights-
of-way on any public highway but
outside of the corporate limits of any
city, town or village. Within this pro-
tective area the State Roads Commis-
sion shall establish business districts
and all business structures and uses
shall be confined to these districts.

NORTH CAROLINA. A bill to
authorize the state highway and
public works commission to adopt a
set of uniform ordinances for regu-
lating the use of marginal lands
along certain public highways and
authorizing the Board of County
Commissioners to act as a county
highway zoning agency.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. A resolution
directing the State Planning and
Development Commission to make
a survey of the roadsides of the
State and report at the next session
of the legislature recommending clas-
sification of the lands bordering on the
roadsides and a program for the pro-
tection and improvement of roadsides.

OHIO. A bill establishing a high-
way protective area to consist of all
lands parallel to state highways and
within one thousand feet from the
center thereof. In this area the
State Planning Board is to prepare
a plan covering set-back lines, access
roads and the location and bounda-
ries of zones for industry, for general
business, for business limited to
roadside service and for residence.
The adoption of the plan and the
administration of it is to be by the
Director of Highways.

INDIANA. A bill creating a high-
way protective area consisting of the
lands within five hundred feet of the
center line of all highways and au-
thorizing the State Planning Board
to prepare, adopt and administer a
plan for the zoning of this area. The
zones are to be (a) for recreation,
(b) for agricultural and residential
uses, (c) for business relating to
highway motoring, (d) for general
business and (e) for unrestricted
uses with certain exceptions.

SOUTH CAROLINA. An Act for the
establishment of highway protec-
tive areas.

WASHINGTON. A bill creating a
highway protective area.

Bills are being considered in other
States and may be introduced at this
session of the legislature. Beside
these legislative proposals, highway
departments are reporting a policy
of much wider rights-of-way, and
well-organized citizen groups in at
least three States are operating
plans for the discovery of those na-
tional advertisers who insist on
using displays in rural areas.

TENNESSEE is the first State to
report new legislation for the con-
trol of outdoor advertising. Under

Planning and Civic Comment

the act regulation is limited to areas
outside of incorporated places. A
uniform permit fee of fifty cents is
required for all advertising signs
which must also exhibit a metal tag.
Advertising signs are prohibited at
or near intersections and sharp
curves where the location interferes
with the free and unobstructed view
of traffic. The act is therefore only
mildly regulative but if properly
administered it will probably free
the roadsides from the nuisance of
small "snipe" signs.

OREGON: A bill to regulate out-
door advertising, a novel provision
of which is to make illegal adver-
tising signs which are visible from
any public highway on which the
maximum driving speed permitted by
law is in excess of forty miles an hour.
No fees are imposed by the bill.

Roadside Reports

Roadside improvement is con-
sidered in two excellent reports of
November and December, 1938.
The earlier report is on roads and
highways as a part of the master
plan of Santa Barbara County.
With an interesting historical back-
ground, the report distinguishes
between state and county roads,
classifies county roads as to function
and handles the economics and
esthetics of the roadside problem.
Unusually clear and intelligible
maps illustrate the recommenda-
tions of the plan.

The later report is published by
the Washington State Planning
Council and is a study of the pro-
tection and development of road-
side areas by the Council's Advisory
Committee. A summary of the

recommendations of the report ap-
pears on page 3 and the remainder
of the report is merely argument on
which these recommendations are
based. Chief among the roadside
recommendations are: (i) The pur-
chase of roadside forest land, and
(2) the establishment of highway
protective districts. In connection
with the latter, it is pointed out
that the zoning of the land along
the highways is the duty of the
State rather than of the county or
of the community and that the
separation of commercial from non-
commercial areas is as imperative
on the highways as it is in cities
and towns.

Planning Courses

Two very successful regional
schools for planning officials and
employees of the municipalities of
New York State were held in
Rochester, January 25-27 and in
New York City February 7-9 by
the Municipal Training Institute,
an educational institution chartered
by the Regents of the State of New
York and administered by the New
York State Conference of Mayors.
Wayne D. Heydecker, Director of
State Planning, was in charge of
the administrative and instructional
staff.

The subjects covered in the
course were: "Development of Mu-
nicipalities/' "Legal Background of
Governmental Control," "Elements
of Relationship in Municipal Plan-
ning," "Making the Plan" and
"Carrying Out the Plan." There
was an attendance of 150 at both
the Rochester and New York
Schools.

Town Planning in Nova Scotia

R. M. Hattie, of Halifax, N. S.,
for many years a valued member
of the AMERICAN PLANNING AND
Civic ASSOCIATION, reports on the
progress of town planning and civic
improvement in Nova Scotia in the
"Proceedings of the 32nd Annual
Convention of the Union of Nova
Scotia Municipalities."

Mr. Hattie states that the present
Nova Scotia Town Planning Act
was passed May 23, 1915. It super-
seded a previous Act passed in 1912.
Thomas Adams, eminent town-
planner and one-time Town-plan-
ning Supervisor of the Imperial
Local Government Board, had been
secured by the Commission of
Conservation for the purpose of
promoting town-planning in Canada
as a conservation measure. It was
Mr. Adams who prepared the Nova
Scotia Act as well as the Town-
planning Acts of several Canadian
provinces.

Mr. Hattie reports: "Our Town-
planning Act, having had such able
authorship, one might have sup-
posed our cities, towns and munici-
palities would have eagerly availed
themselves of its provisions. Very
few local authorities, however, have
gone very far with it. The Halifax
Town-PIanning Board was first
appointed early in 1916, and in 1918
proceeded to prepare a town-plan-
ning scheme for a large area in the
city of Halifax. This scheme was
completed in 1921 and in April 1922
was sent to the Town-planning
Commissioner. What jinx dogged
its career after that date I do not
know, but the fact is that it reposed

in the Province House until June of
1937, when the Commissioner sent
it back to the Board for revision
and re-submission.

"About the same time, too, the
Halifax County Council appointed
a Board which took steps to prepare
town-planning schemes for four
areas around Halifax Harbour and
Bedford Basin, but it likewise did
not get to the point of submitting
its schemes for approval. Other
Councils have appointed local
boards, but these boards have done
little, and some of them seem to
have faded out. I cannot find that
many local boards are actually
under appointment now, and it is
clear that very little real use has
been made of our Town-planning
Act. . . .

"While the comprehensive Hali-
fax town-planning scheme has so
failed of accomplishment, we have
in the 'official plan/ and 'residential
area* sections of the City Charter
a good deal of what is embraced in
town-planning, and these clauses
have been a wonderful help in
shaping the development of the
city. The value of these sections,
particularly the 'residential area'
clauses, is suggested by something
that happened recently at Digby.
A town meeting was called for the
purpose of voting on a proposal to
exempt a wood-working factory
from taxation for a period of years.
The objection was made by summer
residents and owners of tourist
hotels that the smoke and noise of
the factory in the proposed location
would be detrimental to Digby's

Planning and Civic Comment

great tourist industry. Whether or
not this was the determining factor
in turning down the application for
the exemption, the fact is that
proper town-planning prevents the
intrusion of industry in places where
it will be a nuisance and a detriment,
and on more than one occasion the
Residential Area Act of Halifax
has preserved amenities and con-
served property values. As for the
'official plan* sections, by means
thereof many a wise provision for
the proper development of the street
system has been made that will save
much to the City in years to come
indeed has saved much already.

"Possibly the progress of town-
planning in this Province has been
retarded by the fact that the Com-
missioner has had no official re-
sponsible to him whose duty is the
promotion of the town-planning
idea and advising him on the merits
of schemes and by-laws presented
for approval, on their conformity
to the regulations, and on their
degree of harmony with the schemes
and by-laws of contiguous authori-
ties. When the Legislature made it
obligatory for town-planning boards
to prepare and put into effect town-
planning by-laws and town plan-
ning schemes, it ought to have
appointed an officer to acquaint the
city, town and municipal councils
of what it had in view and to be of
assistance in various ways both to
the local authorities and to the
Commissioner. If a town-planning
Controller had been appointed as
provided in the Act, that official
would have conferred with the
local authorities, explaining the
aims of the Act and how they might

be carried out, and we should by
this time have had the whole Prov-
ince developing under beneficent
town-planning resolutions. In the
failure to appoint a town-planning
Controller we may perhaps find the
explanation of the failure of town-
planning to make the progress in
Nova Scotia that the merits of the
idea would have justified.

"Another barrier to success may
possibly be found in certain features
of the Act itself. It would be well to
consider if the Act might not to
advantage be amended so as to
make the local authority responsible
for carrying the scheme or by-laws
into effect. It would seem to be
sufficient that the town-planning
board should be an advisory body,
to be consulted in matters relating
to the scheme and to the town plan;
but having prepared a scheme or set
of by-laws, the authority respon-
sible to the ratepayers ought to be
the authority to send it to the Com-
missioner and to carry out its pro-
visions after receiving the Com-
missioner's approval. In other par-
ticulars also the Act might be wisely
amended, and very particularly the
procedure regulations need amend-
ment. These regulations are cum-
bersome and sufficient to confuse
and discourage any who may have
to deal with them and are liable to
open the way to complications that
may invalidate a scheme. . . .

"My suggestion is that there
might be a great cooperative effort
in which the Provincial Govern-
ment and the city, town and munici-
pal councils would share, having in
view a comprehensive scheme of
provincial improvement."

Proposed John Muir- Kings Canyon
National Park

PLATE IX. Part of South Wall of Tehipitee Valley

AMHHH

PLATE VIII. Tehipitee Dome, Upper End of Tehipitee Valley
(Middle Fork of the Kings River)

Proposed John Muir-Kings Canyon
National Park

JOHN MUIR first visited the
Kings River Canyon in 1875.
For the fourth time he in-
spected the canyon in 1891, just
after the squeezed-down Sequoia
National Park had been established.
This gave to the American people
some of the best of the "Big Trees"
in the vicinity and some fine moun-
tain scenery, but failed to include
the spectacular Mount Whitney, the
highest peak in the United States
outside of Alaska, and the marvel-
ously beautiful valleys of the Kings
and Kern Rivers.

As far back as 1881, just 9 years
after the creation of Yellowstone
National Park, a bill was introduced
into Congress by Senator Miller of
California to create a national park
of "the whole west flank of the
Sierra Nevada from Tehipite to a
point southeast of Porterville, and
from the higher foothills eastward
to the summit of the range." The bill
never came out of committee. On
September 25, 1890, the Sequoia
National Park was established, but
the boundaries omitted Mount Whit-
ney, the Kern and Kings canyons,
and by this time, even within the
smaller area to be preserved, there
were private properties which had to
be purchased through the efforts of
public-spirited citizens. On October i
of the same year, General Grant
National Park of some 2500 acres
was created to preserve "General
Grant" and other fine big trees.

From 1916 to 1926 there was a
pending bill before each session of
Congress to enlarge the Sequoia
National Park to include the Kings
and Kern canvons and the Mount

Whitney area. In 1926 the Kern
country and Mount Whitney were
added to the Sequoia National Park,
and this with private lands pur-
chased gave to the park the custody
of 27 groves containing many thou-
sands of the great red trees of the
Sierra Nevada, the California Big
Trees (Sequoia gigantea).

During all these years, ever since
the Miller bill of 1881, repeated
efforts have been made to bring the
marvelously beautiful Kings canyons
and high country into a national
park, but the bills have always
failed of passage. Measures for the
general public good which run
counter to real or fancied finan-
cial interests are notoriously hard to
pass, especially as the commercial
exploitation of a region centers in
the population around it and this
population makes itself vocal to its
representatives in Congress, who by
custom sponsor measures affecting
the disposition of public lands in
their State and District. The bills
to bring the Kings country into the
National Park System have been no
exception. In the early days the
lumbermen and the stock men op-
posed the creation of a park, though
many of the huge trees which were
cut have never been removed from
their graves and no one was the
gainer. Then came the power com-
panies who opposed the proposed
park. When the application of the
power companies was denied by the
Federal Power Commission, they
came to the conclusion that the sites
for commercial power were not
feasible within the boundaries as
proposed in the twenties, and with-

Planning and Civic Comment

drew their opposition. Then the
irrigationists, who can find adequate
storage for irrigation purposes out-
side of the proposed park, have op-
posed the park because they may find
two or three sites for power reser-
voirs within the proposed boun-
daries which will permit them to
develop power to help them pay for
their irrigation water. Some of the
short-sighted business interests of
California have organized to oppose
any further national parks in Cali-
fornia, forgetting that the revenues
to the people of the State from
recreation tourists and sojourners
are among the principal financial
assets of California. As solutions for
the problems raised have been found,
support for the project has grown.

Even within the 75 years which
have elapsed since the early discov-
eries in this region, the untouched
wilderness in the United States has
shrunk from seemingly illimitable
regions to easily counted tracts.
Such country has steadily acquired
increased value, because of its com-
parative scarcity and increasing
demands for outdoor recreation and
refreshment.

For the benefit of those who ap-
preciate inspiring scenery, who value
the opinion of John Muir and revere
his memory, we condense an article
which he wrote for Century Maga-
zine and which appeared in Novem-
ber of 1891, together with the nine
superb illustrations which accom-
panied the eloquent words of Muir.

A Rival of the Yosemite
The Canyon of the South Fork of King's River, California

In the vast Sierra wilderness far to the
southward of the famous Yosemite Val-
ley, there is a yet grander valley of the
same kind. It is situated on the south fork
of King's River, above the most extensive
groves and forests of the giant sequoia, and
beneath the shadows of the highest moun-
tains in the range, where the canyons are
deepest and the snow-laden peaks are crowd-
ed most closely together. It is called the
Big King's River Canyon, or King's River
Yosemite, and is reached by way of
Visalia, the nearest point on the Southern
Pacific Railroad, from which the distance
is about forty-five miles, or by the Kear-
sarge Pass from the east side of the range.
It is about ten miles long, half a mile wide,
and the stupendous rocks of purplish gray
granite that form the walls are from 2500
to 5000 feet in height, while the depth of
the valley below the general surface of the
mountain mass from which it has been
carved is considerably more than a mile.
Thus it appears that this new yosemite is
longer and deeper, and lies embedded in
grander mountains, than the well-known
Yosemite of the Merced. Their general
characters, however, are wonderfully alike,
and they bear the same relationship to the
fountains of the ancient glaciers above them.

As to waterfalls, those of the new valley
are far less striking in general views, al-
though the volume of falling water is
nearly twice as great and comes from
higher sources. The descent of the King's
River streams is mostly made in the form
of cascades, which are outspread in flat
plume-like sheets on smooth slopes, or are
squeezed in narrow-throated gorges, boil-
ing, seething, in deep swirling pools,
pouring from lin to lin, and breaking into
ragged, tossing masses of spray and foam
in boulder-choked canyons making mar-
velous mixtures with the downpouring
sunbeams, displaying a thousand forms
and colors, and giving forth a great variety
of wild mountain melody, which, rolling
from side to side against the echoing cliffs,
is at length all combined into one smooth,
massy sea-like roar.

The bottom of the valley is about 5000
feet above the sea, and its level or gently
sloping surface is diversified with flowery
meadows and groves and open sunny flats,
through the midst of which the crystal
river, ever changing, ever beautiful, makes
its way; now gliding softly with scarce a
ripple over beds of brown pebbles, now
rushing and leaping in wild exultation
across avalanche rock-dams or terminal

Planning and Civic Comment

moraines, swaying from side to side, beaten
with sunshine, or embowered with leaning
pines and firs, alders, willows, and tall
balsam poplars, which with the bushes and
grass at their feet make charming banks.
Gnarled snags and stumps here and there
reach out from the banks, making cover
for trout which seem to have caught their
colors from rainbow spray, though hiding
mostly in shadows, where the current
swirls slowly and protecting sedges and
willows dip their leaves.

From tnis long, flowery, forested, well-
watered park the walls rise abruptly in
plain precipices or richly sculptured masses
partly separated by side canyons, display-
ing wonderful wealth and variety of archi-
tectural forms, which are as wonderful in
beauty of color and fineness of finish as in
colossal height and mass. The so-called
war of the elements has done them no
harm. There is no unsightly defacement as
yet; deep in the sky, inviting the onset of
storms through unnumbered centuries,
they still stand firm and seemingly as fresh
and unworn as new-born flowers.

From the brink of the walls on either
side the ground still rises in a series of ice-
carved ridges and basins, superbly forested
and adorned with many small lakes and
meadows, where deer and bear find grate-
ful homes; while from the head of the
valley mountains other mountains rise
beyond in glorious array, every one of
them shining with rock crystals and snow,
and with a network of streams that sing
their way down from lake to lake through
a labyrinth of ice-burnished canyons. The
area of the basins drained by the streams
entering the valley is about 450 square
miles, and the elevation of the rim of the
general basin is from 9000 to upward of
14,000 feet above the sea; while the general
basin of the Merced Yosemite has an area
of 250 square miles, and its elevation is
much lower.

When from some commanding summit
we view the mighty wilderness about this
central valley, and, after tracing its tribu-
tary streams, note how every converging
canyon shows in its sculpture, moraines and
shining surfaces that it was once the chan-
nel of a glacier, contemplating this dark
period of grinding ice, it would seem that
here was a center of storm and stress to
which no life would come. But it is just
where the ancient glaciers bore down on
the mountain flank with crushing and
destructive and most concentrated energy
that the most impressive displays of divine
beauty are offered to our admiration.
Even now the snow falls every winter
about the valley to a depth often to twenty

feet, and the booming of avalanches is a
common sound. Nevertheless the frailest
flowers, blue and gold and purple, bloom
on the brows of the great canyon rocks,
and on the frosty peaks, up to a height of
13,000 feet, as well as in sheltered hollows
and on level meadows and lake borders
and banks of streams.

At the head of the valley the river forks,
the heavier branch turning northward, and
on this branch there is another yosemite,
called from its flowery beauty Paradise
Valley; and the name might well be applied
to the main canyon, for notwithstanding
its tremendous rockiness, it is an Eden of
plant-beauty from end to end.

THE TRIP TO THE VALLEY

Setting out from Visalia . . from the
base of the first grand mountain plateau
we can see the outstanding pines and
sequoias 4000 feet above us, and we now
ascend rapidly, sweeping from ravine to
ravine around the brows of subordinate
ridges. The vegetation shows signs of a
cooler climate; the golden flowered Fre-
montia, manzanita, ceanothus, and other
bushes show miles of bloom; while great
beds of blue and purple bells brighten the
open spaces . . . the whole forming a
floral apron of fine texture and pattern,
let down from the verge of the forest in
graceful, flowing folds. . . . We have now
reached an elevation of 6000 feet. . . .
Down through the shadows we make our
way for a mile or two in one of the upper
ravines of Mill Creek. . . . Climbing a
steep mile from the mill we enter General
Grant National Park of Big Trees, a square
mile in extent, where a few of the giants are
now being preserved amid the industrious
destruction by ax, saw, and blasting powder
going on around them. . . .

We now descend to Bearskin Meadow,
a sheet of purple-topped grasses enameled
with violets, gilias, larkspurs, potentillas,
ivesias, and columbine; parnassia and
sedges in the wet places, and majestic
trees crowding forward in proud array to
form a curving border, while Little Boulder
Creek, a stream twenty feet wide, goes
humming and swirling merrily through
the middle of it. ...

The next place with a name in the
wilderness is Tornado Meadow. Here the
sequoia giants stand close about us, tower-
ing above the firs and sugar-pines. Then
follows another climb of a thousand feet,
after which we descend into the magnifi-
cent forest basin of Big Boulder Creek.
Crossing this boisterous stream as best we
may, up again we go 1200 feet through

Planning and Civic Comment

glorious woods, and on a few miles to the
emerald Horse Corral and Summit Mea-
dows, a short distance beyond which the
highest point on the trail is reached at
Grand Lookout, 8300 feet above the sea.
Here at length we gain a general view of
the great canyon of King's River lying
far below, and of the vast mountain-region
in the sky on either side of it, and along
the summit of the range. (See Plate I.)
Here too we see the forest in broad, dark
swaths still sweeping onward undaunted,
climbing the farther mountain-slopes to
a height of 11,000 feet. But King Sequoia
comes not thus far. The grove nearest the
valley is on one of the eastern branches of
Boulder Creek, five miles from the lower end.

CHIEF FEATURES OF THE CANYON

Going down into the valley we make a
descent of 3500 feet, over the south
shoulder, by a careless crinkled trail
which seems well-nigh endless. It offers,
however, many fine points of view of the
huge granite trough, and the river, and the
sublime rocks of the walls plunging down
and planting their feet on the shady level
floor. (See Plate II.)

At the foot of the valley we find our-
selves in a smooth, spacious park, planted
with stately groves of sugar-pine, yellow
pine, silver fir, incense-cedar, and Kellogg
oak. The floor is scarcely ruffled with
underbrush, but myriads of small flowers
spread a thin purple and yellow veil over
the brown needles and burrs beneath the
groves, and the gray ground of the open
sunny spaces. The walls lean well back
and support a fine growth of trees, espe-
cially on the south side, interrupted here
and there by sheer masses 1000 to 1500
feet high, which are thrust forward out of
the long slopes like dormer-windows.
(See Plate III.) Three miles up the valley
on the south side we come to the Roaring
Falls and Cascades. ... On the east side
of the fall the Cathedral Rocks spring
aloft with imposing majesty. . . .

Next to the Cathedral Rocks ir the
group called the Seven Gables* massive
and solid at the base, but elaborately
sculptured along the top and a consider-
able distance down the front into pointed
gothic arches, the highest of which is about
3000 feet above the valley. Beyond the
Gable group, and separated slightly from
it by the beautiful Avalanche Canyon and
Cascades, stands the bold and majestic
mass of the Grand Sentinel, 3300 feet high,
with a split vertical front presented to the
valley, as sheer, and nearly as extensive,
as the front of the Yosemite Half Dome.

Projecting out into the valley from the
base of this sheer front is the Lower
Sentinel, 2400 feet high; and on either
side, the West and East Sentinels, about
the same height, forming altogether the
boldest and most massively sculptured
group in the valley. Then follow in close
succession the Sentinel Cascade, a lace-
like strip of water 2000 feet long; the
South Tower 2500 feet high; the Bear
Cascade, longer and broader than that of
the Sentinel; Cave Dome, 3200 feet high;
the Sphinx, 4000 feet, and the Lean-
ing Dome, 3500. The Sphinx, terminating
in a curious sphinx-like figure, is the high-
est rock on the south wall, and one of the
most remarkable in the Sierra; while the
whole series from Cathedral Rocks to the
Leaning Dome at the head of the valley
is the highest, most elaborately sculptured,
and the most beautiful series of rocks of
the same extent that I have yet seen in
any yosemite in the range.

Turning our attention now to the north
wall, near the foot of the valley a grand
and impressive rock presents itself, which
with others of like structure and style of
architecture is called the Palisades. Mea-
sured from the immediate brink of the
vertical portion of the front, it is about
2000 feet high, and is gashed from top to
base by vertical planes, making it look
like a mass of huge slabs set on edge. . . .

The next notable group that catches the
eye in going up the valley is the Hermit
Towers, and next to these the Three
Hermits, forming together an exceedingly
picturesque series of complicated struc-
ture, slightly separated by the steep and
narrow Hermit Canyon. . . .

East of the Hermits a stream about the
size of Yosemite Creek enters the valley,
forming the Booming Cascades. It draws
its sources from the southern slopes of
Mount Hutchings and Mount Kellogg,
11,000 and 12,000 feet high, and on the
divide between the Middle and South Forks
of the King's River. . . .

Above the Booming Cascades, and
opposite the Grand Sentinel, stands the
North Dome, 3450 feet high. (See Plate
IV.) . . . Above the Dome the ridge still
rises in a finely drawn curve, until it
reaches its culminating point in the pyra-
mid, a lofty symmetrical rock nearly 6000
feet above the floor of the valley.

A short distance east of the Dome is
Lion Rock, a very striking mass as seen
from a favorable standpoint, but lower
than the main rocks of the wall, being only
about 2000 feet high. Beyond the Lion,
and opposite the East Sentinel, a stream
called Copper Creek comes chanting down

PLATE VI. North Tower, from Talus Slope of Glacier Monument

Planning and Civic Comment

into the valley. It takes its rise in a cluster
of beautiful lakes that lie on the top of the
divide between the South and Middle
Forks of the King's River, to the east of
Mount Kellogg. The broad, spacious
basin it drains abounds in beautiful groves
of spruce and silver fir, and small meadows
and gardens, where the bear and deer love
to feed, but (sic!) it has been badly
trampled by flocks of sheep.

From Copper Creek to the head of the
valley the precipitous portion of the north
wall is comparatively low. The most
notable features are the North Tower, a
square, boldly sculptured outstanding mass
2000 feet in height, and the Dome arches,
heavily glaciated, and offering telling sec-
tions of domed and folded structure. (See
Plate VI.) At the head of the valley, in a
position corresponding to that of the Half
Dome in Yosemite, looms the great
Glacier Monument, the broadest, loftiest,
and most sublimely beautiful of all these
wonderful rocks. It is upward of a mile in
height, and has five ornamental summits,
and an indescribable variety of sculptured
forms projecting or countersunk on its
majestic front, all balanced and combined
into one symmetrical mountain mass.
(See Plate V.)

THE VALLEY FLOOR

The bottom of the valley is covered by
heavy deposits of moraine material, mostly
outspread in comparatively smooth and
level beds, though four well-characterized
terminal moraines may still be traced
stretching across from wall to wall, di-
viding the valley into sections. . . .

With the exception of a small meadow
on the river bank, a mile or more of the
lower end of the valley is occupied by de-
lightful groves, and is called Deer Park.
Between Deer Park and the Roaring Fall
lies the Manzanita Orchard, consisting of
a remarkably even and extensive growth
of manzanita bushes scarcely interrupted
by other bushes or by trees. . . .

The largest meadow in the valley lies at
the foot of Grand Sentinel. It is noted for
its fine growth of sweet-brier rose, the foli-
age of which as well as the flower is de-
liciously fragrant, especially in the morn-
ing when the sun warms the dew. At the
foot of South Tower, near the Bear
Cascades, there is a notable garden of
Mariposa tulips. . . .

On the north side of the valley the
spaces that bear names are Bee Pasture,
Gilia Garden, and Purple Flat, all lavishly
flowery, each with its own characteristic
plants, though mostly they are the same

as those of the south side of the river,
variously developed and combined; while
aloft on a thousand niches, benches and
recesses of the walls are charming rock-
ferns, such as adiantum, pellaea, cheil-
anthes, allosurus, and brilliant rugs and
fringes of the alpine phlox, Menzies penste-
mon, bryanthus, Cassiope, alpine primula,
and many other small floral mountaineers.

PARADISE CANYON

. . . Ascending the Paradise Canyon
we find still grander scenery, at least for
the first ten miles. . . . The walls of the
canyon on either side rise to a height of
from 3000 to 5000 feet in majestic forms,
hardly inferior in any respect to those of
the main valley. The most striking of these
on the west wall is the Helmet, 4000 feet
in height; and on the east side, after the
Monument, Paradise Peak. (See Plate
VII.) . . .

FROM YOSEMITE TO KING'S RIVER
ALONG THE SIERRA

One of my visits to the great canyon
was undertaken from the old Yosemite
along the Sierra. . . . We followed the old
trail to Wawona and the Mariposa se-
quoias, then plunged into the trackless
wilderness. We traced the Chiquita San
Joaquin to its head, then crossed the
canyon of the North Fork of the San
Joaquin below the yosemite of this branch,
and made our way southward across the
Middle and South Forks of the San
Joaquin to a point on the divide between
the South Fork of the San Joaquin and the
North Fork of the King's River, 10,000 feet
above the sea. . . . Pushing on with
difficulty over the divide, we entered the
upper valley of the North Fork of the
King's River, and traced its course through
many smooth glacier-meadows, and past
many a beautiful cluster of granite domes,
developed and burnished by the ancient
glaciers. Below this dome region the canyon
closed, and we were compelled to grope our
way along its forest -clad brink until we dis-
covered a promising side canyon, which
led us down into the North Fork yosemite,
past a massive projecting rock like El
Capitan. . . . We at length made a way
out of this little yosemite by a rude trail
that we built up a gorge of the south wall,
and on to the crest of the divide between
the North and Middle Forks of the river.
Here we gained telling views of the region
about the head of the Middle Fork of
King's River, vast mountains along the
axis of the range, seemingly unapproach-

Planning and Civic Comment

able, a broad map of domes and huge
ridge-waves and canyons extending to the
summits far to the west of us in glorious
harmony. Tracing the divide through
magnificent forests we at length forded the
main King's River, passed through the
sequoia groves, and entered the great
Yosemite on the 9th of October, after a
light storm had freshened the colors. . . .

DESTRUCTIVE TENDENCIES

At first sight it would seem that these
mighty granite temples could be injured
but little by anything that man may do.
But it is surprising to find how much our
impressions in such cases depend upon the
delicate bloom of the scenery, which in all
the more accessible places is so easily
rubbed off. I saw the King's River valley
in its midsummer glory sixteen years ago,
when it was wild, and when the divine
balanced beauty of the trees and flowers
seemed to be reflected and doubled by all
the onlooking rocks and streams as though
they were mirrors, while they in turn were
mirrored in every garden and grove. In
that year (1875) I saw the following
ominous notice on a tree in the King's
River yosemite:

"We, the undersigned, claim this valley
for the purpose of raising stock.

MR. THOMAS
MR. RICHARDS
HARVEY & Co."

and I feared that the vegetation would
soon perish. This spring (1891) I made my
fourth visit to the valley, to see what
damage had been done, and to inspect the
forests. ... I left San Francisco on the
a8th of May, accompanied by Mr. Robin-
son, the artist. At the new King's River
Mills we found that the sequoia giants, as
well as the pines and firs, were being ruth-
lessly turned into lumber. Sixteen years
ago I saw five mills on or near the sequoia
belt, all of which were cutting more or less
of "big-tree" lumber. Now, as I am told,
the number of mills along the belt in the
basins of the King's, Kaweah and Tule
Rivers is doubled, and the capacity more
than doubled. As if fearing restriction of
some kind, particular attention is being
devoted to the destruction of the sequoia
groves owned by the mill companies, with
the view to get them made into lumber and
money before steps can be taken to save
them. ... It seems incredible that
Government should have abandoned so
much of the forest cover of the mountains
to destruction. As well sell the rain-clouds,
and the snow, and the rivers, to be cut up
and carried away if that were possible.

Surely it is high time that something be
done to stop the extension of the present
barbarous, indiscriminating method of
harvesting the lumber crop.

THE TEHIPITEE VALLEY

. . . By ascending the valley of Copper
Creek, and crossing the divide, you will
find a Middle Fork tributary that con-
ducts by an easy grade down into the head
of the grand Middle Fork Canyon, through
which you may pass in time of low water,
crossing the river from time to time, where
sheer headlands are brushed by the cur-
rent, leaving no space for a passage. After
a long, rough scramble, you will be
delighted when you emerge from the nar-
row bounds of the great canyon into the
spacious and enchantingly beautiful Te-
hipitee. It is about three miles long, half
a mile wide, and the walls are from 2500
to nearly 4000 feet in height. The floor of
the valley is remarkably level, and the
river flows with a gentle stately current.
Nearly half of the floor is meadow-land,
the rest sandy flat planted with the same
kind of trees and flowers as the same kind
of soil bears in the great canyon, forming
groves and gardens, the whole enclosed by
majestic granite walls which in height, and
beauty, and variety of architecture are not
surpassed in any yosemite of the range.
Several small cascades coming from a
great height sing and shine among the
intricate architecture of the south wall,
one of which when seen in front seems to
be a nearly continuous fall about 2000 feet
high. (See Plate IX.) But the grand fall
of the valley is on the north side. . . .
This is the Tehipitee Fall, about 1800 feet
high. The upper portion is broken up into
short falls and magnificent cascade dashes,
but the last plunge is made over a sheer
precipice about 400 feet in height into a
beautiful pool.

To the eastward of the Tehipitee Fall
stands Tehipitee Dome, 2500 feet high, a
gigantic round-topped tower, slender as
compared with its height, and sublimely
simple and massive in structure. It is not
set upon, but against, the general masonry
of the wall, standing well forward, and
rising free from the open sunny floor of
the valley, attached to the general mass of
the wall rocks only at the back. This is
one of the most striking and wonderful
rocks in the Sierra. (See Plate VIII.) ...

THE NEED OF ANOTHER GREAT
NATIONAL PARK

I fancy the time is not distant when this
wonderful region will be opened to the

Planning and Civic Comment

world. . . . Some of the sequoia groves
were last year included in the national
reservations of Sequoia and General Grant
Parks. But all of this wonderful King's
River region, together with the Kaweah
and Tule sequoias, should be compre-
hended in one grand national park. This
region contains no mines of consequence,
it is too high and too rocky for agriculture,
and even the lumber industry need suffer
no unreasonable restriction. Let our law-
givers then make haste before it is too late
to set apart this surpassingly glorious
region for the recreation and well-being
of humanity, and all the world will rise
up and call them blessed.

JOHN Mum

NOTE. The illustrations of this article
were drawn by Charles D. Robinson from
nature or from sketches from nature by
himself or, in three instances, by Mr. Muir.
The plates for (bis reprint were reproduced
by permission of D. Appleton - Century
Company.

No one who reads these detailed
descriptions by John Muir can fail
to believe that here in the Kings
country is found some of the most
superlatively fine scenery to be
found on the North American conti-
nent. A contemporary described
John Muir as having an eye within
an eye which could see not only
the obvious but the underlying
forces of creation. John Muir felt
his scenery, but he spent days and
years studying the Book of Nature
in the Sierra so that he could read
and interpret its story to the world.
It was he who discovered the traces
of the great glaciers which carved
the yosemites of the Sierra. He
knew its trees, its flowers and
shrubs. He knew the animals which
roamed its virgin fastnesses. He
knew its weather and its habits
of flood and storm. He knew its
sunshine.

It is fitting that this part of the
high Sierra country which he knew

and loved so well should be a
National Park. As proposed, the JOHN
MuiR-KiNGS CANYON NATIONAL
PARK would include the canyons of
the South and Middle Forks of the
Kings and a portion of the South
Fork of the San Joaquin, except
possibly for two encroachments
which may be insisted upon by the
California irrigationists to develop
power reservoirs to help pay for a
proposed irrigation reservoir lying
outside of the proposed park boun-
daries. If a way can be found to aid
the irrigationists with federal money
rather than with the sacrifice of
national-park area, there is an op-
portunity to bring into the National
Park System these lands and waters
which have been under considera-
tion for fifty years.

There would thus be brought into
the JOHN Mum-KiNGS CANYON
NATIONAL PARK the canyons and
crests of the upper Kings country,
which would be transferred from the
U. S. Forest Service to the National
Park Service. For many years, the
current Chief Forester has agreed
with other conservationists that the
superlative scenery in the Kings
country was of national-park calibre
and successive bills in Congress refer-
red to the Department of Agriculture
have received qualified or complete
approval.

In the present proposal the park
would include the famous Evolution
Valley, described by Mr. Muir in
his trip down the Sierra crests from
the fountains of the North Fork of
the Kings River until he reached
the big valley. All this, together
with the General Grant National
Park, and Redwood Canyon, now in
private ownership, containing some

PLATE VII. Paradise Peak, looking east from slopes at foot of Helmet

Planning and Civic Comment

3,000 of the Big Trees, would be
embraced in the JOHN MuiR-KiNGS
CANYON NATIONAL PARK.

The John Muir Trail already pro-
vides a foot and horse trail down the
crest of the Sierra from Tuolomne
Meadows in Yosemite National
Park to Mount Whitney in Sequoia
National Park a distance, as the
main trail runs, of 187.7 miles. In
the introduction to the "John Muir
Trail and the High Sierra Region"
by Walter Starr, Jr., published
posthumously in 1934, we read:
"The grand crescendo of the Sierra
Nevada begins in the Yosemite
National Park and culminates in
the southern group of fourteen-
thousand-foot peaks at the head-
waters of the Kings River and the
Kern." The proposed John Muir

National Park would bring some
ninety miles of the John Muir Trail
into the new national park. This
with the 13.4 miles in Yosemite and
21.5 miles in Sequoia would mean
that 126.5 miles of the main John
Muir Trail would be protected in
national parks, leaving 71.2 miles
along the headwaters of the various
forks of the San Joaquin in the
National Forests.

"Breathes there a man with soul
so dead" who does not thrill to the
opportunity offered through these
proposals for Congress to create the
JOHN MUIR-KINGS CANYON NA-
TIONAL PARK which would for all time
preserve and protect this marvelous
country from all adverse uses and
bequeath it as a worthy heritage to
the American people?

THE GEARHART BILL

On February 7, 1939, Representative Bertrand W. Gearhart, of California,
introduced into Congress H.R. 3794, to establish the John Muir-Kings Canyon
National Park, to transfer thereto the lands now included in the General Grant
National Park, to be hereafter known as the General Grant Grove, and to provide
that the Redwood Canyon, when purchased, may be brought into the park by
executive order. (See accompanying map.) The grazing rights within the area are
to continue during the life of the present holders of permits, and, as in other national
parks, will terminate when the present holders die. There is a provision to preserve
the wilderness character of the new park. No exclusive privileges are to be placed
above Copper Creek in the South Fork of the Kings River. While the measure
does not abrogate existing contracts and easements, no new housing structures may
be leased for summer homestead purposes and no exclusive privileges granted. If
the Cedar Grove and Tehipite Reclamation Dam and reservoir projects are built,
the Secretary of the Interior may administer unused lands in the withdrawals for
recreation purposes and if the projects are abandoned, after certification to that
effect to the President by the Secretary of the Interior, with the advice of the
Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, after public notice and hearings, the
President may by proclamation add these two sites to the John Muir-Kings Canyon
National Park.

PROPOSED
JOHN MUIR -KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK

CALIFORNIA

Palisade
Middle Palisade

CartndgeV V Tab os e Pass
Simpson Meadow ?- PassJ^ ^

,Mt. Pinchot

Granite *'
Pass'""

.Sawmill
*-Pass

1 NATIONAL PARK

Horse Corral
Meadow

Dome'i^

# % " T he Sphin
Avalanche Pk

GRANT
GROVE SECTION

~> L Cj 1 A N

ForesterPa

N A L

LEGEND

Proposed John Muir National Park boundary
John Muir Trail

'- x

t.Whitney- 1

State Park

IDAHO

The boundaries of Heyburn State
Park, Idaho, have been extended to
include Crane Mountain, the high-
est point in the locality, by the
recent purchase of 50 acres of land
adjoining the park.
IOWA

A purchase of 50 acres of virgin
timber near the City of Cedar Falls,
Iowa, has been made for the develop-
ment of Josh Higgins State Park.
It is expected that the development
will ultimately be expanded into a
recreational area stretching along
the Cedar River for the entire dis-
tance between Cedar Falls and
Waterloo.
MINNESOTA

The Minnesota State Planning
Board has been replaced by the
Minnesota Resources Commission
of thirteen men.

Dr. Richard E. Scammon is chair-
man of the new Commission, and
H. J. Miller is executive secretary.
NEW JERSEY

Dr. Charles P. Messick, Chair-
man of the New Jersey State Plan-
ning Board, has recently issued a
statement in which he says:

"The New Jersey State Planning
Board is at work upon a comprehen-
sive State Recreation Plan. . . .
Agreement has been reached on
certain points.

"Such a plan and program is
essential to the intelligent and eco-
nomical advancement of New Jer-
sey's many recreational interests

It should be comprised, in part, of
additional recreational areas to be
acquired, and, in part, of stated
policies and legislated controls relat-
ing to corollary public and private
activities. This plan should be pre-
pared with due consideration for the
growth and general development
prospects of the State as a whole.
The State forest-park system should
be correlated with county park
systems.

"Further, the State Recreation
Plan should be correlated with the
present and future State highway
system, and should be a part of a
single comprehensive plan for future
State development showing not only
future highways, parks, forests, and
game lands, but future water proj-
ects, improvements in rail, water,
and air transportation facilities,
future public institution grounds,
and other similar facilities. All pre-
viously prepared plans will be taken
into careful consideration, including
those made by State and local
agencies and those advanced by the
New York and the Philadelphia
Regional Planning groups.

"It must not be implied that there
is intent to plunge the State into

Planning and Civic Comment

reckless or abnormal spending. Mak-
ing needed improvements by com-
prehensive plan is simply another
way of doing everyday things in a
better balanced and more orderly
manner and should result ultimately
in better service at less, rather than
greater, cost.

"Accompanying the plan should
be a scheduled program and budget,
spreading both land acquisition and
park development over a long period
of years. The program probably
should emphasize land acquisition
above extensive development. So
far as possible, advancement of the
plan should be financed out of cur-
rent revenue. But in some instances
this process may be too slow to save
needed lands, and resort to bond
issues, especially for land purchase,
may be both necessary and justified.
Improvement of lands once acquired
may be left more safely to current-
revenue financing. Many recrea-
tional areas can be made self-financ-
ing in whole or in considerable part.
Bond issues for the acquisition and
development of such areas are there-
fore largely in the nature of revolv-
ing funds and are not a serious ulti-
mate charge upon the taxpayer."
NORTH DAKOTA

Faced with the necessity of cut-
ting expenses wherever possible, the
North Dakota Legislature abolished
the State Planning Board by a vote
of 96-6.
OKLAHOMA

In the first annual report of the
Division of State Parks of the Okla-
homa Planning and Resources Board,
A. R. Reeves, Director of the divi-
sion, recommends the acquisition of
a number of small scenic wayside
areas to supplement the recreational

facilities in the state parks. He de-
clares that the eight areas now being
developed are so distributed that
60 percent of the State's population
lives within 75 miles of a state park,
and it is felt that they will ade-
quately meet the need for large
recreation areas.

The report, which was released in
November, covers the activities of
the division from the time of its
organization in March 1935 up to
and through June 30, 1938.

Mr. Reeves was awarded the
Pugsley Bronze Medal for park
achievement during 1938, in recog-
nition of his contributions to the
development of the Oklahoma state
park system.
TENNESSEE

J. Charles Poe has been appointed
commissioner of conservation for the
State of Tennessee, and the former
commissioner, Sam F. Brewster, is
now director of the division of state
parks.
VIRGINIA

Visitors to Virginia's state parks
next season will find many new and
improved facilities for their comfort
and entertainment, R. E. Burson,
Director of Parks for the Vir-
ginia Conservation Commission,
announces.

The general work program out-
lined for all the parks includes roads
and trails construction and improve-
ment; replacement of wooden bridges
by new concrete structures; land-
scaping; improvement of existing
parking and picnic areas, and con-
struction of new ones.

Fairy Stone is to have a new
shelter and a store on the beach;
rangers' quarters and a Red Cross
first aid station are on the list for

Planning and Civic Comment

lungry Mother; development of
ic recently acquired 2,3OO-acre
Idition to Seashore will be started;
new restaurant and store are con-
iplated for Staunton River; and
Westmoreland is to have a new
>re on the beach, new rangers'
larters and an overnight camping

The State's parks will be officially
jned to the public on May i, this
ir.

N. Clarence Smith, of Tazewell,
been appointed Chairman of the

irginia Conservation Commission.

EST VIRGINIA

The Division of State Parks of the
West Virginia Conservation Com-
mission has issued an illustrated
folder describing the state parks of
West Virginia. The folder is well
illustrated with views of several of
the state parks and the cabin ac-
commodations with full particulars
on each area and the facilities and
rates. West Virginia has four major
park areas and six smaller ones, con-
taining in all approximately 25,000
acres. The larger state parks,
Watoga in Pocahontas County , Bab-
cock in Fayette County , Lost River
in Hardy County and Cacapon in
Morgan County, are open this season
from May 28 until late fall. A folder
contains a map which indicates the
location of each park.

RECENT REPORTS:

Illinois Park, Parkway and Rec-
reational Area Plan, 1938. Prepared
by the Division of State Parks of

the Department of Public Works
and Buildings, the Illinois State
Planning Commission, and the Chi-
cago Regional Planning Association;
the National Park Service cooperat-
ing. Published by Illinois State
Planning Commission. 142 pp.
IIIus., maps, charts. Price $1.50.

Minnesota Department of Conser-
vation Annual Report, 1938, and
fourth biennial report (for biennium
ending June 30, 1938).

Park, Parkway and Recreational
Area Study Mississippi. Tenta-
tive Final Report, January 1938.
Mississippi State Planning Com-
mission, State Board of Park Super-
visors, National Park Service, Na-
tional Resources Committee, Works
Progress Administration, cooperat-
ing. 222 pp. Mimeographed. Tables,
charts.

Montana. Eleventh report of the
State Forester and State Park
Director, Dec. 31, 1938. 44 pp.
IIIus., tables, charts.

North Carolina. Seventh bien-
nial report of Department of Con-
servation and Development, June
30, 1938. 163 pp. Tables, charts,
graphs.

Oregon's Parks, Recreational Areas
and Facilities. Vol. I Present De-
velopment. Dec. 21, 1938. Oregon
State Parks Commission, State
Planning Board, National Park
Service, cooperating. Ill -f- 72 pp.
Mimeographed. IIIus., tables,
charts, maps.

West Virginia. Annual Report of
the Conservation Commission for
the year July i, 1937 to June 30,
1938. 63 pp. IIIus., tables.

IRMINE B. KENNEDY, Washington, D. C

The 19th National Conference on State Parks

ITASCA STATE PARK, MINNESOTA, JUNE 5, 6, 7, 1939

The 1 9th National Conference
on State Parks will be held June
5, 6, 7, 1939 in Minnesota, with
headquarters at Itasca State Park.

Minnesota, which this year is
commemorating fifty years of State
Parks, was one of the first States to
set aside such areas for the benefit
and enjoyment of its people. Itasca
State Park, with an area of 31,816
acres, is one of the largest and best
known State Parks in the United
States today. It was first set aside
in 1891 as a State Forest Park; the
preservation of historic areas had
been recognized by the State Legis-
lature two years previous when
the battle ground of Birch Coulee
was set aside as a memorial to the
1862 Sioux Uprising.

Itasca State Park contains within
its boundaries Lake Itasca, which is
the source of the Mississippi River,
and also the largest remaining stands
of virgin Norway and White Pine
in the United States today.

Minnesota has 20 State Parks;
4 State Memorial Parks ; 2 Memorial
State Waysides; 6 Scenic State
Waysides; 3 State Recreational
Reserves and 8 Monuments and 3
Historic State Waysides. The total
acreage of the State Parks is
45,449 acres.

Accommodations for delegates to
the Conference will be available at
Douglas Lodge and appurtenant
Cabin located within the Park.
Additional accommodations will be
available in the 6 cabins at the
camp grounds.

Trips are being arranged to other
Minnesota state areas Chippewa

National Forest, Bemidji and Lake
Bemidji State Park. Provision
will be made for fishing, hiking,
horseback riding and boating, as
the Conference has been purposely
scheduled in June at a time which
should insure good weather for
outdoor recreation.

Topics for papers are now being
considered and ample time will be
allowed for discussion on current
State Park problems. A tentative
outline of the program follows :

Planning a State-wide Park and
Recreation Program

The Value of Naturalists in
State Parks

Regional Units as a Part of
State Plans, including Long Term
Planning for Relation of State Parks
to Regional and County Plans

Interstate Agreements

Low Cost Vacations in Organized
Group Camps

Federal Aid to the State

Proper Classification of State
Park Areas

Week-day Use of State Parks

Fees and Charges

The Importance of Civil Service

The Importance of Uniform
Records

Progress reports will be heard
from States in the Minnesota region.

Harold W. Lathrop, Director of
State Parks for Minnesota, is local
chairman of the Conference. In-
quiries should be addressed to Mr.
Lathrop at 10 State Office Building,
St. Paul, Minnesota, or to the
Executive Secretary, National Con-
ference on State Parks, 901 Union
Trust Building, Washington, D. C.

Institute on Landscape Management

The first course of its kind, known
as an Institute of Landscape Man-
agement, was inaugurated by the
National Conference on State Parks
and held for a period of one month
between the dates of February 13
and March 11. This Institute was
held at the New York State College
of Forestry at Syracuse University
and conducted by the Department
of Landscape and Recreational
Management of that institution.

The idea of a winter short course
for the administrative personnel of
organizations which deal with natu-
ral landscape areas administered for
recreational and scenic purposes has
been advocated for some time by the
National Conference on State Parks.
Dr. Laurie D. Cox developed the
program for the Institute in cooper-
ation with a special committee of
the Conference and worked out the
details as a result of correspondence
and conferences with Colonel Rich-
ard Lieber, president of the Confer-
ence, and Roberts Mann, a member
of the special committee promoting
the Institute.

The work given covered the fields
of recreational theory, planning and
program; landscape design and con-
struction; park administration and
management; forestry, including
such phases as dendrology, forest
reproduction, fire control, forest
entomology and forest pathology;
wildlife management; and a certain
amount of consideration of those
sciences such as botany, zoology,
ecology and geology, upon which an
understanding of the natural land-
scape depend. Classroom and labo-

ratory work was supplemented by
all-day field trips to various forms
of forest and park areas within a
hundred-mile radius of Syracuse, a
region rich in the variety and type
of its recreation, scenic and forest
areas.

In addition to instruction by
members of the faculty of the Col-
lege and University (some eighteen
faculty members conducting work),
the Institute had the benefit of three
or four outside speakers each week,
a total of fourteen being present dur-
ing the four weeks. These speakers
were experts of national reputation
in the landscape and recreational
field and represented state, regional
and national organizations of both
park and forest services, as well as
private practitioners representing
the professions of forestry, engineer-
ing and landscape architecture.

Among those who lectured on the
program were: H. S. Wagner, Akron
Metropolitan Park System; Robert
Marshall, U. S. Forest Service; Con-
rad Wirth, National Park Service;
A. D. Taylor, president, American
Society of Landscape Architects;
Col. Richard Lieber; Roberts Mann;
James Evans, director of N. Y. State
Parks; Robert Simon, landscape
architect, Vermont State Forest
Service; and Herman Boettjer, gen-
eral superintendent of Long Island
State Parks Commission.

Thirty-two men registered and
completed the course. They came
from twelve different States, ranging
east to west from Colorado to
Vermont, and north and south from
Minnesota to Mississippi.

National Resources Committee Notes

"Development and enactment of
appropriate legislation to provide
for continuation, correlation and
decentralization of planning work"
was advocated by President Roose-
velt in letters, made public February
13, to Senator James F. Byrnes and
Representative John J. Cochran,
as Chairmen of the Committees on
Government Reorganization in the
Senate and the House of Repre-
sentatives.

The text of the letters, which
accompanied advance copies of the
National Resources Committee's
Progress Report, follows:

I am sending you the enclosed 'Progress
Report* of the National Resources Com-
mittee because it is more than the usual
annual statement of a Federal executive
agency. This report reviews the problems
and progress with which a planning
agency has been concerned during the
last five years. It demonstrates the
usefulness of the kind of planning service
which, as I have recommended to the
Congress, should be provided as a per-
manent establishment within the Federal
Government.

I hope that this report will be helpful
to you and your colleagues on the Select
Committee on Government Organization
in the development and enactment of
appropriate legislation to provide for
continuation, correlation and decentral-
ization of planning work.

The report reviews the details of
planning progress at different levels
of government, emphasizes the sig-
nificant and wide-spread develop-
ment of direct citizen participation
in planning work by community
groups, town, city, county, and
special district agencies; the state
planning boards; regional councils
and committees; Federal depart-
ments and establishments; and the
National Resources Committee.

The Federal Government spent
on research approximately only one
dollar for each person in the United
States during the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1937, according to the
report, "Research A National Re-
source," recently transmitted to
Congress by the President. The
$120,000,000 spent in this field,
however, represented only about 2
percent of the total budget, in
contrast to industrial corporations
which spend about 4 percent of
their budgets on research and uni-
versities which spend as high as
25 percent of their annual budgets.

The report states in part, that:

The regular research activities of the
Federal Government are largely in the
fields of the natural sciences and their
applications. Researches in the social
sciences and statistics account for about
one-fourth of the expenditures made from
regular funds. Most of the expenditures
for research made from emergency funds
are in the social science fields and
statistics. . . .

Later studies will be concerned
with research by universities and
colleges, by business organizations,
by the large industrial laboratories,
and by state and municipal govern-
ments.

The study was directed by a Sub-
committee of the Science Com-
mittee, consisting of Charles H.
Judd, University of Chicago, chair-
man; William F. Ogburn, University
of Chicago; and Edwin B. Wilson,
Harvard University. The Science
Committee members are: Ross G.
Harrison, Yale University and Chair-
man, National Research Council;
John C. Merriam, former President,
Carnegie Institution; Edwin B.

Planning and Civic Comment

Wilson, Harvard University and
Social Science Research Council;
Waldo G. Leland, Secretary, Amer-
ican Council of Learned Societies;
Harry A. Millis, University of
Chicago; William F. Ogburn, Uni-
versity of Chicago; Walter D.
Cocking, University of Georgia;
Edward C. Elliott, President, Pur-
due University; Charles H. Judd,
University of Chicago. Charles M.
Wiltse was Acting Secretary.

In order to bring together Federal
officials concerned with Public
Works and citizens especially quali-
fied to advise on the economics and
timing of public construction activ-
ities, the National Resources Com-
mittee has announced the appoint-
ment of a Technical Public Works
Committee.

Colonel Henry M. Waite was
named chairman of the Committee
and Frank W. Herring, of the
American Public Works Association,
vice-chairman. Other members are
F. E. Schmitt, Engineering News
Record; Otto T. Mallery, member
Pennsylvania State Planning Board;
William Stanley Parker, Construc-
tion League of America; Frederick
J. Lawton, Bureau of the Budget;
Corrington Gill, Works Progress
Administration; Fred Schnepfe, Pub-
lic Works Administration; Lowell
Chawner, Department of Com-
merce; A. F. Hinrichs, Department
of Labor, and Lt. Col. Paul W.
Baade, War Department.

This group has been asked to
assist the National Resources Com-
mittee in continuing its preparation
of 6-year programs of Federal
public works and in stimulating the
preparation of such capital budget

programs by States and cities.

In addition the new committee
will undertake studies to determine
the most effective utilization of
state and local public works for
stabilizing the construction indus-
try and to analyze the role of public
construction activities in providing
employment and increasing the
national income.

Immediate steps on the part of
the government toward formulation
of a national energy resources
policy in the interest of national
defense, conservation and economic
betterment, are advocated in the
Committee's report on "Energy
Resources and National Policy,"
sent to Congress on February 1 5 by
President Roosevelt.

Stimulation and support of both
fundamental and applied research
by the Federal Government in the
agencies concerned with energy
resources was urged by the special
committee as a measure of conser-
vation and efficient use of energy
resources in the interest of national
welfare.

In order to provide for contin-
uous planning and studies of policies
the committee also recommended
organization of an advisory planning
group for the energy resources,
which would be part of a national
planning agency.

In concluding the report the
Committee said, in part:

It is difficult in the long run, therefore,
to envisage a national coal policy or a
national petroleum policy or a national
water-power policy without also in time a
national policy directed toward all these
energy producers that is, a national
energy resources policy. Such a broader
and integrated policy toward the problems
of coal, petroleum, natural gas, and water

Planning and Civic Comment

power cannot be evolved overnight, for
each of those problems is amazingly com-
plex and in combination they represent
more than a simple sum of problems.

Ralph J. Watkins, Assistant Ad-
ministrator, Wage and Hour Divi-
sion, and formerly Director of the
Bureau of Business Research, Uni-
versity of Pittsburgh, was the direc-
tor of the studies and served as
chairman. The Technical Com-
mittee on Energy Resources which
was responsible for the report in-
cluded: Captain F. A. Daubin,
U. S. Navy, Army and Navy Mu-
nitions Board; Charles W. Eliot
2d, Executive Officer, National
Resources Committee; A. C. Field-
ner, Bureau of Mines; John W.
Frey, Petroleum Conservation Di-
vision; Roger B. McWhorter, Fed-
eral Power Commission; W. C.
Mendenhall, Director, U. S. Geo-
logical Survey; Colonel H. K.
Rutherford, Army and Navy Muni-
tions Board; F. C. Tryon, Bitumi-
nous Coal Commission, and Joel D.
Wolfsohn, National Power Policy
Committee.

In its report on "Water Pollution
in the United States," which the
President transmitted to Congress
on February 15, the National Re-
sources Committee recommended
that the Federal Government aid
the States in abatement activities
by furnishing funds and technical
assistance. While the report em-
phasized that responsibility for pol-
lution abatement is primarily local,
it asserts that financial considera-
tions have been a major obstacle to
abatement programs in the past.

The report recommended that an
appropriate Federal agency (pre-
sumably the U. S. Public Health

Service) be authorized to study
water pollution and its abatement;
to cooperate with and stimulate
state and local agencies' efforts;
to make grants and loans to public
bodies, and make loans to industry;
and to coordinate and act as a
clearing house for all abatement
programs.

The Fourth Annual Southeastern
Planning Conference will be held at
Columbia, South Carolina, March
30-31, 1939. Conference headquar-
ters will be the Columbia Hotel and
the sponsorship will include the
South Carolina State Planning Board
and the Regional Three Field Office
of the National Resources Com-
mittee.

"Aids to State Planning" will be
the theme of the Conference, a sub-
ject especially timely to Southeast-
ern planning boards. Local planning
and development will also be in-
cluded for discussion, since many of
the subjects of forest resources,
parks, power, health, roadside im-
provement are of greater concern to
the towns and cities individually
than to the State as a whole.

The South Carolina Planning
Board will present its program
against the background of many
other public and private agencies
working for the improvement of the
State a two-day case study of
Southeastern development.

Frederic A. Delano will preside at
the banquet to be held the evening
of March 30. Governor E. D. Rivers
of Georgia will discuss : "State Plan-
ning the Governor's Aide" and
Governor Burnet R. Maybank of
South Carolina will outline "Plans
for Development of South Carolina."

Watch Service

National Parks

H. R. 3794 (Gearhart) introduced Feb. 7, 1039. To establish the John Muir-Kmgs
Canyon National Park, California, to transfer thereto the lands included in the General
Grant National Park. (See article p. 17).

H. R. 3792 (Gearhart) introduced Feb. 7, 1939. Authorizing construction of Pine
Flat Reservoir and other works in the Kings River Basin, California. Authorizes con-
struction of the Pine Flat Reservoir in the Kings River Basin, California, under Federal
reclamation laws, the costs to be allocated to irrigation, power and flood control, the
power cost to be repaid by power revenues, the flood control cost by Federal allotment
by the Chief of Engineers of the War Department, leaving only the irrigation investment
to be repaid by the water users. The Pine Flat Reservoir lies without the proposed
John Muir-Kings Canyon National Park; but it is devoutly to be hoped that the
water users, if they secure Federal aid from the War Department will relinquish their
claims to the Cedar Grove and Tehipite Power sites which are shown on the map as
intrusions in the proposed park. No claim is made that the power is needed, only that
its sale would help pay for the irrigation investment.

H. R. 3793 (Gearhart) introduced Feb. 7, 1939. A bill authorizing construction of
distribution systems required for irrigation of lands participating in the development of
the Central Valley project, California. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in
connection with Central Valley Project, to construct under the Federal reclamation laws,
such distribution systems as he deems necessary for the irrigation of said lands.

H. R. 2961 (DeRouen) introduced Jan. 20. To provide for the establishment of the
Green Mountain National Park in the State of Vermont.

H. R. 36485. 1188 (DeRouen- Adams) introduced Feb. 2-Feb. 6. A bill to author-
ize the setting apart and preservation of wilderness areas in national parks and national
monuments, and for other purposes.

H. R. 3759 (DeRouen) introduced Feb. 6. To authorize a National Mississippi River
Parkway and matter relating thereto. Hearings being held by Committee on Public
Lands.

National Resources Board

S. 19 (Hayden) introduced Jan. 4, 1939. To establish a National Resources Board.
Referred to the Committee on Public Lands and Surveys.

S. 1265 (Byrnes) introduced Feb. 9, 1939. To establish a Department of Public
Works, to amend certain sections of the Social Security Act. On Feb. 17, 1939, Senator
Hayden proposed an amendment to S. 1 265 which was referred to the Special Committee
to Investigate Unemployment and Relief. As Title III National Resources Board, it
proposed the establishment of a National Resources Board to be composed of the
Secretaries of the Treasury, War, Interior, Agriculture, Labor and Public Works, and
three other members to be appointed by the President from widely separated sections
of the U. S., by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Board is authorized
and directed to investigate, examine, study, analyze, assemble and coordinate and at
suitable intervals to review and revise basic information and materials appropriate to
the formulation of plans or planning policies for the conservation, development, and
utilization of the Nation's resources, and on the basis thereof, to initiate and propose,
in an advisory capacity only, such plans and planning policies, etc.

S. 1739 (Wagner) introduced March 8, 1939. To provide for the advance planning
and regulated construction of public works, to promote the sound investment of public
funds, to diminish unemployment during periods of business depression, to conserve
national resources, to create a Federal Employment Stabilization Board. In Section 5
of this bill, the National Resources Committee shall cease to exist and stand dissolved
and the Federal Employment Stabilization Board is authorized and directed to inves-
tigate, examine, study, analyze, assemble, coordinate basic information and materials
appropriate to the formulation of plans or planning policies for the conservation, de-
velopment and utilization of the natural resources of the U. S.

The Senate Bill to Make Permanent the National
Resources Board

Senator Hayden introduced a bill
to create a National Resources
Board and later an amendment to
the Byrnes Bill to establish a
Department of Public Works. The
amendment provides for a Board of
ten, with seven ex officio cabinet
members, including Treasury, War,
Interior, Agriculture, Commerce,
Labor and Public Works, plus three
to be appointed by the President, to
be selected geographically, to serve
for overlapping terms.

The powers conferred are entirely
advisory and follow very closely the
functions now being performed by
the National Resources Committee.
The Presidential appointees would
be paid a salary, which means pre-

sumably, that they would be full-
time government employes.

Some former pending measures
provided for $50 a day and travel
recompense for actual service, with
a limitation of 30 days' service in
60 days. The difference in cost to
the Government is not significant.
The per diem compensation is ad-
vocated by those who believe that
more experienced Board members
may be secured if they are not
required to abandon all other af-
fairs. In the case of a Board so
constituted, there is the benefit,
supposedly, of superior policy-mak-
ing service, and the emphasis for
full-time service would be on the
employed executive and his staff.

Hearings on the John Muir-Kings Canyon Park

The Department of the Interior
and the Department of Agriculture
are in entire agreement on the
transfer of Forest lands to the
National Park Service to create
this national park which John Muir
advocated nearly sixty years ago.
Secretary I ekes made an excellent
statement before the House Com-
mittee on Public Lands at the
March Hearings and presented the
following letter from Secretary

Wallace: February 8, 1939

THE HONORABLE

THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

Dear Mr. Secretary: Reference is made
to proposals to create a John Muir
National Park in California and include
within it what is known as the Kings
River Canyon country, most of which has
been part of the national forest system
administered by this department.

In one form or another this matter has,
as you know, been under discussion for
many years. This Department is clearly of
record that in its opinion much of the Kings

River country is of national park caliber.
The major issue around which discussion
has centered is that of water resources.

My understanding is that boundary
lines as shown on certain recent maps have
to a very large extent taken the matter of
water resources into consideration. This
note, however, is to let you know that the
Department of Agriculture will approve
creation of a national park within the
general territory under discussion and
will join with you in consideration of the
specific boundaries described by proposed
legislation in an effort to expedite the
situation.

My reason for making this reservation
with respect to boundaries is that I have
not yet seen the bill defining them, and
they are, of course, a matter that should
have our mutual consideration.

Sincerely,
(Sgd.) H. A. WALLACE, Secretary

The point is made that the area
is now being used almost exclusively
for inspiration and recreation, as graz-
ing has been reduced to a minimum,
and that it meets national-park stan-
dards. What more can be said?

See the New York Fair and Attend the Planning
Conference at Boston!

Planning Conference, May 15-17

Following the plan of the very
successful Planning Conference held
in Minneapolis last June, the Boston
Conference, which will be sponsored
by the American Institute of Plan-
ners (nee American City Planning
Institute), American Planning and
Civic Association, American Society
of Planning Officials, and the Na-
tional Economic and Social Plan-
ning Association, will be organized
into round table sections which will
report to a general assembly at
intervals during the meeting. An
effort will be made to avoid schedul-
ing more than two sections at the
same time.

Subjects to be covered by the
program include a keynote speech
on "Why should we plan? Our
Fathers didn't!"; Factors in Com-
munity Reclamation, divided into
Housing for all the People; Trans-
portation as an Element in Rehabili-
tation; Recreation and Social Fac-
tors; Industrial Migration, from the
Standpoint of Labor, Industry and
Sociology; Institutional Aspects oj
Resources Planning, covering Prob-
lems Inherent in a Water Resources
Study and Aids and Obstacles to the
Adoption and Execution of a Land
Utilization Plan; Rural Problems,
Programs and Policies, including
Soil on the Sidewalk; Here They
Come; There They Go; and Rurban
Land Use Planning; The National
Income Sources and Expenditures
with discussions on The Creation,
Distribution and Disposition of
National Income (Industry's Part

and Government's Part) and a
Stabilization Program; Planning as
an Instrument in Business and
Social Activities, securing the points
of view of Business, Bankers, Real
Estate, Home Economics, Manu-
facturers, Educators, and Public
Officials; Public Works; Future
Shares of Federal and Non-Federal
Agencies; stressing What Local Use
is Being Made of Surveys by WPA
Workers and Others, Analysis of
Aims and Achievements of PWA
and WPA, Analysis of Aims and
Achievements of FHA and USHA;
Planning Problems of Large Cities;
Planning Problems of Smaller Com-
munities. A suggested program for
a session on Rural Planning would
include Common Problems that
both City and Rural Planners must
be concerned with; Concrete ex-
amples and specific suggestions.

Rural Land-use Planning would
consider Guide Posts in a Present-
day No-man's-land; Examples and
Recommendations. Zoning fans will
be glad to learn that Mr. Bassett's
Zoning Round Table will again be a
feature of the meeting. Miss Elisa-
beth M. Herlihy, Chairman of the
Massachusetts State Planning
Board and a member of the Boston
City Planning Board, as Director
of the 1939 Planning Conference, is
bringing together a large local com-
mittee who will do everything pos-
sible to make this meeting one of
the most memorable in the annals
of planning.

Plan to attend this Conference!

See the San Francisco Fair and Attend the National Park
Conference at Santa Fe!

National Park Conference, October 9-10

The third National Park Con-
ference, sponsored by the American
Planning and Civic Association, will
be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on
October 9-10 and will be followed
by a five-or-six-day trip to the
National Parks and Monuments in
the Region. Summer California
visitors may stop off at the Santa
Fe Conference on the way East
from the San Francisco Fair, and
winter visitors to California may
start a little early and stop at
Santa Fe on the way to the Fair.

A Program of unusual interest is
being arranged. The new National
Park Building, near the Laboratory
of Anthropology, will be occupied
by that time, and some of the meet-
ings will be held in this charming
building, done in the Santa Fe
manner. The National Park Super-
intendents will hold their conference
just prior to the American Planning
and Civic Association's Conference,
and will, as always, add to the in-
terest in the program.

Special Summer Planning Courses to be Repeated

A summer program in the Prin-
ciples, Techniques, Legislation, and
Administration of City and Regional
Planning will be given at the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology in
1939, sponsored jointly by the
School of Architecture and the
American Planning and Civic Asso-
ciation.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING, June
12-23, inclusive tuition $30 (in-
cluding supervision of problems in
design and research), consists of a
series of lectures and seminars on
the objects and scope of city and
regional planning and the elements
that go to make up a comprehensive
plan for the physical development
of a city or region.

PLANNING LEGISLATION, June 19-
23, inclusive tuition $10, covers
the legal aspects of both planning
and zoning, including enabling legis-
lation, municipal and county or-
dinances for zoning and subdivision

control, and private deed restric-
tions.

PLANNING TECHNIQUES, June 26-
30, inclusive tuition $10, is de-
signed to present the procedure
followed by the planning technician
in the development of a comprehen-
sive plan, including the surveys, the
preparation of the plan itself and the
problems involved in its execution.

PLANNING ADMINISTRATION, June
26-30, inclusive tuition $10, con-
sists of lectures and seminars on the
principles of organization and ad-
ministration in the carrying out of
comprehensive plans and zoning
ordinances for towns, cities, and
regions.

This program is about the same
as given last year, with the addition
of a new course in Planning Legisla-
tion to be given by Flavel Shurtleff .
Frederick J. Adams will give the
Courses in Planning Techniques and
Principles of Planning.

Book Reviews

POWDER RIVER: LET 'ER BUCK, by
Struthers Burt. Illustrations by Ross
Santee. Published by Farrar & Rine-
hart, Inc., New York. 1938. Price $2.50.

Struthers Burt, whom the Amer-
ican Planning and Civic Association
is proud to claim as a member of its
Advisory Council, has turned in
another literary success in this, the
fourth volume in the Rivers of
America series. Powder River is
an epic of the range country and
Mr. Burt has made it an exciting
story. The dramatic events in
western history which have flashed
across this famous River include the
last stand of the Sioux against the
white man; the settlement by cattle-
men from Texas; the Johnson
County war, still a burning topic on
Wyoming tongues; and the gradual
breaking up of the open range and
the coming of the dude ranch.

Mr. Burt has made of Powder
River a fascinating blend of history
and folk-lore and in his dramatic
style has made a living thing of the
spirit of the prairie country. He has
succeeded in recasting into real
drama the story of the Powder
River country.

JOHN OF THE MOUNTAINS. The Unpub-
lished Journals of John Muir. Edited
by Linnie Marsh Wolfe. Houghton
Mifflin Company, Boston, 1938. Illus-
trated. Price $3.75.

For fifty years, ever since the
publication of the Century articles,
the books by John Muir have met
with a cordial, and even eager,
reception by the nature-loving read-
ing public. Besides the eight books
published by John Muir in his
lifetime, we have the "Life and
Letters" edited so sympathetically
by Professor William F. Bade. But,
because of the voluminous entries
in his many journals, these hitherto
unpublished first-hand recordings
come to us with as fresh an interest
and with as keen a dramatic appeal
as though there never had been
other John Muir books.

There has been much fine writing
about Nature, but seldom has there
been a man who has studied her so
long and so lovingly and so far
penetrated her precious secrets as
John Muir, who wrote with such
simplicity and lack of conscious
style.

Recent Publications

Compiled by Katharine McNamara, Librarian of the Departments of
Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Harvard University

AMERICAN PLANNING AND Civic ASSO-
CIATION. Roadside improvement; sup-
plement to Planning and Civic Com-
ment, Oct.-Dec. 1938; vol. 4, No. 4.
Washington, The Association, 1938.
24 pages.

COLCORD, JOANNA C. Your community:
its provision for health, education,
safety, and welfare. New York, Russell
Sage Foundation, 1939. 249 pages.
IIIus., map, chart. Price 85 cents.

GUBBELS, JAC L. American highways and
roadsides. Introduction by Julian Mont-

gomery. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co.,
1938. 94 pages. IIIus., diagrs. Price
$2.75.

HAMPSTEAD GARDEN SUBURB TRUST LTD.,
pub. The Hampstead Garden Suburb,
its achievements and significance.
[Hampstead, Eng.], Hampstead Garden
Suburb Trust Ltd., [1937]. 24 pages.
IIIus., portrait. Price Is 6d.

HASSE, ADELAIDE R. Planning, localisa-
tion of industry, depressed areas, hous-
ing, unemployment, financing, govern-
ment, planning. Royal Commission on

Planning and Civic Comment

the Geographical Distribution of the
Industrial Population. Minutes of
evidence, 1937-1938; a summary, [pre-
pared by Adelaide R. Hasse, under the
direction of Virginia Breen]. [Wash-
ington], U. S. Works Progress Adminis-
tration, Oct. 1, 1938. 53 pages. Mimeo-
graphed. Tables. (Research Library
Abstracts. Item 554. Foreign.)

HYNNING, CLIFFORD J. State conservation
of resources. National Resources Com-
mittee. Washington, Govt. Printing
Office, 1939. 116 pages. Maps, tables,
chart. Price 15 cents.

ILLINOIS. DIVISION OF STATE PARKS, and
OTHERS. Illinois park, parkway and
recreational area plan, prepared at the
request of Governor Henry Horner, by
the Division of State Parks of the
Department of Public Works and
Buildings, the Illinois State Planning
Commission, and the Chicago Regional
Planning Association; the National
Park Service cooperating. Chicago,
Illinois State Planning Commission,
1938. 142 pages + 7 plates. IIIus.
(part colored), maps (part folded),
charts. Price $1.50.

INTERNATIONAL CITY MANAGERS' ASSO-
CIATION. Specifications for the annual
municipal report: suggested topics and
units of measurement for reporting each
activity; tentative draft. Chicago, The
Association, Nov. 1938. 15 pages.
Mimeographed. Price 50 cents.
Section on Planning, p. 7-9.

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR HOUS-
ING AND TOWN PLANNING. Planning
recreation. XVI International Housing
and Town Planning Congress, Mexico,
1938. Bruxelles, The Federation, 1938.
Various paging. IIIus., maps, plans,
cross section, tables. Price 3s.

Text in English, French and German.

KANSAS CITY (Mo.) CHAMBER OF COM-
MERCE. Where these rocky bluffs meet,
including the story of the Kansas City
ten-year plan. Kansas City, The
Chamber, 1938. 293 pages. IIIus., maps,
tables, charts. Price $2.50.
KIDD, JOHN G., comp. Cincinnati: "the
queen city." [Cincinnati, O.J, John G.
Kidd and Son, Inc., 1938. Unpaged.
IIIus.

MCDONALD, FREDERICK H. How to
promote community and industrial
development. New York, Harper and
Brothers Publishers, 1938. 260 pages.
Price $3.00.

MOSES, ROBERT. Housing and recreation.
New York, The Author, Nov. 22, 1938.

40 pages. IIIus. (part folded), map,
diagrs. (folded).

NEW YORK, N. Y. CITY PLANNING
COMMISSION. Proposed capital budget
for the calendar year 1939 and capital
program for the next succeeding five cal-
endar years. . . [New York], The Com-
mission, Nov. 1, 1938. 61 pages. Tables.

NEW YORK, N. Y. DEPT. OF CITY PLAN-
NING. Sections of the New York city
charter and administrative code relating
to and affecting the City Planning
Commission. New York, The Dept.,
Oct. 2, 1938. 23 pages. Mimeographed.

NOLTING, ORIN F., and PAUL OPPERMANN.
The parking problem in central business
districts, with special reference to off-
street parking. Chicago, Public Ad-
ministration Service, 1938. 28 pages.
IIIus., plans, tables, charts. (Publica-
tion No. 64.) Price $1.00.

REYNOLDS, HARRIS, and BREMER W.
POND. Planning to plant shade trees;
a new system proposed for greater
safety, beauty and economy, by Harris
A. Reynolds in cooperation with Bremer
W. Pond. Boston, Massachusetts For-
est and Park Association, Jan. 1939.
16 pages. IIIus., cross sections. (Bulle-
tin No. 162.) Price 25 cents.

RICK, GLENN A., [comp. and ed.] Long
term program of capital expenditures:
city of San Diego, California. [San
Diego, Calif., 1938.] 45 pages. Litho-
graphed. IIIus., maps (one folded),
tables, charts.

TAYLOR, A. D. Forest Hill Park; a report
on the proposed landscape development,
prepared for the city of Cleveland
Heights, Ohio. . . the city of East
Cleveland, Ohio. . . . Cleveland, O.,
1938. 104 pages. IIIus., maps (part
folded), plans, cross sections, portraits.

U. S. FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION.
Planning profitable neighborhoods.
Washington, The Administration, [1938].
35 pages. IIIus., plans, diagrs. (Tech-
nical Bulletin No. 7.) Price 20 cents.

U. S. NATIONAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE.
COMMITTEE ON POPULATION PROBLEMS.
Population problems. Washington,
Govt. Printing Office, 1938. 28 pages.
Maps, charts. Price 10 cents.

. SCIENCE COMMITTEE. Re-
search: a national resource. I. Relation
of the federal government to research,
November 1938; report of the Science
Committee to the National Resources
Committee. Washington, Govt. Print-
ing Office, 1938. 255 pages. Charts,
tables. Price 50 cents.

V.V.I

Planning and
Civic Comment

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

CONTENTS

Page

Riverside Parkway Acquired as a Civic Service . .
Editorial Comment: On Guard for Niagara . .

Kings Canyon Bill Reported by House Committee 4

Billboards: Noblesse Oblige . , 5

Coffee County, Alabama A Demonstration in County Planning 6
National Resources Committee Commended . , 9

Early Plan of Charles Town, S. C. . . . . 11

Zoning Round Table: Buildings Destroyed by Fire . .12

International Housing and Town Planning Congress 14

Strictly Personal , . .15

American Planning and Civic Association Announces a Ten-Day

Traveling National Park Meeting in the Colorful Southwest,

October 9-19, 1939

The King of Spain's Advice to Planners in 1573 . . 17

Postponement of Summer Course to July 10 . . 20

State Park Notes . . , 21

New Officers Elected at National Conference on State Parks . ,24
New Park Yearbook Ready . . . . . .25

Recent Court Decisions Affecting Zoning .26

Watch Service Report

National Resources Committee Note:; ,30

For Better Roadsides . . 34

Report on National Planning for England and Wales 36

O. H. P. Johnson Harold Allen 37

New York City Planning Commission Issues First Report .
Association's Publications Widely Distributed .39

Recent Publications . .39

APRIL -JUNE 1939

IN TWO PARTS PART I

PLANNING AND
CI[VIC COMMENT

Published Quarterly
Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

Official Organ of: American Planning and Civic Association,
National Conference on State Parks

SCOPE: National, State, Regional and City Planning; Land and Water Uses;

Conservation oj National Resources; National, State and Local Parks,

Highways and Roadsides.
AIM: To create a better physical environment which will conserve and develop

the health, happiness and culture of the American people.

HARLEAN JAMES

EDITORIAL BOARD

FLAVEL SHURTLEFF

CHARLES G. SAUERS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

FREDERICK J. ADAMS
HORACE M. ALBRIGHT
HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW
EDWARD M. BASSETT
RUSSELL V. BLACK
PAUL V. BROWN
STRUTHERS BURT
HAROLD S. BUTTENHEIM
ARNO B. CAMMERER
DAVID C. CHAPMAN
MARSHALL N. DANA
S. R. DEBOER
EARLE S. DRAPER
CHARLES W. ELIOT 2o
L. C. GRAY
S. HERBERT HARE

CONRAD

ELISABETH M. HERLIHY

P. J. HOFFMASTER

HENRY V. HUBBARD
JOHN IHLDER
RAYMOND F. LEONARD
RICHARD LIEBER
THOMAS H. MACDONALD
J. HORACE MCFARLAND
HENRY T. MC!NTOSH
KATHERINE MCNAMARA
MARVIN C. NICHOLS
JOHN NOLEN, JR.
F. A. PITKIN
ISABELLE F. STORY
L. DEMING TILTON
TOM WALLACE
L. WIRTH

MANAGING EDITOR

DORA A. PADGETT

$3.00 a Year

Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Washington, D. C., under
the Act of March 3, 1879. Additional entry at Harrisburg, Pa.

EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATION OFFICE: 901 Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C.

Printed by the Mount Pleasant Press, J. Horace McFarland Company, Harris-
burg, Pa.

Planning and Civic Comment

Vol. 5

April-June, 1939

No. 2

Riverside Parkway Acquired as a Civic Service

By AUBREY L. WHITE, Spokane, Washington

EDITOR'S NOTE. The author of this
article, Aubrey L. White, Manager of the
Spokane Parkways and Roadside Protec-
tion Association, has been a leader in the
establishment of the Spokane Parkway.
As a tribute to him, the Legislature of the
State of Washington at its recent session
passed unanimously, on March 9, 1939, a
bill naming the parkway the "Aubrey L.
White Parkway."

SPOKANE, a city of 135,000,
is bisected by the Spokane
River, a swiftly flowing moun-
tain stream, which heads in the
Rockies and flows through a beauti-
ful valley by the same name, then
tumbles over three waterfalls in the
very heart of the city. From these
falls is generated much of the power
that gives the city the name of
"Spokane, the Power City."

A small group of public spirited
men, realizing the importance of
preserving the shore line, banks and
adjoining land bordering the river,
and desiring to forestall the threat of
commercial encroachment, some ten
years ago organized the Spokane
River Parkways Association, a non-
profit organization now known as
the Spokane Parkways and Road-
side Protection Association. The
Board of Directors of this Associa-
tion is made up of important busi-
ness and professional men of the
city. Working in close arrangement
with the owners and editors of the

Spokesman-Review, a daily and Sun-
day paper, this organization under-
took the task of securing the land
and the right-of-way for a riverside
parkway on both sides of the river.

As the result of a multitude of
transactions with individuals, cor-
porations and city and county tax
officials, it gradually acquired title
to a continuous body of 5,500 acres
of land, and the right-of-way for 26
miles of parkway along both sides of
the river bank. This was secured by
donations of land, by the buying of
private land and tax-sale land, with
money raised from dues or cash gifts.

The land inside the city was
deeded for city parks, and that out-
side deeded for state parks, at no
cost to either city or State. The
Riverside State Park begins at the
city limits, and the parkways con-
nect with the city parks and boule-
vard system. For several years the
development of this parkway by
grading, paving and planting has
furnished work for hundreds of the
unemployed, and for the last five
years the National Park Service has
operated a CCC camp, petitioned
for and secured by the Association.
Many miles of secondary roads,
bridle paths and trails have been
graded, beside the 26 miles of park-
way, and fine recreation areas have

Planning and Civic Comment

been developed at the Bowl and
Pitcher and Deep Creek Canyon.

This park and these parkways be-
ginning at the city center are unique
natural assets, beautiful and pictur-
esque, bordering for 15 miles the
Spokane River, with its rapids, falls,
and quiet stretches, and opening up
an unsurpassed scenic, historic and
geographical area, with great lava
rock formations and cliffs that rise
for hundreds of feet above the river.
The canyon walls tell the story of
volcanic eruption and the erosion
and building up of the present land-
scape.

From these miles of parkways can
be read the geological story of mil-
lions of years. The granite hills of
the Little Spokane and the moun-
tains of British Columbia rise in the
distance to the north; to the east,
Mount Spokane and the mountains
of Idaho; to the southeast, Mica
Peak and the Sentinel Rock. The
majestic peak of Mount Spokane,
once as high as Mount Rainier is
now, must have been in perpetual
snow, but glaciers for long periods
of time have worn it down to its
present height of 5,900 feet, yet it
is snow-capped for six months of
the year.

In many places along the park-
way glacial evidences are visible. It
is claimed that Deep Creek Canyon,
where the creek has cut its way in
ages past through great basaltic
rock with walls several hundred feet
high, tells a story covering many
more periods of the world's making
than does the Grand Canyon of the
Colorado.

Along the parkways, which some-

times skirt the bottom of the cliffs
and at other times follow the top of
the cliffs, the marks of the ice age
on one side and the three great
superimposed lava floods on the
other are in evidence. Underneath
the first laval flow are great clay
beds left by ancient bodies of water,
in which have been found fossil
leaves of the Gingko and the Sequoia
and other trees that seem to prove
this was once a semi-tropical
country.

At the terminus of the parkway is
the site of Spokane House, where the
first white settlement in the North-
west was located by the Northwest
Fur Company of Montreal, Canada,
and London, England, which estab-
lished the first fur trading post in
1810, one year before John Jacob
Astor located Astoria. In 1812 the
Astor Fur Company came up the
Columbia and Spokane Rivers and
located a friendly rival post on this
same area, so that the American and
English flags flew at the same time
over the tract that lies on the neck
of land between the junction of the
Spokane and the Little Spokane
Rivers.

This whole parkway follows the
winding of the river, disclosing on
both sides various forms of running
water with masses of native flowers,
shrubs and Ponderosa Pine. It has
been designated as a bird and wild-
life sanctuary, and both upland and
water game birds are often seen. It
is not unusual to see a deer.

This parkway and recreational
area, so near the city of Spokane,
was visited last season by over
150,000 people.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

On Guard for Niagara

It was at the 1905 Cincinnati
convention of the American Civic
Association that the first definite
national attention was called to the
rapidly proceeding destruction of
Niagara Falls, or rather to change it
from America's greatest spectacle to
a gathering of wheel pits, electric
generators, and conducting appar-
atus. In consequence of the action
there begun, and projected through
a very vigorous campaign for several
years, the Burton Bill of 1906 was
enacted, and later the Treaty of
1910 completed. These great docu-
ments took Niagara Falls away from
the State of New York and Province
of Ontario, which between them had
given, either for nothing or for a
very small consideration, rights to
the use of more water than the total
volume of the Falls.

Under administration by the War
Department and in harmony with
the Canadian authorities, diversion
was held to about 27 percent of the
average flow, and many efforts since
made have failed to increase this
legalized diversion. At this diver-
sion the American Fall was thinned
down sorrowfully, and the rocks on
the Canadian side of Goat Island
completely bared. Considering this,
Herbert Hoover when Secretary of
Commerce, had appointed what is
yet known as the Special Interna-
tional Niagara Board, including an
American and a Canadian civilian,
and an American and Canadian
engineer who were by certain mem-
orable "terms of reference" charged

with studying the situation, looking
toward remedying the damage done,
if possible, and toward the possible
use of more water if that could
safely be managed.

On this Board, Dr. J. Horace
McFarland, President of the A. C. A.
was named as the American civilian
member. This Special Board worked
unremittingly for more than two
years, having at command not only
all the records of both governments
but the airplane survey facilities of
both. The result was a memorable
presentation, including the real map-
ping of the under-water surface at
the Falls. The recommendations
finally agreed upon involved the use
of ingeniously simple remedial works,
which by taking water from the
notch in the Horseshoe Falls would
divert the flow around Goat Island
over the American Fall for an in-
crease of about 60 percent, and
would also incidentally clothe the
bare rocks on the Canadian side of
Goat Island.

It was proposed that these reme-
dial works be conducted under the
control of the engineers at the ex-
pense of the Canadian and Ameri-
can Power Companies, who would
be given in the winter non-tourist
months from October to April a
relatively small amount of addi-
tional water for producing power.

Unfortunately the remedy has not
yet been applied, though it is just
as feasible as ever.

Constituted by its "terms of
reference" as guardian of the seen-

Planning and Civic Comment

ery about Niagara Falls, the Special
International Niagara Board has
since kept its eye on the Falls. Thus,
when early this year, following the
destruction by ice of the steel arch
bridge at Prospect Point, it was
proposed to erect a structure further
down the gorge some thirty feet
higher, and with approaches which
offered man-made competition with
Niagara, Dr. McFarland as the
American civilian member insisted
on a hearing, which occurred at
Niagara Falls, April 18, 1939. At
that hearing Dr. McFarland brought
to attention the previous findings of
great landscape and engineering
authorities in opposition to con-
structions at Niagara which would

offer man-made competition with
the glory of the Falls. In the dis-
cussion it appeared that Robert
Moses, the man who has done so
much to bring New York park sur-
roundings toward civilization, had
an effective relation and he has been
interested to set up a further safe-
guard for the people at Niagara.

Thus, at present there is an ap-
proximate "stop-order" against any
action about Niagara which will
further injure its magnificence.

It will be here observed that the
guardianship of the American Civic
Association and its successor, the
American Planning and Civic Asso-
ciation, has been continuous since
1905.

Kings Canyon Bill Reported by
House Committee

The Gearhart Bill, H. R. 3794,
to establish the John Muir-Kings
Canyon National Park, was re-
ported favorably, in amended form,
by the House Public Lands Com-
mittee on May 25, 1939. The bill
would preserve as a national park
an important region in the High
Sierra described in the January-
March PLANNING AND Civic COM-
MENT; would include the General
Grant National Park; and would
authorize the purchase of one of the
last extensive remaining stands of
Big Trees, now in private ownership
and in danger of being harvested.

The boundaries as drawn in the
bill have been approved by the De-
partment of the Interior and the
Department of Agriculture. At the
hearings Chief Forester Silcox testi-
fied that the Forest Service had
eliminated practically all grazing

and other commercial uses from the
Kings Canyon country in order that
it might be devoted exclusively to
recreation. He advocated the trans-
fer to the National Park Service of
the forest lands described in the bill.
In Section 3 of the amended bill,
however, the wording would permit
works for flood control, irrigation
and power development in the park.
This would be a great mistake.
Commissioner Page of the Reclam-
ation Service testified at the hearings
that in his judgment the area was
not needed for irrigation or power
development. The Federal Water
Power Act of 1920, as amended in
1921 and 1935, eliminates all na-
tional parks from any jurisdiction of
the Federal Power Commission.
Wholesale permission to introduce
construction of reservoirs and other
works, with the consequent drying

Planning and Civic Comment

up of streams within the park, would
seriously threaten this highly scenic
country and make it unfit for park
purposes.

It is essential that Congress
further amend the bill as reported
so as to eliminate the possibility of
flood control, power and irrigation
developments from the park.

The bill as introduced by Mr.
Gearhart gave to the area the name
John Muir-Kings Canyon National
Park. As reported from the Com-
mittee, the name was changed to
Kings Canyon Wilderness National
Park, though the General Grant and
Redwood Mountain Groves included
in the bill are not in any way identi-
fied with the Kings Canyon. The
name of John Muir has been so
closely identified with the High
Sierra and with the Big Trees of

California that it would be emi-
nently proper for the park to bear
his name. If Congress sees fit to
restore the Muir name, as provided
in the original Gearhart bill, such
action would undoubtedly meet with
general approval.

But whether this is done or not, it
is absolutely imperative that the bill be
further amended so that this park may
enter the system Jree Jrom any danger
of power and irrigation development.

With the agreement of the Na-
tional Park Service, the United
States Forest Service, and the
United States Reclamation Service
that this area should be a national
park, and because after extensive
hearings the Public Lands Commit-
tee has endorsed the bill, it would
seem that the time had arrived for
Congress to act.

Billboards: Noblesse Oblige

Massachusetts believes in "prac-
ticing what you preach." Twenty
years ago her people said by adopt-
ing a constitutional amendment that
they did not like billboards within
view of the public highway and
wanted them restricted. Three years
ago the Supreme Court said that the
public will should prevail and that
travelers could be protected "from
the intrusion of unwelcome adver-
tising."

This year super billboards have
appeared on the highways of New
Jersey advertising Massachusetts as
a vacation State "See the World's
Fair and then spend your vacation
in Massachusetts" is their slogan.
The billboards are attractive and in
good taste, if billboards ever are.

Now the people of New Jersey
don't like billboards either. They

have consistently supported, in
season and out, billboard regula-
tion. So letters have gone to the
Governor of Massachusetts calling
to his attention that Massachusetts
leads the Nation in its regulation of
billboards and that one of the pro-
visions in these regulations is that
all billboards over three hundred
square feet in area shall be set back
three hundred feet from the high-
ways. The letters may well have
ended with the sentence, "Massa-
chusetts needs no advertising in
New Jersey and certainly the people
of New Jersey will be more likely to
spend vacations in Massachusetts
and New England if the billboards
on the New Jersey highways come
down." Governor Saltonstall last
week by executive order directed
their removal.

Coffee County, Alabama A Demonstration
in County Planning

By W. F. BAXTER, Farm Security Administration

DURING the past few years,
the U. S. Department of
Agriculture has placed an
increasingly large amount of em-
phasis on the necessity for develop-
ing an efficient, planned program for
agricultural counties throughout the
country. As a practical demonstra-
tion in county planning, the Farm
Security Administration has ini-
tiated its Coffee County Farms
project, in Coffee County, Alabama.

Early investigations in Coffee
County revealed that corrective
work could be undertaken along
four main lines: land-use planning,
land purchase, resettlement and
rehabilitation. But instead of em-
phasizing the separate purposes and
processes of each of these programs,
the focal point of work in Coffee
County has been the county itself,
its resources and the conditions that
arise from the need for better condi-
tions of life and work among those
who live on the land.

In a true sense, the work is neither
a land program, a resettlement pro-
gram, nor a rehabilitation program.
It is an area or county program into
which have been brought the ac-
tivities of Federal, state and local
bodies so that the problems of the
whole county might be solved.

It would perhaps be difficult to
find an area whose progress and
retrogression better demonstrate the
effects of an unplanned social and
agricultural economy. Perhaps no
other group in our population has
experienced similar periods of pros-

perity and depression, wealth and
poverty, ownership and near-slavery.
The history of Coffee County is a
history of laissez-Jaire policy with
the periods of prosperity and depres-
sion alike termed "Acts of God."

The first survey of Coffee County
presented a sorry picture. The land
was eroded, the lumber wasted, the
people illiterate, ill-nourished and
diseased. During the past few years,
careful planning has changed the
picture. Through health and wel-
fare agencies, through the Federal,
state and local agricultural bodies,
through the efforts of the people of
the county, tremendous improve-
ment has been made in the social
and economic life of the people. The
soil is being rebuilt and the forests
replenished.

No words can describe the history
of Coffee County better than un-
planned and haphazard. During the
early days of settlement, home-
steaders built along the river banks
because they thought the wooded
areas valueless. Lumbering inter-
ests followed and brought a tem-
porary boom. Large areas of newly
cleared land were put to cotton. The
land was rich and the cultivation
brought another wave of prosperity.
But the bubble burst with the com-
ing of the boll weevil and the farmers
faced starvation. Discouraged with
his efforts to grow cotton, one
farmer planted peanuts and bumper
crops resulted. Coffee County farm-
ers started a new venture, featuring
peanuts and hogs. In 1920, their

Planning and Civic Comment

enterprise brought them a return of
more than five million dollars as
compared with an average of only
one million annually from cotton.
Today, a monument to the boll
weevil, erected by grateful farmers,
stands in Coffee County.

But again forces from the outside
intervened. During the depression
the price of hogs dropped. Intensive
planting had taken fertility from
the soil. The population, nearly
100 percent rural, again faced near
starvation.

In February, 1936, Coffee County
had a population of about 35,000,
most of them rural folk. More than
two-thirds of the school popula-
tion had hookworm disease. School
buildings mostly one-room affairs
were inadequate and in disrepair.
One or both of the parents in 25 per-
cent of the households could not
read or write. Electricity, running
water, or inside toilets were prac-
tically unknown in rural homes.
Most of the houses were shacks
without adequate roofing.

Soon after the Resettlement Ad-
ministration was established, some
sixty thousand acres of land, fore-
closed by a New Orleans bank, were
turned over to that agency. The
first step toward recovery was the
establishment of a county-wide plan
for rehabilitation. First, however,
surveys w r ere undertaken to secure
information on which to base wise,
accurate and scientific economic and
social planning.

It was evident from the surveys
that the fundamental problem was
two-fold and, in order to better the
general farm economy, the future
planning must look toward (i) a
readjustment of land-use and exist-

ing agricultural practices, and (2) a
readjustment of the population to
its land-base.

As the county planning proceeded,
advice was sought and given. Con-
ferences were held with state and
county agricultural services as well
as with allied Federal agencies. To
correlate all existing and proposed
activities, the County Council was
established with representatives from
all groups operating in the county.
Problems relating to schools, roads,
public health, education, taxes, etc.,
are considered by this body and
action programs formulated.

The plan for Coffee County in-
cludes rehabilitation of the popula-
tion, reconstruction of the educa-
tional and public health systems,
land-use, education in the home and
improved recreational and social
opportunities.

The Farm Security Administra-
tion is extending financial aid and
agricultural guidance to about 600
families in the county. About 200
of these are homesteaders at the
Coffee County Farms project of
that Administration. The remain-
ing 400 are operating under reha-
bilitation loans under which credit is
made available for seed, livestock,
feed and equipment on the basis of
sound farm and home management
plans. Money for schools, teachers,
nurses and other public service
personnel is received from various
agencies. Agricultural Adjustment
Administration and Soil Conserva-
tion payments are an important
factor in the improved financial
status of Coffee County farmers.

One of the most interesting de-
velopments has been in the field of
education. The Farm Security Ad-

Planning and Civic Comment

ministration is remodeling one school
house and is constructing three
more under arrangements with pri-
vate contractors. The schools are
being located in areas where these
facilities are most needed. Voca-
tional teachers are being employed
and one-half of those available are
assigned to the schools while the
others work in the homes. The edu-
cational program has been planned
to meet the needs of the men,
women, and children of the county.
The studies include practical demon-
strations of the ways of meeting
problems encountered in everyday
life.

A new public health program,
with three county health nurses in
residence, is bringing much-needed
medical care to more than 30,000
persons. A group health plan has
been set up with the cooperation of
the State and County Medical
Boards. A total of 307 low-income
farm families had membership in
the association in 1938 and more
than 55 percent of the members
required some medical care during
the year. It has been estimated
that, without the operation of the
county-wide plan, not more than
10 percent could have secured this
attention.

In addition to medical aid to
individuals, the county plan pro-
vides for a comprehensive program
in health education. Information on
sanitation, health habits and proper
diets is brought to each family
through the public health nurses,
the schools and the vocational
teachers as they work in the homes.
A County Health unit, under the
supervision of a county medical
officer, has cooperated with the

Health Association during the year.

In addition to the health associ-
ation, other cooperative enterprises
have been established under the
county plan. Cooperative purchas-
ing, processing and marketing are
conducted in connection with an
existing cooperative organization,
the Enterprise Farmers' Exchange.
Four cooperative canning services
are being established to serve about
500 families. In many instances, the
Farm Security Administration has
loaned money to families to further
participation in the movement.

Before 1937, the Coffee County
families were denied advantages of
organized social and recreational
activities. No general farmers' or-
ganizations existed, and while par-
ent-teachers and 4-H clubs had
once been established, practically
all had languished and died. A
county supervisor, reporting on the
progress of the coordinated program,
recently stated:

As a general proposition, the boys and
girls are taking an active interest in 4-H
club work and school attendance has im-
proved. There is a new spirit of coopera-
tion between the vocational agencies of
the county and meetings are being held
and school conducted for both men and
women. ... As a result of these activ-
ities, the adults are taking an active part
in church and social affairs.

Improved school houses in four
localities are providing community
meeting places. A lake, camping
grounds and picnic areas have been
provided so that residents in differ-
ent areas of the county are not
isolated from their neighbors. The
new planning for Coffee County,
plus the active leadership of the
County Council, is beginning to
show results in the economic, civic
and social progress of Coffee County.

National Resources Committee Commended

By H. T. McINTOSH in letter to Representative Cox

MR. Henry T. Mclntosh,
Editor of the Albany (Geor-
gia) Herald, and a member
of the American Planning and Civic
Association Advisory Council, has
written a letter to Representative
E. E. Cox of Georgia which Mr.
Cox valued so highly that he caused
it to be reprinted in the Congres-
sional Record of May 22, 1939.

The letter is intended to correct
the mistaken impression that the
National Resources Committee is a
regulatory agency. In reality in all
of its previous practice, and in
conformity with planning procedure
already well established in the
United States, the National Re-
sources Committee has served as a
research and fact-finding organ-
ization to make available to the
American people and public officials
information on which the duly
constituted authorities may base
legislative and administrative ac-
tion. Its plans are purely advisory.

Mr. Mclntosh has given such a
lucid explanation of the function
of the National Resources Com-
mittee that we take pleasure in
reproducing it here in the hope that
it will aid in bringing united support
to legislation which will place the
present National Resources Com-
mittee on a permanent statutory
basis as requested by the President
of the United States in his letter
to Congress of April 25, 1939.

In the Reorganization Plan No.
i, which will go into effect July I,
the functions of the National Re-

sources Committee and of the
Federal Employment Stabilization
Office in the Department of Com-
merce will be transferred to a
National Resources Planning Board,
directly responsible to the President,
to be composed of five members
appointed by the President, and
compensated by a per diem which
will permit the selection of men and
women of broad experience and
ability. It is expected that legisla-
tion will be introduced into Congress
to give the Board permanent legis-
lative status, in conformity with
the recommendations of the
President.

The letter from Mr. Mclntosh to
Representative Cox follows:

THE ALBANY HERALD

Albany, Ga., April 20, 1939
HON. E. E. Cox,
House Office Building, Washington, D. C.

My Dear Judge: Since talking with you
several days ago I have been checking up
on the National Resources Committee,
and nowhere in its record do I find any-
thing whatsoever to justify a suspicion that
it desires to be handed a club and given a
commission to use it on State and local
governments or on anybody, or any-
thing, anywhere.

Let me repeat what I stated in the
course of our conversation that the Na-
tional Resources Committee as it is now
constituted has no power whatsoever. It
cannot compel any agency, governmental
or business or industrial or other, to do
anything.

That is not the idea in planning. As you
know, I am chairman of the Georgia State
Planning Board, and am in touch with a
number of other similar boards in the
Southeast. Not one of them has power to
compel obedience to orders or to comply
with demands. As a matter of fact plan-
ning agencies do not work that way. They
are fact-finding, coordinating, and advis-

Planning and Civic Comment

ory always that and never more than that.
They do not desire powers, for they are
not administrative agencies. Their func-
tion is to plan, to study problems, gather
and correlate information, submit reports
to executive heads and legislative bodies,
and prepare plans which may be adopted
in whole or in part or rejected in their
entirety.

The idea of a national or a State plan-
ning agency clothed with powers is fan-
tastic. It is repugnant to the whole spirit
of planning. I would not serve on a plan-
ning board or commission that was author-
ized to enforce its will to "compel
obedience." That may be zoning or in the
nature of an exercise of police powers, but
it certainly is not planning.

Permit me to quote from an amendment
to a Senate bill (S. 1265) introduced last
February by Senator Hayden. I do not
know what became of the amendment, and
I am not considering its virtues or short-
comings, but it seems so clearly to pro-
claim the functions and lay down the
limitations of planning that it is well
worth reading. This is the extract referred
to:

"The Board (National Resources Board)
is authorized and directed (a) to investi-
gate, examine, study, analyze, assemble, and
coordinate and at suitable intervals to
review and revise basic information and
materials appropriate to the formulation
of plans or planning policies for the con-
servation, development, and utilization of
the Nation's resources, and, on the basis
thereof, such plans and planning policies;
(b) to consult with all appropriate depart-
ments, bureaus, agencies, and instrumen-
talities of the United States, and Terri-
tories and possessions thereof, and of any
State or political subdivision thereof, as
well as with public or private planning or
research organizations; (c) to advise with
such departments, bureaus, agencies,
instrumentalities, and public or private
planning or research organizations, with
respect to the conservation, development,
and utilization of the Nation's resources,
and to obtain Jrom andjurnisb to them data
and information relating to sucb matters;
and (d) to prepare and submit studies,
reports, and recommendations upon matters
within its jurisdiction, upon its own initia-
tive or whenever the President or the
Congress may request such a study, re-
port, or recommendation." (Italics mine.)

I am not championing the Hayden
amendment or anything else. The point I
make is that here is a clear statement of
what planning seeks to accomplish, viz.,
find out what we have and where it is, then

plan its intelligent conservation, its
development, its use. There is not a word
in the quoted statement about powers.

For more than 5 years I have been in
touch with the National Resources Com-
mittee and its predecessors National Plan-
ning Board, National Resources Board.
Never .by statement or intimation during
that period have I heard hint of a program
which could under any conceivable cir-
cumstances be other than "advisory only."
I believe some such proposal was made
several years ago in a bill whether House
or Senate I do not know which someone
prepared, but the National Resources
Committee opposed it. It would have
ruined planning. "Planning with power"
would shake itself to pieces in short order.

Here in the Southeast we face many
grave problems related to our resources
land, water, forests, health, education,
agriculture, industrial development, and
over and above all these and the rest,
people. I have been studying these prob-
lems for years, and so have you. We have
not been making impressive progress in
dealing with them, but I make the confi-
dent assertion that planning offers the
most hopeful approach to their eventual
solution. Our weakness is due to our lack
of information about what we have, where
it is, why so much has been wasted, and
how that waste can best be stopped; what
penalties neglect and abuse now threaten,
and what price our children and their
children will pay if we fail to protect their
heritage.

A national planning agency is indispen-
sable to the States. I make that statement
without qualification, and out of my
knowledge of the situation in at least six
States. The present national agency
(National Resources Committee) furnishes
expert consultant service to State boards,
and serves as a clearing house through
which all the State boards, as well as
regional planning groups, are kept in
touch. It is a fountain of planning inspira-
tion. When a State planning board faces a
perplexing problem in planning, it asks the
National Resources Committee for guid-
ance and gets it if the committee is able,
within its available resources, to supply it.

The National Resources Committee has
made studies of very great value. A fair
sample was last year's study of population

froblems. I am sure you remember that,
t showed the whys and wherefores of a
declining birth rate which forecasts a
stationary population in the country by
1973, provided immigration restrictions
remain as at present, and the birth rate
does not increase. It was a typical plan-

Planning and Civic Comment

ning study and one of dozens made by the
National Resources Committee. I sent
you several of the reports a few weeks ago.
I am particularly anxious that you get a
picture of planning as I have come to see it.
We need intelligent planning in the South
as much or more than any other section
needs it. I mentioned to you the forest
resources study which our State planning
boards have been making and in which the
United States Forest Service has cooper-
ated. It would have been impossible with-
out the guidance and support of the
National Resources Committee. I know,
for the very good reason that the Georgia
State Planning Board initiated the study,

and I am intimately acquainted with the
entire program.

I hope I have not taxed your patience,
but I have written a long letter, because
this matter lies close to my heart. I can
think of few better ways for spending a
modest sum of Federal money than in
support of planning.

If I can be of any service, please call me.
The planning program now laces its great-
est opportunity. It has won its place in
government, Federal and State. To
abandon it would be tragic.

With cordial regards, I am,

Sincerely your friend,

H. T. MclNTOSH

Early Plan of Charles Town, S. C.

The plan of Charles Town is repro-
duced in this issue from "Narratives
of Early Carolina," 1650-1708,
edited by Alexander S. Salley, Jr.,
Secretary of the Historical Com-
mission of S. C., and published by
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York,
1911, in the same size as the original
from an engraving from James Akin,
in the second volume of Ramsay's
History of South Carolina (Charles-
ton, 1809). The plan is indicated by
Dr. Ramsay as taken "from a sur-
vey of Edward Crisp in 1704." The
original cannot now be found. It is
perhaps identical with a map which
Dr. Ramsay describes in his History
(II 262) as having been preserved
among the papers of the distin-
guished family of Prioleau. Some
doubt surrounds the origin of the
map. Mr. Salley finds a record in
South Carolina, of date 1716, recit-
ing a grant that had previously been
made to Edward Crisp of London,
but finds nothing further to identify

him with South Carolina. He sig-
nalizes two errors of fact in the
"References" which are placed be-
neath the map. N is marked as
Keating L. Smith's Bridge (wharf).
There was no Keating L. Smith of
that time; the owner was Keating
Lewis. W is indicated as the scene
of the first rice patch in Carolina;
but Mr. Salley considers this to have
no historical foundation. In general,
however, the plan is correct. It may
be compared with one by Herman
Moll which constitutes a side map
to his Map of the Dominions of the
King of Great Britain in America,
1715.

In Dr. J. L. E. W. Shecut's
Medical and Philosophical Essays
(Charleston, 1819) there is a chapter
(pp. 1-14) "Of the original Topog-
raphy of Charleston," which follows
the lines of this Ramsay map, with
explanations, and identifications of
its landmarks with those of the
author's time.

(See center-page illustration)

Zoning Round Table

Conducted by EDWARD M. BASSETT

BUILDINGS DESTROYED BY FIRE

ALL zoning ordinances contain
f-\ provisions for rebuilding law-
-* *- ful nonconforming buildings
after partial or complete destruction
by fire. At the recent National City
Planning Conference held in Boston
the subject of the gradual elimina-
tion of nonconforming uses was the
most discussed subject relating to
zoning administration. More ques-
tions were asked at the zoning
round table breakfast held on May
19 on this subject than on any
other zoning subject. The field
embraces nonconforming billboards,
gasoline stations, junk yards, shacks
for making cement blocks, skating
rinks and a hundred and one struc-
tures or land uses that ought to be
brought to an end in a well-zoned
city. Everyone has read textbook
articles on the subject. Therefore I
shall not at this time try to cover
the entire subject. As zoning is
established on the police power and
as the police power relates to the
health, safety, morals, comfort and
the general welfare of the community,
it follows that an existing noncon-
forming building can be ousted by
the courts. At least we may say that
it is in the power of the courts to
oust a nonconforming use. Courts
have been friendly to zoning, so it
seems to me. We cannot find much
fault if courts say that they will not
enforce unreasonable regulations
even if they have the power to do so.
Each judge is likely to depend on his
own thinking in deciding what regu-

lation is reasonable. For instance,
if you or I were the judge we would
have no trouble in deciding that the
ousting of an automobile disman-
tling plant or an outdoor skating
rink or a Tom Thumb golf course in
a residence district was a reasonable
regulation. Similarly we would con-
clude that the ousting of a noncon-
forming billboard in a residence dis-
trict after two or three years for
amortization was reasonable. We
would have more difficulty in decid-
ing that the ousting of a one-story
frame "taxpayer" without a cellar
in a residence district was reason-
able. When, however, it came to a
lawful nonconforming factory in a
business or residence district, per-
haps giving employment to 2,000
men, it would be difficult to make up
our minds that the ousting was
reasonable. We would consider that
the factory had been established
under a lawful permit, that it had
acquired a good will in that location
which would be injured if it were
forced to go elsewhere, and that its
employees were living within walk-
ing distance and would need to
move away. The disarrangement
would be severe if, let us say, an
ordinance endeavored to oust it
after five or ten years' amortization.
There is a point at which you or I
would say thus far and no farther.

Partial or total destruction of a
lawful nonconforming building by
fire comes under the regulations of
most zoning ordinances. Can the

Planning and Civic Comment

nonconforming building be rebuilt
if entirely destroyed? How if it is
three-fourths destroyed? How if it
is one-half destroyed? City councils
have discussed these provisions up-
hill and down and are still discussing
them. In the original zoning ordi-
nance of New York City any lawful
nonconforming building totally de-
stroyed by fire was permitted to be
rebuilt. This is still true. However
shocking this may seem to engineers
and economists who are busy fram-
ing and amending zoning ordinances,
it is a fact that this generous pro-
vision has made no appreciable dif-
ference in New York City. Strangely
enough there has been no outcry in
this city against the continuance of
this provision. It has probably
helped to preserve valuations for
taxes. If the city refused permits to
rebuilt structures that were 50%
destroyed by fire and the courts up-
held this provision in ten or twenty
cases, the owners of nonconforming
properties would insist on a reduc-
tion of assessed values for taxes.

A well-known municipal engineer
now in western New York, who has
helped in the preparation of many
zoning ordinances for villages in
New York State, wrote me a few
weeks ago that in the zoning ordi-
nance of the village where he now is,
there is a provision that a building
which is damaged less than 50% of
its cost by fire may be restored to
not more than its former dimensions
and bulk and may continue the
former use, otherwise a conforming
building must be erected. It ap-
pears that a new mortgage was de-
sired on a nonconforming factory
and the bank to whom the applica-
tion was made refused to make the

mortgage on the ground that the
50% clause greatly injured the
building as collateral for the loan.
This was to me a new suggestion. It
brings up the subject of mortgages
on all sorts of zoned property. For
instance, another correspondent sug-
gests that a gradual and propor-
tionate method of eliminating law-
ful nonconforming buildings might
be to give an amortization period of
five years for a building thirty-five
or more years old and a shorter
amortization period for newer build-
ings. His suggestion was limited to
commercial and industrial buildings
in residence districts. It occurred to
me, as I read his excellently prepared
plan, that if a city should pass a
regulation of that sort and the courts
would be willing to enforce it, all the
mortgages on lawful nonconforming
buildings of the type referred to
might become hazardous and the
institutions that held the mortgages
might ask the owners to pay them
off. If a building costing one or
two hundred thousand dollars would
become valueless in five or ten years,
it would be a matter of great con-
cern to the mortgagee.

This subject of mortgages has a
bearing on the whole matter of fixing
time limits for the ousting of valu-
able buildings. Let us say, for in-
stance, that a period of amortization
is prescribed for every lawful non-
conforming building, after which it
must be removed. The city passing
such an ordinance might have dis-
tricts for one-family detached houses
excluding multi-family houses. A
large multi-family house might have
been built three or four years before
the zoning ordinance was adopted.
Thereupon this building became a

Planning and Civic Comment

lawful nonconforming use. If the
courts would uphold the ousting of
it, in five or ten years it would be-
come almost valueless for selling or
mortgaging purposes.

These considerations show how
difficult it "is to put down in black
and white the period within which
nonconforming buildings and uses
shall be ousted or in what cases
buildings destroyed by fire can be
rebuilt. Singularly enough there are
almost no court cases on rebuilding
after fire or ousting nonconforming

buildings. In actual experience some
owners decide not to rebuild. Others
find some way to erect their new
buildings without substantial loss and
the municipality helps them do it.

A practical method for cities to
follow is first to eliminate noncon-
forming uses of vacant property, and
next to eliminate nonconforming
structures that bear only a small
relation to the value of the land.
This method of gradual approach
will open up the fair way, if there is
any, to eliminate costly structures.

International Housing and Town Planning Congress

Stockholm, July 8 to 15, 1939

The International Federation for
Housing and Town Planning is con-
vening an International Congress
which at the invitation of the City
of Stockholm is to take place in
Sweden's capital from July 8 to 15,
1939. There will be lectures and
discussions on the following subjects :

HOUSE BUILDING FOR SPECIAL GROUPS
Reviewer: J. de Jonge van Ellemeet,
formerly Director of the Municipal
Housing Department, Rotterdam.

TOWN PLANNING AND LOCAL TRAFFIC
Reviewer: Landescrat R. Niemeyer,
President of the German Academy for
Town Planning, National and Country
Planning, Berlin.

ADMINISTRATIVE BASIS OF NATIONAL
PLANNING Reviewer: A. Lilienberg,
Municipal Director of Works, Stock-
holm.

Extensive reports on these subjects
from various countries will be printed
and the reviewer in each case will
prepare a summarized report which
will be available to delegates one
month in advance of the Congress.

The City of Stockholm will
naturally afford their guests every
opportunity for becoming ac-
quainted with the town itself, its
institutions and environs, and va-
rious tours of inspection are being
arranged for the afternoons.

Following the actual sessions
there will be two extended study
tours and one shorter tour. The
first of the former will lead from
Stockholm via Trondheim, Oslo
and Gothenburg to Copenhagen.
The second will visit Central Sweden
and merge with the first in order to
visit Gothenburg and Copenhagen.
The shorter tour will be a visit to
Dalekarlien.

The International Federation
urges prospective visitors to notify
at once the Secretary, Mrs. Paula
Schafer, International Federation
for Housing and Town Planning,
47, Cantersteen, Brussels, Belgium.

Planning and Civic Comment

Strictly Personal

Horace M. Albright has been
appointed to the Board of Directors
of the Laboratory of Anthropology
at Santa Fe, New Mexico.

J. C. Nichols and his methods in
developing the Country Club Dis-
trict of Kansas City, Missouri, were
the subject of the entire February,
1939 issue of the National Real
Estate Journal. Copies of the maga-
zine have been distributed to officers
and members of the board of direc-
tors of the American Planning and
Civic Association.

$ $ $ $

Jay N. "Ding" Darling, president
of the National Wildlife Federation
since its inception in 1936, has been
succeeded by David A. Aylward of
Boston, Mass.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr., has been
awarded the Friedson Gold Medal
for 1939 by the Architectural League
of New York for conspicuous con-
tribution to the advancement of the
arts in the United States.

Hugh R. Pomeroy has been ap-
pointed director of the Virginia
Planning Board to succeed the late
Maj. C. J. Calrow.

+ + + +

Ben H. Kizer of Spokane, Wash-
ington, member of the Board of
Directors of the American Planning
and Civic Association, was elected
president of the American Society
of Planning Officials at its Board
meeting in Boston May 16.

Robert Randall has recently com-
pleted an inspection trip for the
National Resources Committee. He
visited Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles,
Berkeley, Salt Lake City, Denver,
Portland, Omaha, and Cincinnati.

* $$$

A. D. Taylor has published a very
interesting report on his proposed
landscape development of Forest
Hill Park, East Cleveland and
Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The area
covers a portion of the former Forest
Hill estate of John D. Rockefeller.
+ + + +

Fiavel Shurtleff has been retained
by the National Resources Commit-
tee as consultant on a part-time
basis to the Legislative Council of
Connecticut and will assist the
Council in the preparation of com-
prehensive planning studies.

* * $ *

"Romance of the National Parks,"
by Harlean James, was released by
the Macmillan Publishing Company
on May 16. Miss James has taken
for her subject the development of
national parks in the United States;
her previous book, "Land Planning
for the City, State and Nation,"
was devoted to planning.

$ $ $ $

The St. Louis Chamber of Com-
merce has appointed a Committee
on Transportation consisting of P.
B. Fouke, Chairman, E. T. Allen,
M. Moss Alexander, John F. Lilly,
Harold A. Osgood, William H. Teget-
hoff and Asa B. Wallace, which plans
to undertake a transportation survey
of St. Louis County.

American Planning and Civic Association Announces a

Ten-Day Traveling National Park Meeting in the

Colorful Southwest, October 9-19, 1939

Some of those who expect to at-
tend the conference plan to come a
few days or a week in advance in
order to explore the highly interest-
ing region.

The program will be enriched by
the presence of the National Park
superintendents, who will be in
Santa Fe for an official conference
to be held the week before the
American Planning and Civic Asso-
ciation meeting. Already an at-
tendance of many of the distin-
guished leaders in conservation is
assured.

After two eventful days in Santa
Fe, the conference will proceed by
motor northward to inspect the
archeological remains of Indian
habitations abandoned many cen-
turies ago.

Mesa Verde, with its well-pre-
served cliff dwellings, and Grand
Canyon, the acme of scenic grandeur,
many picturesque monuments, and
the great Boulder Dam region,
which can be explored by boat, will
be visited in company of those who
know the ancient and more recent
past, and can interpret these great
works of Nature and prehistoric man.

For particulars write to the
American Planning and Civic Asso-
ciation, 901 Union Trust Building,
Washington, D. C.

The American Planning and Civic
Association announces a ten-day
traveling National Park conference
in the Southwest to be held in the
early autumn, October 9-19. The
date has been set to enable late
summer and early autumn visitors
to take in the conference, coming or
going to the Pacific Coast.

The Conference will open at old
Santa Fe, with headquarters at La
Fonda Hotel, a Fred Harvey hostelry
which deserves its reputation for
architectural and service excellence.
Some of the sessions will be held in
the new Regional National Park
Building, erected in the Santa Fe
style of architecture, adjacent to the
buildings of the Laboratory of An-
thropology. The ground for the new
building was donated by the Labora-
tory of Anthropology. The Labora-
tory was constructed with funds
contributed for the most part by
Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Santa
Fe lies 7000 feet high on the rolling
plateau of the Upper Rio Grande.
It still has the flavor of the early
Spanish settlement of the seven-
teenth century modified by the
pioneers who came when it was the
end of the Santa Fe Trail. It is
surrounded by Indian pueblos, some
like Taos, occupied continuously for
nearly a thousand years.

"Romance of the National Parks" by Harlean James was published by
Macmillan in May, 1939. It is illustrated with 123 gorgeous scenic pho-
tographs. A limited number of copies are available postpaid from the Ameri-
can Planning and Civic Association, 901 Union Trust Building, Washing-
ton, D. C., at the list price of $3.00. IJ requested, copies will be autographed
by the author.

The King of Spain's Advice to Planners

in 1573

MR. Frederic A. Delano has
recently called attention to
an article which appeared
some years ago in the HISPANIC
AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW en-
titled "Royal Ordinances Concern-
ing the Laying Out of New Towns,"
containing the original regulations
set forth by the then King of Spain
in 1573 for the laying out of towns
in foreign colonies. It is of interest
to know that the ordinance quoted
was used in the laying out of the city
of St. Augustine, Fla. Although the
regulations were written more than
360 years ago, many of the specifica-
tions or requirements are still perti-
nent. The article is as follows:

To those who, like the writer, have
observed the uniformity of the plans of so
many Hispano-American cities and en-
joyed the beauty of their central plazas
filled with trees and flowers and surrounded
by public buildings, and their picturesque
churches, the following ordinances con-
cerning the laying out of towns in the
New World, issued by King Philip II from
the Escorial in 1573 can not but be of
interest.

These ordinances are contained in the
voluminous royal decree entitled: "Ordi-
nances concerning discoveries, settlements,
and pacifications," which remarkable
document I came across in the National
Archives in Madrid in 1912. Being
particularly impressed by the wisdom and
foresight revealed in the set of ordinances
relating to the choice of the sites and the
laying out of new towns, I copied these for
future reference and use and am now
pleased to present to the readers of THE
HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW
so interesting a legacy from the past.

It seems more than probable that these
ordinances issued by the painstaking
monarch were the outcome of long dis-
cussions with the group of the foremost
architects, engineers, and learned men of
his time whom he assembled about him at

his court when the palace of the Escorial
was in process of construction. It is
obvious that the plan he prescribed was
an ideal one which embodied all advan-
tages from the various points of view of
artists, churchmen, engineers, architects,
strategists^ meteorologists, and hygienists.
No feature that could ensure the beauty,
commodiousness, and salubrity of a town
seems to have been overlooked. . . .

When one considers the haphazard way
most North American towns have sprung
up without a thought being given to their
future beauty or sightliness, commodious-
ness, salubrity, or growth, one cannot but
regretfully realize what opportunities have
been lost, and what a benefit it would
have been if, throughout the New World,
King Philip's ordinances had been known
and followed. As it is, they constitute
what was probably the most remarkable
attempt ever made to formulate principles
of town planning and to impose their
execution, pro bono publico, on the pioneers
of a New World whose descendants to this
day have good reason to be grateful to
their authors, the Spanish king and his
counselors. ZELIA NUTTALL

TRANSLATION

ROYAL ORDINANCES FOR
NEW TOWNS, ETC

San Lorenzo, July 3, 1573. I the King.
Ordinances for discoveries, new settle-
ments, and pacifications.

no. . . . Having made the chosen
discovery of the province, district, and
land which is to be settled, and the sites
of the places where the new towns are to
be made, and the agreement in regard to
them having preceded, those who go to
execute this shall perform it in the follow-
ing manner: On arriving at the place
where the town is to be laid out (which we
order to be one of those vacant and which
by our ordinance may be taken without
doing hurt to the indians and natives, or
with their free consent), the plan of the
place shall be determined, and its plazas,
streets, and building lots laid out exactly,
beginning with the main plaza. From
thence the streets, gates, and principal
roads, shall be laid out, always leaving a
certain proportion of open space, so tnat
although the town should continue to

Planning and Civic Comment

grow, it may always grow in the same
manner. Having arranged the site and
place that shall have been chosen for
settlement, the foundation shall be made
in the following manner.

in. Having chosen the place where the
town is to be made, which as above-said
must be located in an elevated place, where
are to be found health, strength, fertility,
and abundance of land for farming and
pasturage, fuel and wood for building,
materials, fresh water, a native people,
commodiousness, supplies, entrance and
departure open to the north wind. If the
site lies along the coast, let consideration
be had to the port and that the sea be not
situated to the south or to the west. If
possible, let there be no lagoons or marshes
nearby in which are found venomous
animals and corruption of air and water.

112. The main plaza whence a begin-
ning is to be made, if the town is situated
on the seacoast, should be made at the
landing place of the port. If the town lies
inland, the main plaza should be in the
middle of the town. The plaza shall be
of an oblong form, which shall have at the
least a length equal to one and a half
times the width, inasmuch as this size is
the best for fiestas in which horses are
used and for any other fiestas that shall
be held.

113. The size of the plaza shall be pro-
portioned to the number of the inhabitants,
having consideration to the fact that in
indian towns, inasmuch as they are new,
the population will continue to increase,
and it is the purpose that it shall increase.
Consequently, the choice of a plaza shall
be made with reference to the growth that
the town may have. It shall be not less
than two hundred feet wide and three
hundred feet long, nor larger than eight
hundred feet long and thirty-two feet
[sic] wide. A moderate and good propor-
tion is six hundred feet long and four
hundred feet wide.

114. From the plaza shall run four main
streets, one from the middle of each side
of the plaza; and two streets at each
corner of the plaza. The four corners of
the plaza shall face the four principal
winds. For the streets running thus from
the plaza, they will not be exposed to the
four principal winds which cause much
inconvenience.

115. The whole plaza round about, and
the four streets running from the four
sides shall have arcades, for these are of
considerable convenience to the merchants
who generally gather there. The eight
streets running from the plaza at the four
corners shall open on the plaza without

any arcades and shall be so laid out that
they may have sidewalks even with the
street and plaza.

1 1 6. The streets in cold places shall be
wide and in hot places narrow; but for
purposes of defense, where horses are to be
had, they are better wide.

117. The streets shall run from the
main plaza in such wise that although
the town increase considerably in size, no
inconvenience may arise which may
cause what may be rebuilt to become
ugly or be prejudicial to its defense and
commodiousness.

1 1 8. Here and there in the town smaller
plazas shall be laid out, in good proportion,
where are to be built the temples of the
cathedral, the parish churches and the
monasteries, such that everything may
be distributed in good proportions for the
instruction of religion.

1 19. As for the temple of the cathedral,
if the town is situated on the coast, it
shall be built in part so that it may be
seen on leaving the sea, and in a place
where its building may serve as a means
of defense for the port itself.

1 20. For the temple of the cathedral,
the parish church, or monastery, building
lots shall be assigned, next after the plaza
and streets and they shall be so completely
isolated that no building shall be added
there except one appertaining to its com-
modiousness and ornamentation.

121. After that a site and location shall
be assigned for the royal council and
cabildo house and for the custom house
and arsenal near the temple and port
itself so that in times of need the one may
aid the other. The hospital for the poor
and those sick of non-contagious diseases
shall be built near the temple and its
cloister; and that for those sick with
contagious diseases shall be built in such
a place that no harmful wind passing
through it, may cause harm to the rest
of the town. If the latter be built in an
elevated place, so much the better.

122. The site and building lots for
slaughter houses, fisheries, tanneries, and
other things productive of filth shall be
so placed that the filth can be easily
disposed of.

123. It will be of considerable conve-
nience if those towns which are laid out
away from the port and inland be built if
possible on the shores of a navigable
river; and the attempt should be made to
have the shore where it is reached by the
cold north wind; and that all the trades
that give rise to filth be placed on the
side of the river and sea below the town.

124. The temple in inland towns shall

Planning and Civic Comment

not be placed on the plaza but distant
from it and in such a place that it may be
separated from any building which ap-
proaches it and which has no connection
with it; and so that it may be seen from
all parts. In order that it may be better
embellished and have more authority, it
must, if possible, be built somewhat
elevated above the ground in order that
steps will lead to its entrance. Nearby
close to the main plaza shall be built the
royal houses and the council and cabildo
house, and the customs house so that
they shall not cause any embarrassment
to the temple but lend it authority. The
hospital of the poor who shall be sick with
non-contagious diseases, shall be built
facing the cold north wind and so arranged
that it may enjoy the south wind.

125. The same arrangement shall be
observed in all inland places which have
no shore provided that considerable care
be given to providing the other con-
veniences which are required and which
are necessary.

126. Building lots shall not be assigned
to individual persons in the plaza where
are placed the buildings of the church and
royal houses and the public land of the
city. Shops and houses shall be built for
merchants and these shall be the first to
be built and for this all the settlers of the
town shall contribute, and a moderate tax
shall be imposed on goods so that these
buildings may be built.

127. The other building lots shall be
distributed by lot to the settlers, those
lots next to the main plaza being thus
distributed and the lots which are left
shall be held by us for assignment to those
who shall later become settlers, or for the
use which we may wish to make of them.
And so that this may be done better, the
town which is to be laid out should always
be shown on a plan.

128. Haying made the plan of the town
and the assignment of building lots, each
of the settlers shall set up his tent on his
plot if he should have one. For this
purpose the captains shall persuade them
to carry tents. Those who do not possess
tents shall build their huts of such mate-
rials that can be obtained easily, where
they may have shelter. As soon as possible
all settlers shall make some sort of a pali-
sade or ditch about the plaza so that they
may receive no harm from the indian natives.

129. A commons shall be assigned to
the town of such size that although the
town continues to grow, there may always
be sufficient space for the people to go for
recreation and for the cattle to be pastured
without any danger.

130. Adjoining the commons there shall
be assigned pastures for the work animals
and for the horses as well as for the cattle
belonging to the slaughterhouses and for
the usual number of cattle which the
settlers must have to some goodly number
according to ordinance, and so that they
may also be used as the common property
of the council. The rest of the land shall
be assigned as farm lands, of which lots
shall be cast in proportion to the amount,
so that there shall be as many farms as
there are building lots in the town. And
should there be irrigated lands, lots shall
be cast for them, and they shall be dis-
tributed in the same proportion to the
first settlers according to their lots. The
rest shall remain for ourselves so that we
may assign it to those who may become
settlers.

131. The settlers shall immediately
plant all the seeds they take with them
and all that they can obtain on the farm
lands after their distribution. For this
purpose, it is advisable that they go well
provided; and in the pastures especially
all the cattle that they take with them and
all that they can collect so that the cattle
may begin to breed and multiply im-
mediately.

132. The settlers having planted their
seeds and made arrangements for the
cattle to a goodly number, and with good
diligence (from which they may hope to
obtain abundance of food), shall commence
with great care and activity to establish
their houses and to build them with good
foundations and walls. For that purpose
they shall go provided with molds or
planks for building them, and all the other
tools for building quickly and at small cost.

133. They shall arrange the building
lots and edifices placed thereon in such a
manner that the rooms of the latter may
enjoy the air of the south and north as
these are the best. The buildings of the
houses of the whole town generally shall
be so arranged that they shall serve as a
defense and fort against those who may
try to disturb or invade the town. Each
house in particular shall be so built that
they may keep therein their horses and
work animals, and shall have yards and
corrals as large as possible for health and
cleanliness.

134. They shall try so far as possible
to have the buildings all of one form for
the sake of the beauty of the town.

135. The faithful executors and archi-
tects and persons who may be deputed
therefor by the governor shall be most
careful in the performance of the above.
They shall hurry the labor and building

Planning and Civic Comment

so that the town may be completed in a
short time.

136. Should the natives care to place
themselves under the defense of the town,
they must be made to understand that it
is desired to build a town there not in
order to do them any harm nor to take
their possessions from them, but to main-
tain friendship with them and to teach
them to live in a civilized manner, to teach
them to know God, and to teach them
His law, under which they shall be saved.
This shall be imparted to them by the
religious, ecclesiastical persons, and per-
sons deputed therefor by the governor and
by means of good interpreters. By means
of all good methods possible, the attempt
shall be made to have the town laid out
with their goodwill and consent. However,
should they not consent after having been
summoned by various means on different
occasions, the settlers shall lay out their
town, but without taking anything that
may belong in particular to the indians
and without doing them other hurt than
what may be necessary for the defense of
the settlers and so that the town should
[not] be molested.

137. Until the new town shall have

been completed, the settlers shall try as
much as possible to avoid communication
and intercourse with the indians and shall
not go to their towns and shall not amuse
themselves nor give themselves up to
sensual pleasures in the land. Neither
shall the indians enter the precincts of
the town until after it has been built and
placed in a condition of defense, and the
houses so built that when the indians see
them they shall wonder and understand
that the Spaniards settle there for good
and not for the moment only; and so that
they may fear them so much that they
will not offend them and shall respect
them so much as to desire their friendship.
When they begin to build the town, the
governor shall assign some one person to
take care of the sowing and cultivation of
the land with wheat and vegetables of
which the settlers may immediately make
use for their maintenance. He shall also
see that the cattle are put out to pasture
where they shall be safe and where they
shall cause no hurt to the cultivated land
nor to anything belonging to the indians;
and so that also the town may be served,
aided, and sustained by the aforesaid
cattle and their young. . . .

Postponement of Summer Course to July 10

The opening of the Summer
Program in Planning being spon-
sored jointly by the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and the
American Planning and Civic Asso-
ciation has been postponed from
Monday, June 12, to Monday,
July 10.

The Program, to be held at
Cambridge, Mass., will extend over
a period of three weeks and will be
divided into morning and afternoon
sessions. The sessions will consist of
a coordinated series of lectures and
discussion seminars, subjects being
divided into four distinct groups in
such a manner that a person may
register in one or more groups with-
out duplication of subject matter or
loss of continuity.

Principles of Planning will be the

subject of the morning sessions
during the first two weeks, to be
followed by Techniques of Planning
during the third week. Planning
Legislation and Administration are
the topics assigned for discussion at
the afternoon sessions of the second
and third week.

Frederick J. Adams, Associate
Professor, in charge of the Division
of City Planning and Housing,
M.I.T., and Flavel Shurtleff, Counsel
to the American Planning and Civic
Association and lecturer on Planning
Legislation and Administration,
M. I. T., compose the staff.

Further particulars may be ob-
tained from The American Plan-
ning and Civic Association, 901
Union Trust Building, Washington,
D. C

SCENES ALONG
AUBREY L. WHITE
PARKWAY, SPOKANE,
WASHINGTON

LEFT. Entrance to Deep Creek Canyon,
dry in summer but a raging torrent in
spring, displaying dense lava at base on
left, and basal conglomerate at right.

BELOW. As the Spokane River rushes
between basalt walls on to meet the Co-
lumbia a characteristic view along the
Parkway.

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W^:^?S^->. *Bfc^S. *

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PLAN OF CHARLES TOWN,

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>OUTH CAROLINA. See page 10.

Panorama of Main Street

Rutledge Tavern
RESTORATIONS AT NEW SALEM STATE PARK, ILLINOIS

fate Park

\Yith the spotlight of stage and
screen trained on the early life of
Lincoln this year, the restored town
of New Salem gains new and vivid
life.

Robert Sherwood's Pulitzer prize-
winning play, "Abe Lincoln in
Illinois," introduces many of Lin-
coln's friends whose homes, gardens,
and shops are being restored by the

I State of Illinois, and its entire first
act is set in New Salem. The

\ Rutledge Tavern is seen in a

!; particularly important sequence.

, The play's successful run on Broad-
way will probably be suspended

jj during the summer to permit filming
it with its star, Raymond Massey,
carrying his stage portrait over into

j the cinema. Thus, next year, "Abe
Lincoln in Illinois" will make its
appearance on the screens of the
nation.

In the published version of the
play, Mr. Sherwood has included a
very interesting section of historic
notes based on painstaking research
and dealing in part with the person-
alities and events of New Salem.

In the meantime, another movie,
"Young Mr. Lincoln," has just had
its world premiere at Springfield on
May 30, and a number of the earlier
Lincoln plays are being revived.
"Prologue to Glory," a play dealing
also with the young Lincoln, has

been a WPA Theater success and is
to be seen at the World's Fair in
New York.

The site of the New Salem State
Historical Park, originally acquired
in 1906 by William Randolph Hearst,
was transferred to the State of
Illinois in 1918. It was not until
1931, however, that funds were
made available by the General
Assembly for permanent improve-
ments and the restoration was
started.

With the exception of the Onstot
Cooper Shop, all the buildings in the
village where Lincoln clerked in a
store, chopped wood, fought with
the Clary's Grove boys, enlisted in
the Black Hawk War, served as
postmaster, deputy surveyor and
legislator, failed in business, studied
Blackstone, Shakespeare and Burns,
and courted Ann Rutledge, are
restorations. Incidentally, all of
these Lincoln activities are import-
ant in the season's dramas.

The State has restored the Berry-
Lincoln Store, the Rutledge Tavern,
Denton Off ut's Store, Hill-McNamar
Store, Clary's Grocery, Dr. Francis
Regnier's Office, the residences of
Henry Onstot, Joshua Miller and
Jack H. Kelso, Peter Lukins and
Alexander Ferguson, Robert John-
son, Samuel Hill, Dr. John Allen,
the Trent Brothers, Isaac Burner,

Planning and Civic Comment

Isaac Gulihur, and Martin Waddell,
the Rutledge-Camron Mill, and the
Miller Blacksmith Shop. And the
restoration continues. The State
plans to add new buildings and new
details from year to year until the
village becomes a faithful reproduc-
tion of the town in which Lincoln
lived from 1831 to 1837.

Conservation activities in the
State of Alabama have been placed
under the jurisdiction of a single
agency through the State legisla-
ture's recent establishment of a
Department of Conservation.

The act creating the Department
abolished the old Department of
Conservation of Game, Fish, and
Seafoods, the Conservation Board,
the Alabama Oyster Commission,
the State Commission of Forestry,
and the Alabama Monument Com-
mission. The new Department will
include a division of game, fish, and
seafoods, a division of forestry, and
a division of state parks, monu-
ments, and historical sites.

The act also provided for an
Advisory Board of Conservation to
consist of the Governor, the Com-
missioner of Agriculture and In-
dustry, the Director of Agricultural
Extension of the Alabama Poly-
technic Institute, ex ofFicio, and
eight other members to be appointed
by the Governor.

Dr. Walter B. Jones, Director of
the Alabama Museum of Natural
History, has been appointed Direc-
tor of the Department, and Mr.
W. G. Lunsford is chief of the
division of state parks, monuments,
and historical sites.

We quote from an editorial which
appeared in the Atlanta (Georgia)
Journal on February 7, 1939:

"In a letter to the Journal, Mr.
Charles N. Elliott, Director of the
State Park System, pays a richly
merited tribute to the late Mrs. M.
E. Judd, of Dalton, as a leader inl
the conservation and development:
of Georgia's natural resources. . . . :
Mr. Elliott points out that, although
not a native of Georgia, Mrs. Judd
spent nearly thirty-six years of her
useful and gracious life in the
commonwealth. . . .

"Among her public offices was
membership on the first State Board
of Forestry, the former State Board
of Control, and the Commission of
Forestry and Geological Develop-
ment. As a member of that Com-,
mission she did pioneer work in]
planning and creating the system of
State-owned parks in which multi-
tudes of people now find wholesome
recreation, in which scenic beauties
and historic treasures are preserved,
and to which an ever-increasing
number of visitors from all parts of
the country are attracted.

"Aptly Mr. Elliott suggests that
she be designated 'Mother of
Georgia's State Park System.' For
this and for hundreds of other con-
tributions to the civic and cultural
welfare of Georgia, Mrs. M. E. Judd
will be gratefully remembered."

Charles R. DeTurk has been
appointed director of the division
of state parks, lands and waters of
the Indiana Department of Con-
servation to succeed Myron L. Rees,
who recently resigned to take over

Planning and Civic Comment

management of the new hotel at for more than twenty years as
Spring Mill State Park. District Forester of the Michaux

A. A A* A State Forest.

Former Governor Percival P.
Baxter, who in 1931 donated 6,000
acres to the State of Maine for the
establishment of Baxter State Park,
has donated another tract contain-
ing 12,000 acres for park purposes.
The original grant took in the higher
elevations of Mt. Katahdin. The
new area is separated from it by a
Maine town, six square miles in
area; in other words, there is a dis-
tance of six miles between the two
areas. The Baxter State Park Com-
mission created in 1933 has been
abolished and beginning July 20,
1939, the administration and man-
agement of the Park will be under
the Attorney General, the Forest
Commissioner and the Commis-
sioner of Inland Fisheries and Game
of the State of Maine.

The Custer and South Dakota
State Park Boards were recently
abolished by the State legislature
and a South Dakota Park Board
created. Mr. E. B. Adams of Hot
Springs has been appointed Chair-
man of the new Board.

The Vermont legislature has ap-
propriated $59,000 per year for the
next biennium to defray the ex-
penses of the Department of Con-
servation and Development, and
$26,000 for the construction and
maintenance of forest and park
roads.

In addition, the Governor has
allotted funds for the St. Albans
Bay and Crystal Lake areas.

The North Carolina legislature
has appropriated $35,000 per year
for the 1939-41 biennium "for the
administration, development, and
maintenance of State-owned parks,'*
in addition to all other appropria-
tions for the Department of Con-
servation and Development.
+ + + +

Mr. G. Albert Stewart, a former
newspaper man of Clearfield, Penn-
sylvania, has been appointed Secre-
tary of the Pennsylvania Depart-
ment of Forests and Waters, and
Mr. John R. Williams has succeeded
Mr. James F. Pates as director of
parks for the Department.

Mr. Williams is not a newcomer
to the Department, having served

Randolph Odell, assistant director
of parks for the Virginia Conserva-
tion Commission, was appointed
acting director at a recent meeting
of the Commission. He succeeds
R. E. Burson, who had been with
the Commission since 1930.

For three years prior to his
appointment as assistant director
of parks in 1936, Mr. Odell was
employed by the National Park
Service as a technical engineer.

* # * *

A bill providing that twenty
cents from each drivers' license fee
be earmarked for the administration
of state parks has recently been
signed by Governor Martin of
Washington.

Planning and Civic Comment

It is expected that revenue from
this source will amount to approxi-
mately $130,000 for the next bien-
nium, representing comparative af-
fluence to the Washington State
Parks Committee. In the past, the
Committee has derived an uncertain
and meager income from concession
and camping fees, cash donations,

and fines and forfeitures for motor
vehicle violations occurring outside
incorporated cities and towns.

Guy D. Josserand is Director of a
new Forestry, Fish and Game Com-
mission appointed in Kansas.

IRMINE B. KENNEDY, Washington, D. C.

New Officers Elected at National Conference on State Parks

As this issue of the quarterly goes
to press, the National Conference on
State Parks is being held at Itasca
State Park, Minnesota.

Under date of June 5, 1939, the
following news statement was sent
to the editor by Herbert Evison :

Colonel Richard Lieber was elected
to the newly created position of
Chairman of the Board of the Na-
tional Conference on State Parks,
and Harold S. Wagner, Director
Secretary of the Akron Metropolitan
Park System, was chosen President
at a Board Meeting which marked
the opening of the Nineteenth An-
nual Meeting of the Conference.

William A. Welch, General Man-
ager of the Palisades Interstate Park
in New York and New Jersey, and
William E. Carson, former Chair-
man of the Virginia Conservation
Commission, were re-elected Vice-
Presidents, and Harlean James, Ex-
ecutive Secretary.

In addition to creating the new
office the conference adopted a re-
vised statement of its objectives
designed to set forth more clearly
the place it occupies in the field of
park and recreation education.

The opening session of the full
conference this morning after an
address of welcome by Harold W.

Lathrop, Director of State Parks for
Minnesota, and a response by Colo-
nel Lieber, was devoted to a sym-
posium on planning a state-wide
park and recreation program. In
this symposium the west was repre-
sented by Prof. Harry W. Shepherd,
of the University of California, the
middle-west by Robert Kingery,
Chairman of the Illinois Planning
Commission, the east by Frederick
C. Sutro, Executive Director of the
Palisades Interstate Park Commis-
sion, and the south by Mrs. Linwood
Jeffreys, of the Florida Board of
Forestry.

The sessions of the conference
opened under favorable weather
conditions in this nationally well-
known park surrounding Lake
Itasca, the headwaters of the Mis-
sissippi. Dawn found some of the
delegates hiking the wilderness trails
who reported seeing deer and the
evidence of the night work of a crew
of beavers and other natural phenom-
ena. By mid-morning delegates from
twenty-seven States had registered.

The present Board of Directors is
continued. At the Members' Meet-
ing, the three members whose terms
expired this year were re-elected. It
was decided to hold the 1940 meet-
ing in May in Illinois and Indiana.

New Park Yearbook Ready

THE 1938 Yearbook "Park
and Recreation Progress," sec-
ond issue of the annual publi-
cation inaugurated last year by the
National Park Service, Department
of the Interior, was released on May
ii. Distribution to Federal, state
and local officials and civic leaders
in the park and recreation field was
begun at once. It is available to the
general public through the Superin-
tendent of Documents, Government
Printing Office, Washington, D. C.,
at 35 cents a copy.

Considerably expanded over last
year's issue, the Yearbook offers an
interesting group of original articles,
reports and discussions on the prog-
ress of park and recreation activities
throughout the country, reflecting
especially the modern trend of
thought in park and recreation plan-
ning. Fulfilling the promise of the
National Park Service in the 1937
Yearbook that future editions would
include articles by leaders in the
park and recreation field outside the
Federal Government, the new issue
definitely establishes the annual as a
meeting ground for discussion of
current problems and presentation
of new ideas. In an introductory
statement, Secretary of the Interior
Harold L. Ickes says: "It is our hope
that the Yearbook will become the
leading organ for the assembling and
dissemination of progressive thought
on the subject of park and recrea-
tional conservation and develop-
ment. We hope that it will be re-
garded in this field as a forum or
clearing house in which to bring to-

gether the various Government
agencies for the good of the work
they are carrying out in this worthy
cause." Assurance that the Year-
book will appear as a regular Na-
tional Park Service publication is
given by Director Arno B. Cam-
merer, who says: "The enthu-
siastic reception accorded the 1937
Yearbook . . . indicated that its
publication should be continued
annually."

Following in general the policy
established last year, the Yearbook
includes a comprehensive report on
park projects carried on during the
year both in the national park sys-
tem and on state and local areas
through Federal and state coopera-
tion, and discussion by Service per-
sonnel of subjects related to these
activities and to park planning in
general.

Contributions from outside the
Federal Government include: "Fed-
eral Grants-in-Aid for Recreation,"
by Dr. V. O. Key, Jr., of the Depart-
ment of Political Science, Johns
Hopkins University, and former
staff member of the Committee on
Public Administration of the Social
Science Research Council; "Public
Participation in Park Work," by
Pearl Chase of Santa Barbara, Cali-
fornia, a leading volunteer civic
worker in the park field; "The Akron
Metropolitan Park System," by
H. S. Wagner, director-secretary,
Akron Metropolitan Park Board;
"Coordination of Developments for
Recreation," by Page S. Bunker,
state forester and director of state

Planning and Civic Comment

parks, Alabama; "The Iowa State
Park Recreational Use Program,"
by M. L. Hutton, director, Iowa
State Conservation Commission;
"Parkways for the Nation," by A. P.
Greensfelder, chairman, Civic De-
velopment Department Committee,
Chamber of Commerce of the
United States; "Roadside Develop-
ment in Michigan," by Varnum B.
Steinbaugh, deputy commissioner-
chief engineer, Michigan State High-
way Department; "Achievements in
the Camping Field," by Fay Welch,
chairman, Advisory Committee on
Camping of the National Park
Service; contributions to an omnibus
article on organized camping by
representatives of agencies which
used Federal recreational demon-
stration area facilities last summer;
"Organized Camps in South Caro-

lina," by H. A. Smith, state forester;
and "History and Archaeology in a
State Park System," by Dr. Walter
B. Jones, director, Alabama Mu-
seum of Natural History, University
of Alabama.

Marked by a distinctive cover, the
Yearbook is well illustrated with
halftone cuts and maps. As regular
features there appear again a list of
state park administrative agencies
and a current bibliography of Gov-
ernment reports, publications by
organizations, books, magazine arti-
cles, and general material on park
and recreation subjects. An exten-
sive tabulation describing state park
laws as of December, 1938, accom-
panies an article on this subject.
The general period covered by the
Yearbook is October i, 1937 to
September 30, 1938.

Recent Court Decisions Affecting Zoning

Compiled by FLAVEL SHURTLEFF

Funeral Home Unreasonableness of
Ordinance. Illinois. Johnson v.
Village oj Villa Park 18 N. E.
(2nd) 887. Re hearing denied Feb-
ruary 8, 1939.

The village authorities refused a
permit for the operation of a funeral
home located in a Class B residential
district although the following uses
were permitted in Class B districts
by the zoning ordinance: farming,
truck gardening, nurseries, green
houses, hotels, hospitals, medical
colleges and incidental accessory
uses. The ordinance was attacked
as unreasonable and arbitrary and a
decree prohibiting its enforcement
was obtained which was affirmed on
appeal. The court held that the

definition of a Class B residential
district was arbitrary and bore no
relation to the public welfare. The
use of the premises for a funeral
home was considered no more detri-
mental to the public health, safety
and general welfare than some of
the uses which were authorized by
the ordinance, as for example: main-
taining a morgue and dissecting
room in connection with a medical
college, or farming, with its neces-
sary domestic animals and their at-
tendant pollutions or the operation
of tractors and other farm machin-
ery. None of these things, in the
opinion of the court, were proper
residential uses.

In a case involving similar facts

Planning and Civic Comment

the Utah court came to a contrary
decision and enjoined the operation
of a funeral home in a residential
district. The residential district in
the ordinance under consideration
permitted hospitals and educational
institutions but excluded farming
and truck gardening. Provo City v.
Claudin 91 Utah 60 (March, 1937).
Funeral homes have been almost
uniformly considered by the courts
as commercial undertakings and
their exclusion from properly defined
residential districts has been gener-
ally upheld. (See Bassett "Zoning,"
page 213.)

Extension oj Non-Conforming Uses
Discretionary Powers of Board oj
Adjustment. Kentucky. Boswortb
v. City oj Lexington 125 S. W.
(2nd) 995. February 21, 1939.

The zoning ordinance of the city
provided that the board of adjust-
ment might grant permits for the
improvement and enlargement of
nonconforming uses if applied for
within five years from the passage
of the ordinance. The zoning law of
the State gave this power to boards
of adjustment without the five-year
limitation where the applicant could
show unnecessary hardship. The
board of adjustment had refused a
permit to the applicant because
more than five years had elapsed
since the passage of the zoning
ordinance but this refusal was re-
versed and an order approving a
building permit was granted by the
lower court. On appeal, this judg-
ment was affirmed, the court hold-

ing that the limitation on the dis-
cretionary power of the board of
adjustment in the ordinance was
improper in view of the provision in
the state law.

Permit Refused on Improper Ground.
New Jersey. Duncan Avenue Cor-
poration v. Board of Adjustment
oj Jersey City et al. Supreme
Court of New Jersey, March 20,
1939.

The board of adjustment revoked
a permit issued by the Superinten-
dent of Buildings for alterations of
a building in a business district.
The premises had been used for
various businesses and were now to
be rented for a meat and grocery
market. The only objection dis-
closed by the evidence was from
other markets dealing in meat and
groceries. The court properly held
that the revocation of the permit
bore no substantial relation to the
purposes of zoning.

Retroactive Effect of Zoning Regula-
tions Prohibited. Michigan City
of Cold Water v. Williams Oil
Company. Supreme Court, March
9, 1939.

The defendant had bought a piece
of land and commenced the con-
struction of a filling station but was
stopped by injunction under an
invalid zoning ordinance. Later,
and before the injunction was dis-
solved, a valid zoning ordinance was
passed. The court held that this
ordinance was retroactive as to the
defendant.

The American Institute of Park Executives will bold its 4Otb Annual
Convention in Philadelphia, September 18-21, 1939.

Watch Service Report

Reorganization

Reorganization Plan No. I transmitted by President Roosevelt to Congress on
April 25, 1939, pursuant to the provisions of the Reorganization Act of 1939 approved
April 3, 1939, contains in Part i, Sections 4 and 5, the following provision for the National
Resources Planning Board:

Sec. 4. (a) The functions of the National Resources Committee, established by
Executive Order No. 7065 of June 7, 1935, and its personnel (except the members of
the Committee) and all of the functions of the Federal employment stabilization office
in the Department of Commerce and its personnel are hereby transferred to the Execu-
tive office of the President. The functions transferred by this section are hereby con-
solidated and they shall be administered under the direction and supervision of the
President by the National Resources Planning Board (hereafter referred to as the
Board), which shall be composed of five members to be appointed by the President.
The President shall designate one of the members of the Board as Chairman and another
as Vice-Chairman. The Vice-Chairman shall act as Chairman in the absence of the
Chairman or in the event of a vacancy in that office. The members of the Board shall
be compensated at the rate of $50 per day for time spent in attending and traveling to
and from meetings or in otherwise exercising the functions and duties of the Board,
plus the actual cost of transportation: Provided, That in no case shall a member be
entitled to receive compensation for more than 30 days' service in 2 consecutive months.

(b) The Board shall determine the rules of its own proceedings and a majority of
its members in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but
the Board may function notwithstanding vacancies.

(c) The Board may appoint necessary officers and employees and may delegate to
such officers authority to perform such duties and make such expenditures as may
be necessary.

Sec. 5. National Resources Committee abolished: The National Resources Com-
mittee is hereby abolished, and its outstanding affairs shall be wound up by the National
Resources Planning Board.

Reorganization Plan No. II was sent by the President to Congress on May 9, 1939,
and he points out in his letter of transmittal that the plan provides for the transfer to
the Department of the Interior of the Bureau of Fisheries from the Department of
Commerce and of the Biological Survey from the Department of Agriculture. "These
two bureaus have to do with conservation and utilization of the wildlife resources of
the country, terrestrial and aquatic. Therefore, they should be grouped under the
same departmental administration, and in that Department which, more than any
other, is directly responsible for the administration and conservation of the public
domain. However, I intend to direct that the facilities of the Department of Agriculture
shall continue to be used for research studies which have to do with the protection of
domestic diseases of wildlife, and also where most economical for the protection of
farmers and stockmen against predatory animals. . . .

"I have also considered the problem of certain public lands insofar as they present
overlapping jurisdiction between the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture.
Insofar as crops, including tree crops, are involved, there is something to be said for
their retention in the Department of Agriculture. But where lands are to be kept for
the primary purpose of recreation and permanent public use anji conservation they
fall more logically into the Department of the Interior. I hope to offer a reorganization
plan on this early in the next session."

The above provisions would have gone into effect 60 days after date of transmittal,
as provided for in the Reorganization Act, or on June 25. However, according to Senate
Joint Resolution 138, introduced by Mr. Byrnes, which passed the Senate on May 19,
1939, both Reorganization Plans Nos. I and II shall take effect on July i, 1939.: For
accounting purposes and for simplifying the bookkeeping, it was deemed desirable to
have the plans take effect on this date, coincident with the fiscal year.

Planning and Civic Comment
National Parks

H. R. 3794 (Gearhart) Feb. 7. To establish the John Muir- Kings Canyon National
Park, California. Hearings on this bill were held before the Committee of the Public
Lapds of the House of Representatives, March 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 28, 29, 30, 31, April I,
4, and 6. The Hearings have been published and are now available. Harlean James,
Executive Secretary, American Planning and Civic Association, testified before the
Committee on Saturday, April i, and read a statement signed by Horace M. Albright,
President. The Committee reported the bill with amendments on May 25.

H. R. 3759 introduced on Feb. 6, by Mr. DeRouen to authorize a National Mississippi
River Parkway and matters relating thereto was reported with amendment on May 4.

H. R. 4635 (Englebright) introduced March I. To transfer certain lands from the
Sierra National Forest to the Yosemite National Park in the State of California. Re-
ported without amendment, May 27.

H. R. 4928 (Smith of Washington) introduced March 10. To authorize the acquisi-
tion, rehabilitation and operation of the facilities for the public in the Olympic National
Park. Also introduced as H. R. 5446 by Mr. Smith on March 30. No action.

S. 2 H. R. 2195 (Prttman-Scrugham) introduced Jan. 4 and Jan. 10. Authorizing
the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land to the State of Nevada to be used
for the purposes of a public park and recreational site. Affects Boulder Dam National
Recreational Area adversely. No action.

S. 1399 (King) introduced Feb. 16. To amend the Act entitled "An Act for the
preservation of American antiquities" approved June 8, 1906. This legislation was
not sponsored by the Department of the Interior.

H. R. 190 (Ramspeck) introduced Jan. 3. To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture
to cooperate with the States or political subdivisions thereof in the development, oper-
ation and maintenance of recreational areas within the national forests and on lands
owned by the said States or the political subdivisions thereof.

H. R. 286 (Taylor) introduced Jan. 3. To authorize the appropriation of $100,000,000
or so much thereof as may be necessary to locate and construct through the States of
Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia, and the District of
Columbia, a highway to be known as the Eastern National Park-to-Park Highway.

H. R. 916 (Allen) introduced Jan. 3. To provide for an appropriation of $100,000
with which to continue the survey of the old Indian trail known as Natchez Trace
through Louisiana and Texas, with a view to constructing a national road on this route
to be known as the Natchez Trace Parkway.

H. R. 1792 (Lea) introduced Jan. 5; S. 307 (Bailey) introduced Jan. 5; H. R. 5412
(Lea) introduced March 28. To encourage travel in the United States and for other
purposes.

H. R. 2960 (DeRouen) introduced Jan. 20. To authorize the Secretary of the In-
terior to sell or otherwise dispose of surplus animals inhabiting the national parks and
national monuments.

H. R. 2962 (DeRouen) introduced Jan. 20. To authorize the Secretary of the Interior
to accept donations of land, interests in land, buildings or other property for the exten-
sion of national parks, national monuments, battlefield sites, national military parks,
and other areas administered by the National Park Service.

H. R. 366o-^-S. 1511 (Wallgren-Bone) introduced Feb. 2 and Feb. 20. To provide
for the acquisition by the United States of lands not in Federal ownership within the
Olympic National Park.

H. R. 3705 (Coffee) introduced Feb. 3. To authorize the acquisition, rehabilitation
and operation of the facilities for the public in Mount Rainier National Park in the
State of Washington.

H. R. 3841 (White) introduced Feb. 7. To provide for the construction of a highway
within the Yellowstone National Park to provide an entrance to such park from the
State of Idaho. This highway would traverse the wilderness southwest corner of the Park.

H. R. 3959 (Robinson) introduced Feb. 8. To authorize the Secretary of the Interior
to dispose of recreational demonstration projects. Passed House June 5, 1939.

H. R. 4506 and H. R. 4308 (Case, Caldwell) introduced Feb. 24 and Feb. 20. To
provide for payments to counties to reimburse them for loss of tax receipts on account
of the use of certain land by the United States.

H. R. 4752 (Weaver) March 3. For the relief of the counties of Haywood and Swain
in the State of North Carolina by reason of their loss in taxable valuation by the estab-
lishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Planning and Civic Comment

H. R. 5502 (Voorhis of Calif.) introduced April 3. A bill to authorize the Secretary
of the Interior to provide public facilities and accommodations by the purchase, con-
struction, maintenance and operation of hotels, lodges, and other buildings and struc-
tures, inclusive of necessary fixtures and incidental equipment in (certain) national parks,
national monuments, national parkways and other areas under the jurisdiction of the
Department of the Interior. No action.

H. R. 6559 (Wallgren) May 29. A bill to accept the cession by the State of Wash-
ington of exclusive jurisdiction over the lands embraced within the Olympic National
Park and for other purposes. Referred to Committee on Public Lands.

Water Pollution

S. 685 (Barkley) introduced Jan. 16. To create a Division of Water Pollution Control
in the U. S. Public Health Service. Amended and passed Senate on May i. On May 10,
the House Committee on Rivers and Harbors reported the bill with amendments, one
of which provides that the Chief of the U. S. Army Engineers or a member of the Corps
shall be a member of a Board of 5 of which 4 shall be from the U. S. Public Health Service.

National Resources Committee Notes

STATE PLANNING: With more than
40 State Legislatures in session this
year, all but five boards have had to
seek appropriations for the next
fiscal year or biennium. A number
of boards have been affected by
changes of administration which
have been characterized by new
policies, incoming officials' unfam-
iliarity with planning, and economy
drives. Some boards have emerged
strengthened, others weakened, some
were consolidated with other agen-
cies, and a few were abolished.

Legislation for New Boards In
Kansas, a bill to establish a new
board passed the Lower House but
failed to secure last-minute action
in the Senate. A bill to establish an
Industrial Development Commis-
sion was, however, adopted. The
effort to secure a statutory board in
Ohio continues. The Governor has
indicated that he does not approve
the creation of any new statutory
agencies at this session, but it is

hoped by many that a Governor's
Board will be re-established. In
Minnesota, where the existing Gov-
ernor's Board has done outstanding
work, and the effort to create a
permanent statutory board has the
strong support of the new Governor,
a bill failed of enactment, but the
Governor's Board will continue to
function. In Connecticut, where the
planning law expired in 1937 and
some planning functions have been
carried on by the Legislative Coun-
cil, a bill creating a development
commission with planning powers
is now pending.

Boards abolished Four statu-
tory boards, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Oregon and Iowa, have
been abolished by legislative action
effective (in three States) in June.
The Texas law automatically ex-
pired on March 16 and no legisla-
tion has been enacted to extend its
authority or create a new board.
In North Dakota the Governor asked

Planning and Civic Comment

for a new bill, after the law of 1935
had been repealed, but the bill died
in committee. With continued strong
support from the Governor, it is
anticipated that a Governor's Board
will be established. In South Dakota
the Governor vetoed a bill for an
Economic and Legislative Council
which had been passed by a large
majority of both houses as a sub-
stitute for the 1935 law, which had
been repealed. Various planning
groups in the State are now seeking
to establish an official planning
agency and already have over $1,000
pledged to its support. The Oregon
State Planning Board law was
repealed in the closing days of the
Legislature, and against the Gover-
nor's wishes. The Governor has
available for the biennium a $10,000
fund for research which may include
some work normally performed by
an official planning organization.
Efforts to repeal state planning acts
have been unsuccessful in a corre-
sponding number of States. Con-
siderable opposition to the repeal
bills in Michigan, Illinois and Wis-
consin is reported.

Reorganization of Boards Sev-
eral state planning boards have
been abolished and their functions
continued under another organiza-
tion. The Planning Board of Wyom-
ing was abolished and its functions
placed in a new State Planning and
Water Conservation Board with a
special allotment for planning ac-
tivities. Similarly, the membership
of the New Mexico and Alabama
Boards was modified by legislation,
a strengthened planning law being
obtained in New Mexico. Legisla-
tion was adopted in Oklahoma to
change the composition of the

Board. An Act was passed in Rhode
Island placing the Board in the
Executive Department. In Massa-
chusetts the Governor has recom-
mended consolidation of the State
Planning Board with various other
planning agencies. Bills to make
the Pennsylvania Planning Board a
departmental board in the proposed
Department of Commerce were ap-
proved May 10. A state reorganiza-
tion report for Colorado (prepared
by Griffenhagen and associates)
recommended abolition of the Colo-
rado Board and the vesting of its
functions in a proposed Executive
Council composed of the heads of
the major state departments. This
portion of the report, however, failed
of adoption before adjournment.

Appropriations The economy
wave has threatened to cut off or
seriously reduce appropriations of
many state planning boards. To
date, however, only three States
with statutory boards, Indiana,
North Carolina and Oklahoma, have
suffered drastic cuts in appropriated
funds. The Indiana Legislature in
the rush of the closing session re-
duced the annual appropriation for
the state planning board from
$20,070 to $1,750 over the protests
of the friends of the Board. In
North Carolina the appropriation
for the Board was not acted upon,
although a substantial emergency
fund was placed at the Governor's
disposal from which it is hoped an
allotment will be made for carrying
on the work of the Board. Faced
with a large anticipated deficit, the
Oklahoma Legislature reduced the
State Planning Board's annual ap-
propriation from $35,000 to $5,000.
The Colorado Board's annual ap-

Planning and Civic Comment

propriation was cut from $23,750 to
$16,010 in 1940 and $19,060 in 1941.
Appropriation cuts are also threat-
ened in Michigan, New York, Penn-
sylvania and Illinois. In New Jersey ,
the request for an increased appro-
priation was first denied, after which
the entire appropriation was elim-
inated from the budget. There is
now pending a supplemental bill pro-
viding an appropriation for the
Board.

While economy has been the rule
in many of the States, so far all
other planning boards have secured
increased appropriations or retained
their previous amounts. The ap-
propriation for the Maryland Board
for the next fiscal year was increased
from $3,000 to $10,000, while the
New Mexico Board received $14,000
for the next biennium, after having
had no appropriations for the pre-
ceding biennium. Substantial in-
creases have been obtained by
Tennessee, Utah, and Washington.
Other increases are likely in Rhode
Island, Florida and California.

It appears that nearly as much
money in the aggregate will be
appropriated for all state planning
boards this year as last. This, in an
economy era, is definitely progress.
That many boards have weathered
political changes so well, testifies to
the basic strength of the state plan-
ning movement. Establishment of a
permanent national planning agency
should give added vigor to this
movement.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS: "Low
Dams," the most recent publication
of the Water Resources Committee,
is a manual containing instructions,
standards and procedures intended
to serve as a guide to safe practices

in the design of small water storage
projects and of appurtenant struc-
tures. The manual is not intended
to encourage in any way the assump-
tion of undue responsibility on the
part of unqualified personnel, but
rather to serve technically trained
and experienced consultants with
information and data necessary to
the proper accomplishment and
checking of such work, and to assist
the subordinate or partially trained
engineer to improve his work and
thus decrease the amount of review
and checking by his superior.

It contains 431 pages, 207 illus-
trations, is bound in flexible fabrik-
oid, and may be purchased from
the Superintendent of Documents,
Washington, D. C, for $1.25. The
Committee has no copies of this
publication for free distribution.

The Industrial Section has cir-
culated for technical criticism by
experts and others a preliminary
limited edition of its report entitled
"Patterns of Resource Use." This
report represents a step in the de-
velopment of a method for giving
concrete expression to relationships
between such factors in our economy
as employment, production and
consumer income and expenditures,
hitherto indefinitely expressed. It
seeks more exact answers to familiar
questions such as: What level of
economic activity is necessary to
absorb the unemployed, or, at such
level, what would be the market for
commodities and services, industry
by industry?

Comments are expected to be for-
warded to the Committee before
October i, after which time a final
draft of the report will be begun.
The preliminary report contains 149

Planning and Civic Comment

pages, including numerous charts
and graphs and can be purchased from
the Superintendent of Documents,
Washington, D. C., for 35 cents.

The Industrial Committee has
also recently released a report en-
titled "Residential Building," which
is the first of a series of monographs
on the subject of housing prepared
by a number of collaborators from
various agencies. This monograph
was prepared under the direction of
Lowell J. Chawner, of the Depart-
ment of Commerce, and deals with
some of the broader background
factors which influence the demand
for housing and the methods of
supplying the demand. It is pointed
out that the statistical method used
for presenting the future demand is
subject to the major weakness of
attempting to project past trends.
The report does not deal with pos-
sible changes in the character of
future housing demands; its pur-
pose, rather, is to bring about a
better quantitative understanding
of the problem.

It consists of 19 pages, including
various charts, graphs and tables and
may be purchased from the Super-
intendent of Documents, Washing-
ton, D. C., for 10 cents.

LEGISLATIVE STATUS OF NATIONAL
RESOURCES COMMITTEE: Reorgan-
ization Plan No. i provides for
transfer of the functions of the
National Resources Committee and
the Federal Employment Stabiliza-
tion Office to a National Resources
Planning Board in the Executive
Offices of the President. On May 1 2
representatives of the Committee
appeared before a Subcommittee of
the House Committee on Appro-
priations to discuss its appropria-

tion for the fiscal year beginning
July i, 1939. At present the Com-
mittee operates under an Executive
Order with funds appropriated by
Congress in the Relief Appropria-
tion Act of 1938. Inasmuch as the
appropriation expires June 30, funds
for the next fiscal year will be
necessary for continuation of its
functions. On Feb. 17, 1939, Senator
Hayden introduced an amendment
as Title III to the Byrnes bill
(5.1265) which would create a per-
manent National Resources Plan-
ning Board. Although hearings are
being held on the first two titles of
the Byrnes bill, Title III (The
Hayden Amendment) is still pend-
ing in the Committee.

A meeting of members oj technical
committees, Regional Officers and the
Washington staff was held in the
Committee's offices, April 17, 1939,
for the purpose of providing an
opportunity to discuss common
problems affecting different parts of
the organization. As a basis for
discussion each committee chairman
presented a statement of the work
of his committee involving not only
technical matters but also problems
of closer integration of their activ-
ities with other committees increas-
ing the participation of States and
local governments.

The National Conference on Plan-
ning, which took place in Boston,
Massachusetts, May 15, 16 and 17
was attended by 454 delegates. The
highlights of the papers and reports
of this most successful meeting will
be issued shortly by the Association
as a PLANNING BROADCAST.

For Better Roadsides

By FLAVEL SHURTLEFF

SO FAR the "noes" have it nine
to four. The bills for better
roadsides have been defeated in
Indiana, Maryland, North Caro-
lina, Ohio, Washington, Arkansas,
New York, Oregon and Texas and
have passed in Maine, New Hamp-
shire, Vermont and Tennessee. In
Connecticut a new bill has been sub-
stituted because of opposition to
certain provisions in the first pro-
posal, and final action is pending
there as well as in Pennsylvania and
New Jersey. A bill is also being pre-
pared for introduction in the Florida
legislature which convened the first
of April.

There should be no discourage-
ment of the legislative record. Five
of the nine bills defeated were radical
departures from the usual outdoor
advertising legislation. They created
highway protective areas in which
the State was to exercise the zoning
power or something much like it.
They were an honest attempt to
treat all wayside business alike and
to overcome the contention of the
advertising industry that the usual
type of regulatory legislation dis-
criminated against the outdoor ad-
vertising business. This strategy
was somewhat successful in Indiana
where the State Petroleum Associa-
tion endorsed the bill, but there was
enough opposition from single indus-
tries and from the farmers to send
the bill to defeat in the lower house
of the legislature.

In Ohio the president of the state
outdoor advertising company led a
most vigorous opposition and thou-

sands of circulars were distributed to
the farmers of the State who were
asked to return a post card to the
Central Outdoor Advertising Com-
pany, Inc., as follows:

I am familiar with certain provisions of
House Bill No. 361 providing for the
zoning of rural highways and vigorously
oppose its passage for the reason that it
is too drastic in its applications and in-
fringes unwarrantably upon the rights of
owners of property adjacent to highways.

The farmer opposition was over-
whelming and the bill died in legis-
lative committee.

In view of these crushing defeats,
the victories in Maine, Vermont,
New Hampshire and Tennessee are
all the more heartening. The Ten-
nessee law was described in the
January-March number of PLAN-
NING AND Civic COMMENT. It is a
mild regulatory law limited to areas
along the highways outside of in-
corporated places' but the uniform
permit fee will clear many small
signs from the highways. Tennessee
heretofore has imposed a license fee
on those in the business of outdoor
advertising but for the first time a
fee is now imposed on all signs.

Maine and Vermont both have
had laws regulating outdoor adver-
tising for some years. The Vermont
law dates from 1929 and the Maine
law from 1935. The most important
of the amendments to the Maine law
passed this year was an increase in
the license fee from $25 to $100 on
all those in the advertising business.

The Vermont amendments were a
thorough overhauling of the existing
law. The permit fee on all advertis-

Planning and Civic Comment

ing structures is now fixed at two
and a half cents a square foot and a
set-back line is established. All
structures must be at least thirty-
five feet from the center line of the
highway. If the structure is over
three hundred square feet in area it
must be three hundred feet from the
center line. If it is less than three
hundred square feet it must be as
many linear feet from the center line
of the highway as its area. Although
this provision shows the influence of
the Massachusetts regulations, it is
the only instance in billboard regula-
tions of graduating the set-back line
exactly in accordance with the area
of the structure.

Under the New Hampshire resolu-
tion, the State Planning and Devel-
opment Commission must, during
the next two years, survey the high-
ways of the State and recommend to
the legislature of 1941 a program for
the protection and improvement of
the roadsides, including a classifica-
tion and suggested use of the land
bordering thereon.

Farmer opposition was not the
only cause of failure of roadside im-
provement measures. The testimony
from other States runs something as
follows: "Apparently no public in-
terest"; "Not public pressure enough
on the legislative committee that
heard the bill."

In view of this testimony, the
question may be asked, "Is the
public opposed to outdoor advertis-
ing?" and the answer in almost
every State is honestly a guess.
Public opinion in Massachusetts is
clearly on record against unregulated
outdoor advertising, for the people
in 1918 passed a constitutional
amendment as follows:

Article 59. Advertising on public ways,
in public places and on private property
within public view may be regulated and
restricted by law.

The only other evidence on the point
is fragmentary. Questionnaires have
been circulated to get the opinion of
summer visitors and a recent one
included the question, "Do you ap-
prove or disapprove of outdoor
advertising signs?" The remarkable
thing is that ninety percent of the
answers to this questionnaire were
from men. Of the 668 replies, 16 per-
cent said they liked billboards, 23
percent said they didn't care one
way or another and 61 percent said
that they were opposed.

It is probably conservative to say
that a healthy majority of the public
is indifferent to billboards or is op-
posed to them but almost nowhere
is the public militant enough even to
express itself. It must be aroused
and must be organized. During the
1939 legislative session, the New
York Roadside Improvement and
Safety Committee, through an in-
tensive campaign of education, en-
listed the support of about 250,000
organized voters in behalf of regula-
tory legislation. This is believed to
be the greatest number of voters
ever to appeal to a state legislature
on this subject and as a result an
impressive number of legislators in
both houses privately indicated
their willingness to vote for billboard
regulation. If the bill had been re-
ported out of the Rules Committee
it would probably have passed the
Assembly and might have passed the
Senate. But the bill did not come
out and members of the Rules Com-
mittee are reported to have said that
they received more letters against

Planning and Civic Comment

the bill than for it. Farmers who
were persuaded that they might lose
revenue from billboard locations and
employees of outdoor advertising
companies who were led to believe
that they might lose their jobs, were
the writers of these letters.

That is the way self-interest oper-
ates and it is no wonder that the
leaders of the fight against billboards
on the rural scene are considering
ways and means which promise
speedier results than regulation by
law.

Report on National Planning
for England and Wales

A SPECIAL Committee of the
Town Planning Institute,
under the Chairmanship of
the Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Scott, has
recently completed its Report en-
titled "National Survey and Na-
tional Planning."

The Report begins with a brief
account of the history of the plan-
ning system in England and Wales.
It deals directly with England and
Wales only, not with Scotland, but
its conclusions would generally be
applicable to Scottish planning
which presents similar character-
istics and problems. It shows how
planning, which as a specific branch
of public administration began with
the Housing and Town Planning
Act of 1909, has been developed in
successive Acts (more especially
the Local Government Act of 1929,
the Town and Country Planning
Act of 1932 and the Restriction of
Ribbon Development Act of 1935)
so that it is now being applied to
about two-thirds of the land area of
the country by about three-quarters
of the local authorities. It also
shows, however, (a) that the process
of planning is proving very slow
and complicated, (b) that planning
has throughout been regarded as

essentially a local activity performed
by local authorities, (c) that plan-
ning areas vary very widely in size
and scope and have been distributed
rather by accident than by fore-
thought, and (d) that, while regional
aspects have to some extent been
met by the use of joint committees
and the, cooperation of county
council, the national aspects of
planning have no place in planning
law and have had little or no atten-
tion in planning practice.

The main contention of the Re-
port that national planning is .ur-
gently required to supplement and
reinforce local and regional planning
is supported by an examination
of the principal forms and agents of
land utilization possessing national
significance, which shows that the
existing planning system is adequate
to deal with the national require-
ments and problems which they
involve.

It is concluded in Part III Pro-
posed National Planning Commis-
sion that neither the Ministry of
Health nor any other existing Gov-
ernment Department could soundly
be made responsible for the central
reinforcement of planning and its
application in the national field. A

Planning and Civic Comment

new organ of central government is
recommended in the form of an
advisory National Planning Com-
mission, whose functions would be:

(a) to compile and collate all
necessary information (National
Survey);

(b) to advise and coordinate
Government Departments, statu-
tory undertakers and highway au-
thorities;

(d) to watch the general progress
of the planning system, investigate
its problems (such as Compensation
and Betterment), and make recom-
mendations for its legislative and
administrative development;

(e) to formulate as a basis for
all its advisory activities a national
plan or policy on broad and flexible
lines for the allocation and distribu-
tion of major land uses and develop-
ments (National Planning).

As to membership and organiza-
tion, it is recommended that the
Commission should consist of a full-
time Chairman and not more than
six other Commissioners, and that
the principal members of its staff
should be a Deputy Commissioner
and from six to nine Divisional
Officers who would be responsible for
maintaining contact with the local
planning authorities in their several
divisional areas.

O.K. P. Johnson 1878-1939 Harold Allen 1877-1939

It is with deep regret that we
announce the death of Mr. O. H. P.
Johnson, who has served as Trea-
surer of the American Planning and
Civic Association since November,
1938. He died suddenly on May
25 after a two days' illness.

Following the death last October
of George W. White, Treasurer of
the Association for more than a
decade, Mr. Johnson kindly con-
sented to serve as Treasurer. Long
prominent in banking circles in
Washington, he became Chairman
of the Board of the National Metro-
politan Bank following Mr. White's
death. Mr. White had been presi-
dent of this well-known banking
institution.

For many years Mr. Johnson has
been a member and supporter of the
work of the Association. His death
is a great loss both to the Association
and the community.

Harold Allen, long an active mem-
ber of the American Planning and
Civic Association, died suddenly on
April 5, 1939, after a brief illness.

A special attorney in the Bureau
of Internal Revenue, he practised
law in Pittsburgh before coming to
Washington.

Mr. Allen had been instrumental
in arousing interest in the Shenan-
doah area as a site for a national
park.

His suggestion followed shortly
after former Secretary of Interior
Work appointed a commission to
select a site for a national park in
the East. His enthusiasm and knowl-
edge of this area in the Blue Ridge
Mountains soon developed a wide-
spread interest and it is doubtful if
the movement to create a national
park of this area would have de-
veloped without his particular
genius.

New York City Planning Commission
Issues First Report

The New York City Planning
Commission, established early last
year when a new charter went into
effect for the city, has made its first
annual report. The document indi-
cates the lines along which the Com-
mission is working in drawing up a
master plan for the city. The Report
may seem to be a routine municipal
report. Such is not the case.

The entire report is characterized
by a thoughtful analysis of the forces
which have made the City of New
York what it is today; the ills from
which this metropolis is suffering;
and the types of remedies which may
promise recovery and sound future
development.

The new commission, which took
office January i, 1938, was directed
to prepare and, from time to time,
modify a master plan of the city.
This is indeed a formidable task, but
the framers of the new charter
realized that without a master plan,
day-to-day decisions must be based
on inadequate knowledge of existing
conditions and without a sense of
direction for future growth. Natu-
rally it has not been possible to de-
vise a master plan of New York
within the year; neither has the
Commission tried to make sudden
and drastic changes.

The Commission sagely remarks:
"It is not enough to provide New
York with good government. That
has already been achieved . . . We
need to remove, as far as possible,
the obstacles which retard our enter-
prises; to devise methods which will
lessen the costs of living and of doing

business in the city; to emphasize
and make the most of the oppor-
tunities the city affords

A master plan should indicate the
long range development of property
uses, such as transportation lines,
waterfront developments, arterial
highways, industrial and commercial
areas, residential sections, and the
like. The city will attempt to main-
tain the desirable features of this
plan through proper zoning and
through the budgetary provision for
related facilities."

The Commission reported unusual
activity in the development of plans
and the actual construction of park-
ways and main arterial highways,
together with the addition of many
new parks and playgrounds.

Under the charter, the Commis-
sion is required to prepare an annual
proposed capital budget and capital
program for the succeeding five
years. When the estimates for capi-
tal projects came in from the city
departments, it was apparent that
the total of 250 million dollars would
have to be cut drastically. And here
it was that the Commission clearly
felt "the need for a master plan,
against which individual projects
might be considered and a better and
more logical presentation by each
department of its own projects."

The Commission has recognized
the need for neighborhoods of single
family homes, and new districts re-
stricting use of land to single-family
houses have been created.

Copies of the Report are priced at
50 cents each.

Association's Publications Widely Distributed

PLANNING AND Civic COMMENT
and the AMERICAN PLANNING AND
Civic ANNUAL go all over the United
States and its possessions and to
nearly every portion of the globe,
the foreign countries numbering 27.

In the United States there are
members in every State in the Union
including every large, important
university. Other American mem-
bers are located in Alaska, the
Philippines, Hawaii and Puerto
Rico.

In Canada, the publications go
to Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Sas-
katchewan, Vancouver, Winnepeg
and St. John's in New Brunswick,
in Australia, to Melbourne, Bris-
bane and Sydney, also to Sydney,
New South Wales, to Wellington,
New Zealand, Capetown, South
Africa, Pahang, in the Federated
Malay States and Assam in India.

Subscribers on the European con-
tinent are libraries and individuals

in Paris, France; Copenhagen, Den-
mark; Berlin, Dresden, Essen-Ruhr,
Frankfort, and Karlsruhe in Ger-
many; Amsterdam and Utrecht,
Holland; Lucca and Rome, Italy;
Madired, Spain; Trondheim, Nor-
way; Stockholm, Sweden; Riga, Lat-
via; Warsaw, Poland; Turku, Fin-
land; and in the United States of
Soviet Russia Charkow, Kiev, Lenin-
grad, Moscow, Tashkent and Tiflis.

In South America our publica-
tions reach Rio de Janeiro and Sao
Paulo, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argen-
tina; Santiago, Chile, Mexico City,
Mexico.

In the Orient, the Association
may claim a very large group of
subscribing members both in China
and Japan, and the publications go
to Nanking, Shanghai, Tientsin
and Canton in China, and Tokio,
Yokahoma, Osaka, Chosen and
several other cities in Japan.

May the Tribe increase!

Recent Publications

Conipiled by Katharine McNamara, Librarian of the Departments of
Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Harvard University

AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION.
Suggested uniform act for roadside
development and control. Washington,
The Association, [1938]. [8 pages].
Includes a resume of the act.

BRUNER, H. B. Transportation in the
United States: its relation to housing
and regional and city planning, prepared
for the Curriculum Construction Lab-
oratory, Teachers College, Columbia
University, with the assistance of the
Works Progress Administration . . .
N. Y., [The University], 1937. 28 pages.
Mimeographed.

BUSH, A. L. Suggestions for use in making
a city survey (industrial and commer-
cial) . . . Washington, Govt. Printing
Office, 1938. 56 pages. Tables. (U. S.
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com-

merce. Domestic Commerce Ser. No.
105.) Price 10 cents.

COMMITTEE FOR INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZA-
TION. COMMITTEE ON HOUSING. Labor's
program for better housing. Washing-
ton, The Author, Dec. 1938. 27 pages.
(Publication No. 22.) Price 3 cents.

GREAT BRITAIN. MINISTRY OF HEALTH.
TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING AD-
VISORY COMMITTEE. Report on the
preservation of the countryside, 1938.
London, H. M. Stationery Office, 1938.
36 pages. Price 6d.

GREENE, FREDERICK STUART, and OTHERS.
The billboard: a blot on nature and a
parasite on public improvements, by
Frederick Stuart Greene . . . [and
others] and with the cooperation of New
York Roadside Improvement and Safety

Planning and Civic Comment

Committee. [Albany], The Committee,
Jan. 2, 1939. [43 pages]. Photos, maps,
plan.

HALSEY, MAXWELL. Training traffic
engineers; origins and functions of the
Bureau for Street Traffic Research, Yale
University. Reprint from Yale scientific
magazine, winter issue, 1939. 8 pages.
Maps, tables.

IHLDER, JOHN. A public housing program.
The purpose of the Alley Dwelling
Authority for the District of Columbia
is to reclaim slums and to assure an
adequate supply of good low-rent
dwellings. [Washington, Alley Dwelling
Authority for the District of Columbia,
Dec. 5, 1938.] 14 pages. Mimeographed.

KING, WILLIAM A., and ELMER D.
FULLENWIDER. The Pacific Northwest,
its resources and industries. Cincinnati,
South- Western Publishing Co., 1938.
390 pages. IIIus., maps, diagrs., cross
sections, tables. Price $1.25.

LAWTON, MRS. WALTER L. Progress in
roadside control and the next step;
address before the National Conference
on Roadsides in New York City, No-
vember 1 6, 1938. New York, National
Roadside Council, 1938. 7 pages.

LEWIS, HAROLD MACLEAN. City plan-
ning, why and how. New York, Long-
mans, Green and Co., 1939. 257 pages.
Maps, plans, diagrs. Price $2.50.

McCuLLOuGH, C. B., and JOHN BEAKEY.
The economics of highway planning
. . . ; rev. ed. September, 1938. Salem,
Oregon State Highway Planning Com-
mission, Sept., 1938. 471 pages. IIIus.,
maps, diagrs., tables, charts. (Oregon
State Highway Dept. Technical Bulletin
No. 7.)

MUMFORD, LEWIS. Regional planning in
the Pacific Northwest; a memorandum.
Portland, Ore., Northwest Regional
Council, [1939]. 20 pages.

NATIONAL RECREATION ASSOCIATION. Play
space in new neighborhoods; a commit-
tee report on standards of outdoor
recreation areas in housing develop-
ments. New York, The Association,
!939- 23 pages. Plan. Price 25 cents.

NATIONAL ROADSIDE COUNCIL. What you
can do to hasten billboard control as an
individual, as a community, as a state
. . . New York, The Council, Dec.,
1938. 7 pages.

NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL. COMMITTEE
ON SPEED AND ACCIDENTS. Report of
special study on speed zoning; 1038
report to Street and Highway Traffic
Section. Chicago, The Council, 1938.
47 pages. IIIus., diagrs., tables.

NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL PLANNING
COMMISSION. A synopsis of legislation
relating to airway and airport develop-
ment in New England. Boston, The
Commission, Feb., 1939. 18 pages.
Mimeographed. (Publication No. 55.)

NEW YORK, N. Y. CITY PLANNING COM-
MISSION, and NEW YORK, N. Y. DEPT.
OF CITY PLANNING. Annual report.
New York, The Commission and the
Dept., 1938. 94 pages. Table.

NEW YORK. STATE BOARD OF HOUSING.
Report of the State Board of Housing
to the Governor of the state of New
York. Albany, J. B. Lyon Co., 1939.
91 pages. IIIus., tables (part folded).
(Legislative document [1939], No. 60.)

NEW YORK TIMES. New York World's
Fair commemorating the i5Oth anniver-
sary of Washington's inauguration.
New York, The Times, Mar. 5, 1939.
72 pages. IIIus., plan.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC PLANNING.
Planning, No. 121. Regionalism. Lon-
don, Political and Economic Planning,
Apr. 19, 1938. 15 pages.

QUEEN, STUART ALFRED, and LEWIS
FRANCIS THOMAS. The city: a study of
urbanism in the United States. New
York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc.,
1939. 500 pages. Maps, diagrs., tables.
(McGraw-Hill Publications in Sociol-
ogy.) Price $4.00.

STRAUS, NATHAN. Housing, a national
achievement. Reprint from the Atlantic
Feb., 1939. [8 pages]. Tables.

U. S. HOUSING AUTHORITY. What the
Housing Act can do for your city.
[Washington], The Authority, [1938].
88 pages. IIIus., maps, tables, charts.

U. S. NATIONAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE. Progress report,
1938. Statement of the Advisory Com-
mittee. Washington, Govt. Printing
Office, 1939. 51 pages. Maps, charts.

. URBANISM COMMITTEE. Ur-
ban government. Volume I of the
Supplementary report of the Urbanism
Committee to the National Resources
Committee. Washington, Govt. Print-
ing Office, 1939. 303 pages. Maps,
diagrs., tables. Price 50 cents.

U. S. WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION.
Inventory: an appraisal of the results of
the Works Progress Administration.
Washington, The Administration, [1938].
100 pages. IIIus., plans, diagrs., cross
sections, tables. Price 30 cents.

ZIMMERMAN, CARLE C. The changing
community. New York, Harper and
Brothers, 1938. 66 1 pages. Maps,
diagrs., tables. Price $3.50.

K-

Planning and
Civic Comment

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

THE FOURTH POWER

REXFORD G. TUGWELL

Chairman, New York City Planning Commission

A Paper Delivered in Washington, D. C.

on January 27, 7959
At a Dinner Sponsored Jointly by the

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNERS

AND THE

AMERICAN PLANNING AND Civic ASSOCIATION

APRIL-JUNE 1939

PART II

PLANNING AND
CIVIC COMMENT

Published Quarterly
Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

Official Organ of: American Planning and Civic Association,
National Conference on State Parks

SCOPE: National, State, Regional and City Planning; Land and Water Uses;

Conservation oj National Resources; National, State and Local Parks,

Highways and Roadsides.
AIM: To create a better physical environment which will conserve and develop

the health, happiness and culture oj the American people.

EDITORIAL BOARD

HARLEAN JAMES FLAVEL SHURTLEFF CHARLES G. SAUERS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

FREDERICK J. ADAMS ELISABETH M. HERLIHY

HORACE M. ALBRIGHT P. J. HOFFMASTER

HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW HENRY V. HUBBARD

EDWARD M. BASSETT JOHN IHLDER

RUSSELL V. BLACK RAYMOND F. LEONARD

PAUL V. BROWN RICHARD LIEBER

STRUTHERS BURT THOMAS H. MACDONALD

HAROLD S. BUTTENHEIM J. HORACE MCFARLAND

ARNO B. CAMMERER HENRY T. MC!NTOSH

DAVID C. CHAPMAN KATHERINE MCNAMARA

MARSHALL N. DANA MARVIN C. NICHOLS

S. R. DEBOER JOHN NOLEN, JR.

EARLE S. DRAPER F. A. PITKIN

CHARLES W. ELIOT 2o ISABELLE F. STORY

L. C. GRAY L. DEMING TILTON

S. HERBERT HARE TOM WALLACE
CONRAD L. WIRTH

MANAGING EDITOR

DORA A. PADGETT

$3.00 a Year

Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Washington, D. C., under
the Act of March 3, 1879. Additional entry at Harrisburg, Pa.

EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATION OFFICE: 901 Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C.

Printed by the Mount Pleasant Press, J. Horace McFarland Company, Harris-
burg, Pa.

THE FOURTH POWER

By REXFORD G. TUGWELL

WHEN historians look back, after several decades, they may be able
to see how a directive power offered to range itself alongside the
executive, the legislative and the judicial 1 . If, by then, it has developed
into a fourth division within our governmental system, there need not
have been at any time the theatrical recognition which came to the
executive out of the administrative futility inherent in parliamentary
government during the eighteenth century. The process can be evolu-
tionary and adaptive; it can be, that is, unless it is deliberately so delayed
that opposing physical and social forces reduce the American state to

1 It seemed impossible for the purposes of this article to avoid changing a familiar
loosely used word into a more precise and technical term. There is some reason for
believing that other writers have been approaching this definition in attempting to
introduce agreed meaning where before there had been confusion. Perhaps the word
"direction" with its two rather subtly different connotations comes as near transferring
concepts along with familiar sound as it would ever be possible to do. Others may have
burdened the word with less weight than it is made to carry here, and have been less
precise, but they have felt the same need. For instance, in this sentence from Mr.
Joseph Hudnut's introduction to Werner Hegemann's City Planning: Housing, there
is one use: "Neither a collection of buildings nor an aggregation of people makes a
city, but rather the form and content of society and the direction of its march." But
this, obviously, is limited. It is one thing to point out a direction which is being taken.
It is another thing to give direction. Mr. Charles W. Eliot 2nd, has used it in a closer
sense "the development of order and direction out of a chaos of rugged individualism";
Mr. George H. Gray (The Planners' Journal, Nov.-Dec., 1938, p. 144) has a sentence
which illustrates an equivocal meaning: "While our economic direction has always been
planned in a fashion (gold standard, tariff schedules, etc.), this planning has for the
most part been done in isolation from a general national plan." But Mr. Arthur G.
Coons understands the double entendre: "Whatever planning is, it is to be seen as a
conscious directive aspect of the political, social, or economic life of some definite geograph-
ical region . . ." ("The Nature of Economic Planning in Democracy," Plan Age,
Feb., 1939, p. 43). Even Sir Henry Bunbury, cautious Britisher that he is, uses the
word: "Social direction and control, by organs representing the community, of the
economic life of a nation of the conservation, development and utilisation of its varied
resources have become necessary by reason of the immense advances which have
taken place in technology, communications, corporate organization, and financial
techniques." ("Government Planning Machinery," Public Administration Service
publications No. 63, p. 5). Mr. Soule, perhaps, comes nearer than anyone else to using
the word in the full sense intended here: "But how, it is asked, could we retain democ-
racy if authority to direct all these economic processes were given to the State?" And in
another passage: "It must be remembered, too, that in a free collectivist system govern-
ment would not own or direct every activity." The Future of Liberty, 173, 177. Many
others have used the word, sometimes as a kind of synonym for planning, sometimes
with a closer approach to the double meaning intended here. Its appropriation may
be forgiven, being thus excused as not altogether original.

2 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

relative ineffectiveness. If this last should happen it would be sufficiently
dramatic and obvious; but it would not result in the development of a
fourth power. For the whole system would either be subjected to a foreign
executive or submerged in a chaos out of which anything might emerge
anything, that is, except institutions with fundamental provision for the
participation of every citizen after his sort, which is, after all, the demo-
cratic sine qua non.

Even if the present trend continues, the process will be one of those
which are difficult to see going on; and the constitutional changes which
recognize it may lag well behind the fact of its existence. Sensitivity to
the incidents of its development has not been acute up to now perhaps
because of ideological obstructions : preconception has often clothed dying
institutions with illusive appurtenances of vigor: the same preconception
has also prevented the prejudiced from seeing unwanted sequences of
events. Americans have been well enough aware of a new precision-created
industry in their midst and of a world changed in material and tempo;
they have even been aware that planning offered new possibilities of fore-
sight and control. But they have not wanted to learn that all these, from
beginning to end, were part of a process which was forcing concomitant
changes in government looking toward the modification of conflict and the
emphasizing of cooperation 2 . The present picture is one of a democratic
republic torn by internal struggles yet hoping to find a competence which
can survive the coming challenge.

2 It is difficult to contemplate seriously the planning idea without arriving at
some such conclusion. Mr. Charles W. Eliot 2nd, for instance, in 1933 (Planning and
National Recovery, National Conference on City Planning, Richmond, p. 32) distin-
guished several types "charting" or "economic planning," "budgeting," which de-
scribes itself, "purposing" or "projecting," which comprehends physical planning, and
so on. "They mean," he said, "quite different things, although they all have a common
interest in forethought and organization * *." These last words show that at that
time Mr. Eliot was expecting more than resulted from the New Deal. By 1935 he was
fearing, along with others, that planners might be called "regimenters," a term which
was satisfactorily opprobrious until attention was recalled to the fact that most of the
herding and pushing in our economy is after all done by business for its own purposes,
rather than by government in the public interest. (Cf. R. G. Tugwell, The Battle for
Democracy, p. 193). "Regimenting" had lost its value as an epithet by 1936. There is
a comment, in a recent study by Mr. Rene De Visme Williamson, which places accu-
rately the source of this fear: "Much is heard, from the opponents of planning, about
the dictatorial power that must regiment every detail if our economy is to be planned.
They loudly attack the centralized authority that would jam arbitrary production
schedules down the throats of a liberty-loving people, and even interfere with their
freedom of consumption. It is contentions such as these which have given planning a
bad name in many quarters originally friendly to it. They rest on a very unsound basis
and have their source in ignorance. There can be no doubt, of course, that power is
necessary for every kind of cooperative action, and planning is no exception. But there
lie in the minds of the people who fear planning a number of misconceptions. One of
these is that all power must be dictatorial and oppressive. They forget that the ability
to convince people by reasonable argument, and to appeal successfully to their emotions,
are just as good methods if not actually much better of obtaining intelligent and
enthusiastic support, as to threaten them with the concentration camp and the firing
squad. There are forms of power which a free people would not do away with were it
possible to do so, because they need that kind of power." Plan Age, Feb. 1939, p. 36.
This point is of compelling interest at the contemporary stage of discussion. It is
recurred to later in this paper.

THE FOURTH POWER 3

In other nations no great distinction is made between what is govern-
mental and what is, for instance, industrial. Some American difficulties
doubtless arise from separation: it ensures a struggle for power between
business (which controls most of industry) and government (which must
at least regulate it) a struggle which is in addition to the various competi-
tions within the subsidiary groups of business and government. The
dictatorships, at their extreme, doubtless have their own internal con-
flicts; but not this one. They have recognized that only one sovereignty
can function at any one time and place. Not so in the United States. Inten-
sification of the struggle here to possess this authority has created a
situation which remains wholly unresolved. Modern techniques have
exacerbated the difficulty. Planning, for instance, is available to both sides,
just as it is available to national competitors. Only a planning which,
being transformed, becomes direction, can resolve such a conflict, and
cause it to disappear. But such an instrument is of the nature of govern-
ment whether or not it is known by that name 3 ; and whether or not
it is managed in the public interest. By definition it stretches over the
important conflicts to be quieted among them those existing between
government and industry. But all this is as yet beyond the awareness of
policy makers here.

Idealists will be likely to oppose the dignifying of compromise involved
in this. There are those who will not join in any program which contem-
plates less than immediate and complete communism. There are also those
others who regard government interference of any sort as sinful. This is
a taking of sides which planners of the newer school are required to dismiss
as obsolete, unrealistic and narrowly moralistic. Extremists of both sorts,
they say, proceed from the same basic principles; either, if allowed to
determine policy, is equally destructive. Neither relates policy to actual
working conditions. What almost amounts to civil war has resulted from
these differing opinions, they say; and a little more intensification is likely
to make any kind of mediation impossible. Such objections have at least
the justification that a Marxian type of crisis may well follow further
deepening of this cleavage, a result which seems especially tragic in the
presence of an entirely feasible resolution.

The materials and forces of the nation can be arranged to make a pat-
tern; they can produce incredible benefits; but only if they are managed

3 It may be said that the distinction between free and controlled enterprise is of
the essence of "capitalistic democracy." It may still be that this is an indefensible
distinction. Perhaps it is another of the sort that Mr. Nicholas Murray Butler is fond
of making between "the sphere of government and the sphere of liberty." To accept
such distinctions may be to deny more than appears on the surface. No one, perhaps,
or, at any rate, very few by now, would deny that there is a public interest in business.
The New Deal must have wiped out the last indefilable area. It becomes then a matter
of degree rather than of kind: public enough to be regulated negatively but not enough
to be directed positively, perhaps. But what a far remove even this is from 1928! The
"essence" has been considerably diluted. There is even a tendency now to be a little
shocked ac the joining of capitalism and democracy in a phrase describing present
arrangements.

4 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

with that objective. It will not happen accidentally. There exists an
insistent demand for higher standards which, as things are, makes an almost
intolerable drain on upper and middleclass incomes. Between these pres-
sures public officials are made desperate. Politicians divide nicely on issues
which involve a little more or less, some favoring more benefits, some
striving to reduce expenditures. What pressure is yielded to at the moment
is of less importance than the fact of increasing pressure and increasing
resistance. The only relief in the long run (aside from explosion) must
come from such an increase in benefits and such a diffusion of them as will
satisfy those who are presently below standard without reducing everyone
to misery. It can only be done by greatly increasing production. And this
in turn can only be done by outlawing conflict and enforcing cooperation
just the reverse of the traditional scheme of rewards and punishments.
The gradual apprehension of the possibilities in modern technique together
with the recurrent sinking spells which disgust people with present forms,
customs, morals and leadership, may result in some forcible resolution of
the paradox. But assuming that it does not, evolution must necessarily
be toward cooperative forms, collective customs, pragmatic morality and
technically buttressed leadership; because this is what will give us the
greatest product; and also because this is the only door to the future which
is available to those who regard the avoidance of force as a necessity.

The duties to be undertaken and the problems to be solved, even with
the restricted American view of what is properly governmental, are more
weighty and difficult than ever before. The necessities imposed by this
circumstance, it must be insisted, make simple planning, at least, inevitable.
Regard, for instance, the growth of the federal budget or of municipal
budgets in recent years. This is some sort of index to responsibility. And
if the percentage of those budgets which is devoted to duties thrust on
government (directly or indirectly) by technical change is measured, it is
apparent that the whole growth and perhaps more is of this sort. And
government has hardly begun its extension into industry. It is not that
government has "gone into business," as we say, extensively. On the
contrary, one reason for the recurrent fiscal troubles of government is the
prevalent unwillingness to have anything done publicly for which an
adequate charge can thinkably be made. There are wanted, even by most
tax payers, only such extensions of public service as are unprofitable 4 .

4 Mr. W. J. Vinton makes a biting comment on this. Speaking of the field of price
and of the activities which have been abstracted from it, he says: 'The sphere of public
initiative where social control is predominant is the only field in which planned activities
can go forward ... to tangible results. This is a continually expanding area. Roads,
bridges, harbors, parks, sewers, and water systems are publicly operated. National
defense has been socialized for some centuries and education for a century; while govern-
ment has more recently moved into the fields of public health and social insurance.
All these functions have been abstracted from the price system of private initiative

THE FOURTH POWER 5

Revenue has, therefore, to be got by taxation, a kind of price which is
universally disliked; it is so unpopular, indeed, and the demand for ex-
pansion of non-paying activities is often so great, that administrators are
forever tempted to unbalance their budgets far beyond the amounts put
aside for capital-investment 5 .

The tormented public executive nowadays has a new outfit of tools at
his command. But that seldom makes his situation easier. The same
forces which furnish the new tools furnish tasks which seem beyond the
possibility of successful handling. The same technology which is respon-
sible for teletypes, mechanical snowplows, electric calculators and the like
is also responsible for an increased accident rate, for concentrated dangers
in irresponsible stoppages of work and for the growing burden of home
relief attributable, among other causes, to unemployment. The adminis-
trative head of any government is apt to feel, therefore, after the first few
crises he has to face, that he is required to perform an impossible task
one which expands inevitably at a rate faster than the growth of his power
to cope with it.

It is perhaps illogical to suppose, as has often been pointed out, that a
world created by men cannot be managed by men with tolerable effi-
ciency 6 . But it is necessary that the logic of creation and of management

because their provision by the community as a whole is more efficient and better meets
our social needs.

"Other activities now within the sphere of public initiative have been relinquished
by private initiative because their operation no longer yields a profit. It is surprising
to note how quickly unprofitable enterprises are discovered to be an appropriate field
for government ownership. . . ."

Sweden has had more success with half-way measures than most other countries.
It is interesting to see that many public enterprises there are made to "pay." And
sufficient profit is taken to relieve the national budget in a substantial way. This may
be only another form of sales tax. It is, however, better than private sales taxes which
is what controlled "prices" here amount to, even though these seem, for some reason,
to be more acceptable.

5 Public investment begins to seem the favorite way {to transfer ownership. A
crusade of some sort is required to justify expropriation; and even condemnation is re-
sorted to with reluctance. The difficulty with the investment method is, of course, that
it usually results in the acquisition of deficit-producing properties; this makes financing
harder and induces popular scepticism. Public investment in the "intangibles" of health,
old-age insurance and the like, create even greater difficulties. Trouble in these cases
arises only when budgets are unbalanced for these purposes and the debt expanded. The
expansion of public debt for investment is exactly what is done in private corporation
finance. And it is to be justified by similar results in a transition period. If all industry
were owned by the state a different series of tests would be appropriate.

6 "Planning, like any other idea, involves an assumption; and in this case the
assumption is that the American public or publics, national and local, will by and
large and in the course of time be capable of intelligence in the development of their
territories and be capable of the moral willingness to use that intelligence. Planlessness
is either or both a lack of intelligence or lack of the moral willingness to be intelligent.
The use of planning approach, planning techniques, the development of planning
principles and planning knowledge are consequently a test of the capacity of our people
to be a social organism capable of converting its strength and activities into works of
social utility and social welfare." Mr. Alfred Bettman, Planning and National Recovery,
1933, p. 18.

6 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

should run within the same limits. If one set of men is always making
problems and another set always having to face their consequences, and
if they are responsible to antagonistic principals, the situation may well
get out of hand. Indeed it has. The harassed executive is right who finds
that his problems increase more rapidly than the instruments for their
solution. His solutions are really only to be found in a diminution of his
problems particularly those deliberately created for him as an incident
to irrelevant private conflicts or in the evangelical disciplining of dis-
senters from either one-hundred-percent socialism or perfected individualism.

Democracy is more than the empty word which is used by thoughtless
extollers of our present system. Democracy, as the ordinary citizen feels
it, is less a system, indeed, than a commitment to understood liberties and
duties. It corresponds with any government as religion does with the
various churches which have sought to institutionalize a theology. At its
elemental level it lies deep in men's natures, a latent, ever-ready revolt
against oppression. A formidable attempt has been made to furnish new
content for it to identify it, indeed, with competitive capitalism by
those who have thought this an easy way to secure their capitalistic privi-
leges. This could be successful in a nation where nearly everyone owned
property; or, perhaps, even in one where workers were secure in their jobs;
it has no chance in one where neither property nor jobs can be held with
any certainty of permanence. But there would be no one to foster such a
campaign in the first instance; only in the second. It is bound, therefore,
to fail. And revolt in various guises is certain to rise from latency to
actuality wherever there is oppression.

Planning is quite susceptible of use by autarchies, but it ought not to be
identified with them 7 . For, provided it is subject to the right direction,
it may be capable of rescuing democratic government from many of its
present difficulties. What must be realized, first, of course, is that in the
midst of confused shouting for democracy, much of its substance has
departed 8 . This was the result of identifying it with certain more or
less successful instruments intended for its preservation. Unless there

7 "As for the compatibility of central planning and democracy, planning like any
technique is politically neutral. It may be used by any form of politico-economic
organization. When employed by totalitarian states, it is dictatorial, militarist, author-
itarian. Under a democratically planned collectivism toward which we in America are
moving, scientific planning * * * W HI se ek social objectives set by bodies representa-
tive of the majority and will pursue democratic procedures." Mr. George B. Galloway,
Plan Age, Jan. 1939, p. 29.

8 It ought not to be implied, of course, that we have more democracy than we
actually possess. Authentic American history dictates considerable caution as to the
founders' intentions and as to various shapers' purposes. It is doubtless true that we
have much more political democracy than was ever intended. It has increased with
the years; technology at least had this effect. Yet vast areas of social life have been
withdrawn from the democratic process on the plea of efficiency (which our forefathers
did not stress). These areas are more largely economic than governmental. Perhaps

THE FOURTH POWER 7

develops some willingness to sacrifice the symbols for the substance penalty
must follow. Many peoples have worshipped the brazen calf in mistaken
identification of it with divinity; there is less excuse for Americans than
there has been for some others; but, whatever the excuse, outrage will be
the result and destruction the penalty. Planning can preserve a useful
kind of democracy; it cannot save all the symbols we like to confuse it with.
In certain respects it has to be recognized that the constitution-makers
failed in foresight. They could not foresee the abject dependence of men
on unified social organization and the consequent dangers of conflict.
When they theorized about government, their interest was in protecting
men from it, not, as later generations' was, in protecting men with it.
What was an excellent instrument for the one purpose was not so good
for the other. And now that the need is to function through it rather than
merely being protected by it, it is found to be even less suited to the
purpose. It needs reorganization in many ways but no other can compare
with the necessity for repairing the lack of an agency whose duty is to the
whole and whose interest is in the creation of the future.

Planning is not direction when it is at the service of special interests in
society; it becomes direction only w r hen it can affect economic divisiveness;
becoming a unifying, cohesive, constructive, and truly general force 9 .

the future will show a need for less democracy in government and for more in industry.
That would appear to be a reasonable objective if we are to gain efficiency and keep
liberty. Number ten of The Federalist represented a point of view which is less charac-
teristic of influential theorists than it once was; but those same fears and cautions
concerning popular decision now infect the leaders of industry. There is a whole field
of delegation and selection which still remains to be explored in both industry and
government; but the dangers in the one are not those which prevail in the other. The
dictatorial danger at the moment is industrial and is unlikely to become governmental
unless industry succeeds in appropriating its machinery. The danger in government is
that of ineffectiveness.

9 C/. "A Proposal for National Planning" by Ernest S. Griffith, Plan Age, April
1939.^ Mr. Griffith recognizes clearly the difference insisted on here between "planning"
and "direction." The latter (to which he gives no name) "operates in the area of over-
all economic adjustment and coordination." He is also aware of difficulties both tech-
nical and fortuitous. "So difficult is it and so rare is agreement among authorities as
to the proper procedure in certain major adjustments, that many persons would shun
it altogether. ... On the other hand, one cannot but feel that a sifting or planning
agency, whose purpose it is to represent the over-all view, would be as likely to be sound
in its recommendations as would a hundred pluralistic government bureaus, each with
a partial view, and each pulling in its own direction." And later: "The various special
groups, whose wings would inevitably but to them unjustly be clipped, are the very
groups whose influence is at the center of our present political behavior. They would
Fight as they have never fought before. Such is the prevalence of ... pluralistic
utilitarianism that they might even make common cause and wreck the . . . agency
and its plan. . . ."

Nevertheless he believes that "Leadership (that is, the President under our system)
should have at its disposal a staff agency whose sole function would be to represent the
type of over-all planning, adjustment and coordination under discussion." He appears
to regard direction as a part of the executive function. He gives it certain advisory
responsibilities which could perhaps not be ignored but which could be disregarded.

8 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

Its importance in our affairs was certainly gained through sheer effective-
ness. The fact that this pervasive smoothness and efficiency accentuates
conflicts by making both sides more effective, implies, however, that a
point in its growth and extension is reached at which it must be sub-
ordinated to general rather than special purposes on penalty of its results
becoming destructive to society and incidentally to itself.

Production, assisted by special planning, has increased until it has caused
successively unemployment, mal-apportionment of income, and stoppage
of production a cycle which has been amazingly shortened in the last
four decades. Planning of this sort helped to create surpluses without
doing anything to add proportionate income-receivers (or increasing the
incomes of existing workers) who might use the product. Presumably
direction would avoid this, assuming that its power reached so far, by a
calculated distribution of energy and of benefits as well as by vastly increas-
ing both in the very process of eliminating conflicts. Special interests
such as the steel industry or all farmers taken together or all workers as a
class can "plan" for themselves. Unless their plans evolve into "direc-
tion" they will benefit only that one interest and will benefit it by sacrific-
ing other interests, and, eventually, though they may not realize it, at a
sacrifice to themselves. Planning can be made fruitful only by being allowed
to evolve into a system of foresights, placements, allocations and agreed
uses. It can destroy or it can make whole 10 . Until the discovery is
made that, although it is possible, through planning, for any interest to
gain proportionately over other interests, it can gain more if joined in a
general directive movement, the industrial advance, which promised so
much a short time ago, cannot be resumed. It may already have been
succeeded by decline. For as special interests grow more coherent and
better furnished with planning tools, competition among them becomes
more effective and therefore more ruinous. It seems not unlikely that the
time may already have been reached when social groups must advance
together or regress separately.

Failure of traditional industrial and agricultural policies was made
inevitable because it seemed in keeping with laissez Jaire (which was the
moral imperative) that both industry and agriculture should be allowed

10 Apprehension of this seems to be spreading slowly. A passage from the report
of Mr. J. L. Lewis to the Congress of Industrial Organizations in Convention at Pitts-
burgh in 1938 is an interesting evidence that this may be so. (Note the use here, again,
of the word "direction" in the double sense) :

"Intelligent economic direction: It is becoming obvious that full production in a stable
economy can be created only by intelligent direction which has the power and the will
to coordinate all economic controls toward that single end. Such central direction must
necessarily come from the government. Intelligent direction also of necessity means
planning toward the future. One of the serious defects of the present Administration
has been the failure to coordinate and plan its economic program over an adequate
period. The goal of full production and full employment is one to which it would be
difficult to find open opposition. It is clear, however, that there are many who oppose
that goal through seeking special interests. Only labor, representing the majority of the
people, can guarantee a continuous movement toward full production. Labor must have a
strong voice in the government and in the agencies of the government ..." Some
doubt of this last can be expressed without questioning the wisdom which went before.

THE FOURTH POWER 9

to plan for themselves, if they liked. This was done in the service of a faith
that by so doing a general interest was served 11 . Of course the reverse
is true and in the nature of things. The planning of agriculture, of
industry, of labor, and so on must be done within a directive system or it
will be worse than none at all. The frictions will be greater than the force
generated. And the movement will be backward rather than forward 12 .
Laissez Jaire, no matter where it seems to lead, has true relationships only
with the past. There is no general institution except government. There
is no present power within government capable of thus generalizing
certainly none with which recalcitrant industrialists will consent to co-
operate. Each has tried and failed.

Planning, in the scientific management sense, put at the disposal of
laissez faire institutions, will be destructive if the evolution of those
institutions into a system with conjunctural controls is halted. The flaw
in the relationship between industry and government has been the official
effort to maintain laissez Jaire in industry. The effort was to do it simply
too, without troubling to discover or to control the sources of integra-
tion 13 . The result was similar to the enforcement of prohibition; laws were
passed but they never came to anything in execution. Even the court
assisted in the evasion. Industry has consequently evolved to the point
of readiness for direction. It has even passed that point and started on the
downward curve. Its evolution was halted only at a late moment in its
progress by its inevitable relations with a government which had retained
its devotion to laissez faire and had itself ceased evolving at a more primi-
tive stage. There came a time when something more was required than
official negligence. But except for those executive departments which
represented special interests agriculture, commerce, labor and therefore

11 The inconsistency of the anti-trust acts is merely noted. There will again be
occasion to refer to the problem posed by the fixed belief so prevalent in the social
sciences that whatever advances any interest advances society because society is merely
the sum of many interests.

12 When Veblen was writing his Theory of Business Enterprise at the beginning of
the century (It was published in 1904) he felt that the wastefulness of conflict might
be compensated for by the enormous margin provided for "waste and parasitic income."
Yet "A disproportionate growth," he said, "of parasitic industries, such as most ad-
vertising and much of the other efforts that go into competitive selling, as well as war-
like expenditure and other industries directed to turning out goods for conspicuously
wasteful consumption, would lower the effective vitality of the community to such a
degree as to jeopardize its chances of advance or even its life. . . . While it is in the
nature of things unavoidable that the management of industry by modern business
methods should involve a large misdirection of effort and a very large waste of goods
and services it is also true that . . . pecuniary aims and ideals have a very great
effect, for instance, in making men work hard and unremittingly, so that on this ground
alone the business system . . . makes up for its wastefulness by the added strain it
throws upon those engaged in the productive work." (pp. 64-5).

This was, of course, before business conflict had developed such formidable frictions
and before the application of scientific management had intensified the effect of so
many machine processes. What was merely waste in 1900 had by 1939 become an
exhausting disease.

13 Here again the inconsistency of a Department of Commerce "to foster industry"
on industry's own terms which are "business" terms, of course, is merely noted.

10 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

had exactly the same effect as so many industries, government had stopped
short about fifty years ago. NRA and AAA, as originally conceived, were
attempts to bring government evolution to the final stage before direction.
There might have evolved out of those institutions the first clumsy efforts
at genuine directional progress. It is still all to do.

There was and still is a chance that the directive power might grow
up in another place than government 14 . Representative democracy
always runs the risk that its legislatures will be filled with those who
represent local and private intentions rather than general ones. This
risk has grown greater as special interests have consolidated and grown
stronger. The formation of blocs is one frank admission of this the least
harmful because open. But there are many hidden blocs of which the
public is never made aware. A farm and a labor group are fairly well
distinguished. Its members are not ashamed to acknowledge it. But
there are evident, also, defenses for each of the unified industries which
center there. This does not stop with the legislature, of course. The
lobbyists who are maintained at the seats of government by every special
interest have an influence in the administration of law second only to their
influence in the making of it. Industry, having appropriated to itself the
gains of the new industrial revolution, what could be more natural than
that these should be used in perpetuating the arrangements which had
proved so favorable. Venality among law-makers and timidity among
administrators were not unnatural phenomena. They were results to be
expected from the existing situation.

Regulation, in a representative system, could not wholly succeed. It
was at best a negative harassment, always dependent upon the discovery
of archangels to recruit its personnel, and upon laws which special interests
persistently and successfully sought to weaken. During the time it has
been practiced as the governmental concomitant of laissez Jaire, industry
has almost been able to appropriate the directional power. Success in this
was prevented only by the conflicting nature of business aims. Just when
the stage had been reached at which the remaining controls over all so-
ciety were being reached for, business itself began to tremble and finally
ground to a frictional stop. This gave government what seemed to be its
last peaceful opportunity to recapture its natural powers from progeny
grown stronger than itself.

It was in this extremity that the governmental executive made the most
formidable of recent attempts to modernize itself and to withdraw from

14 CJ. Discussion of identity of business interests with the general good in Veblen:
Theory of Business Enterprise, 293 et seq.

As a general commentary on business and its relations with government, attention
is called to^the functions of that power in business which is in charge of officials called
"directors." This suggests that business has been at least more logical than government;
and even though directors may sometimes not direct, it is generally thought that they
ought to.

THE FOURTH POWER 11

the legislature wholly inappropriate duties. But here the judicial power
entered as the last champion of business, and the determined enemy of
effectual government. Thus it was made plain that the judicial, too, would
need to give up something if the directive were to succeed in being
established. It is clear indeed that none of the traditional powers
would be exempt. To the extent to which each subjects the general
good to the exploitation of private interests its powers would require to be
transferred.

The competitive system, as a system an automatic regulator has
failed. The years since the Great War have seen the intensification of
strain, the perfection of instruments for communication, for transport, for
measurement, the final victory of scientific management, the making
available of marvellous new materials in profusion. And the national in-
come is less at the end than at the beginning. It may be that it cannot be
sustained even at that level except by a system of deficit financing which
will contribute continually to class antagonism 15 . The truth is that
the system of individualistic and uncoordinated businesses is one which
cannot operate successfully in an advanced technical system. It is suited
only to an age of horse locomotion, of communication by post, of heavy
materials, clumsy design and an ignorant personnel 16 .

Business men who are not only educated but in instant touch with the
most remote places, and who, moreover, regiment themselves through a
well-circulated press, will raise their percentage of like actions to the point
of unbalancing everything. And there is no power to stop them, nor any
way to redress the balance. Laissez Jaire has an inherent dependence
upon average deviation. Such a system, undirected, must destroy itself.
But there is a reinforcing danger to which indirect reference has already
been made. As the forces of the system are ranged against one another,
each feels compelled to arm itself with the latest devices. This involves a
heavier and heavier burden of costs. Forests are destroyed daily to provide
the paper for this warfare. Universities are subsidized to provide experts
of various sorts to officer it. And the more efficient it becomes the more
destructive it is. The quicker such a society's progress, the more highly
trained its individuals, the more effectively it subdues natural forces, the
more materials it makes use of the faster it advances toward suicide.
Scientific management, interchangeable parts and series operations were,

15 Here, again, it must be insisted that the only objection is to the incurring of
deficits for other than capital improvements.

16 Sir Henry Bunbury says, in this connection, that 'The negative principles and
methods of laissez Jaire or 'liberal' economy are simply not compatible with the con-
centrations of productive and distributive power which physicists, chemists, biologists,
engineers, financiers, lawyers and accountants have shown us how to create. That is
why most of us are now, in some sense or other and in some degree or other, planners.
We may differ in circumstances, in method, in immediate purpose, in ultimate objective:
but we are all being compelled, some willingly, some with extreme reluctance, to bring
these forces under conscious community control if only to save them from them-
selves." op. cit.

12 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

in other words, exactly such inventions in other fields as the airplane
which now drops bombs on its inventors. Without direction such a
system will run wild and destroy its authors, or else will creak slowly to a
grinding halt.

The articulation of the whole is the emergent need of society. Further
progress cannot be had without it; and regress will set in at once if it has
not already begun unless objections to it are overcome. There is, how-
ever it cannot be denied the alternative of autarchy. This might come
about here by some industrial tour-de-Jorce. It even at times seems more
likely to come about that way, so great is the moral objection to the
enlargement or the revision of governmental powers. Many expedients
already adopted seem to have a sinister concurrence. For example the
successive crises, appearing in different parts of our system, are met by
subsidy, instead of by the extension of government investment. Farmers'
prices are augmented; workers* housing, medical care and old age are paid
for, the merchant marine is built by grant, railroads and airways are
assisted the catalogue of outright grants-in-aid is lengthy even if hidden
subsidies are altogether ignored. What this amounts to is a narrowing of
the base on which the load is carried. The unsubsidized who grow fewer
and fewer are expected to support all the rest by paying taxes. The ruth-
less law of survival has been superseded. A railroad which does not produce
a profit cannot always quit; those who do not use it may be asked to keep
it running for those who do. Industries which will not pay a living wage
are not inevitably killed off. Their workers are supported for them. As
more and more industries run into difficulties, and are admitted to the
business-relief roll, and as, moreover, workers demand higher standards,
the burden falls more and more heavily on what is sometimes loosely
called the middleclass meaning people who contribute to, rather than
subtract from public income. There may come a time when it will revolt.
Society is too squeamishly modern to accept the survival of only the fittest
yet it clings to the competitive system which cannot work without the
free operation of the survival principle. Out of just such economic and
moral difficulties Italy was forced into Fascism and Germany into Naziism.
Will our creditor classes also revolt at some point short of losing all their
privileges to others whom they regard as inferior to themselves?

All this is of the nature of capitalism developing with the nominal notions
of undirected individualism but having really advanced into the beginning
of a new system, as yet unnamed but vigorously rejected by moral leaders
of all sorts. It suggests that reality will need to be accepted; and that
when that is done the other powers of government will need to give up
that exhaustive struggle for advantage among themselves which has been
going on since the adoption of the Constitution. The transition period has
been too long delayed in its early stages. Such events as began in 1929
and still continue are only the precursors of worse ones to come unless
some way out is discovered and vigorously pursued.

THE FOURTH POWER 13

It is by no means novel to suggest that the machine process particularly,
and modern technique generally, determine the nature of any institutions
which may exist successfully in the same world with them. Veblen, for
instance, approached the matter from an anthropological point of view in
the trilogy which began with The Theory of the Leisure Class and ended
with The Theory of Business Enterprise 17 . The traits which characterize
industrial society are, according to him, subversive ones. They have
developed in response to pecuniary rewards imposed on an earlier pro-
duction-for-use. Money profits with their accompanying thrift, savings
and credit-capital survived grotesquely into the era of the machine process
which requires for its efficient operation workmanlike attitudes the
reverse of pecuniary. Conspicuous waste, emulation in consuming, the
dignification of leisure, the perfection of an elaborate ceremonial of sports-
manship and exemption from labor such traits oppose themselves in our
present economy to what he called "the instinct of workmanship." The
pecuniary employments are worse than useless; they threaten our progress.
Their relation to technique is a stifling one; and it is only through technique,
as exemplified by the machine process that we can even survive. The
Theory of Business Enterprise thus sought to show the folly of trying to
dominate the machine process with pecuniary direction.

Veblen completed the structure of his devastating theory before the
beginning of the century. Since then the inner conflicts of our system
have been enormously intensified by scientific management. What was
visible then only to a few, seems plain now to millions. The economics
which dignified the competitive system of enterprise, and which regarded
the speculative business employments as a sufficient directional system
now have a burden of proof to bear which then was borne by dissenters.
It is not far from orthodox today, among serious students, to regard the
planning arts as the only available resource in the crisis which was first
depicted in the Veblenian theory 18 .

It is possible to use planning for public purposes, just as it is possible to
use it for private ones, without involving its arts in the paradox which
lies at the heart of our system. But, especially in public planning, the
difficulty of stopping short of that paradox is like that of stopping a river
as it seeks the sea. This particular river flows down the valleys of depres-
sion. Only a Canute would attempt to hold back the gathering of these
waters on the slopes of history.

17 CJ. Joseph Dorfman: Tborstein Veblen and His America (Ch. XIII); also R. G.
Tugwell: Veblen and "Business Enterprise," The New Republic, Vol. LXXXXVIII,
p. 215, March 29, 1939.

18 It has often been noted that planning exists on several levels. Mr. Charles W.
Eliot 2nd, has, like others, been afraid, evidently, that someone would say what must be
said regarding its movement to the higher ones. He, of course, was fearful that the insti-
tution he felt called on to protect might be involved in the implications suggested here.
That cannot be avoided, even though Mr. Warren Jay Vinton, too, is willing to join the
conspiracy. Mr. Eliot's address was called "The Growing Scope of Planning" and was
made at the May 1936 meeting of the City Planning Institute. Mr. Vinton's remarks may
be found in the Proceedings of the American Society of Planning Officials, 1937, p. 95.

14 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

The contemporary adherents of that reformist strain in American life
which came out so clearly in the Progressive political program are normally
opposed to planning and especially to direction. The reformers do not
want a more efficient industry with all its implications nearly so much as
they want free scope for individualism. Having this aim they fear govern-
mental repression even more much more, it sometimes seems than
compulsions from private sources. This is doubtless more a matter of
emphasis than of outright preference of one system for another; and it is
easily accounted for on historical grounds; but the conflict involved in the
contrasting attitudes has prevented the New Deal, for instance, from
formulating and carrying out a program. It is fundamentally a fear of
regimentation which alienates progressives from a program of planning.
There is another, an inner, conflict which is destroying the old progressiv-
ism. This is the increasing incredibility with which its program is viewed
by realists among the rising generation. Retreat to an atomized industry
in order to gain a theoretical freedom seems to them more and more
unlikely as technical changes cumulate.

Scientific management, of course, had been the rock on which Veblen
had founded his theory. It had seemed to him as early as the beginning of
the century that the advance of technique would determine the character
of society, and that it involved a dilemma which was inescapable. This
was so, not so much because of a mechanistic law in the material universe,
as because human nature made it inevitable. Men were a product of
evolutionary forces. Their responses to the stimuli of the world were what
they were because these responses had enabled them to survive in the bitter
struggles of primitive society. They would narrowly follow their immediate
interests. But this slavishness would lead them to contradictory, indeed
suicidal, actions in a changed, a more complex, world. They would, for
instance (following a deep instinct) invent machines to escape from work,
to give them greater power over nature, to provide a richer store of goods;
but their jealous exclusiveness with these machines, and with the resulting
goods, together with their adherence to standards of ostentation, waste,
sportsmanship and idleness (which had become firmly fixed in primitive
life) would determine that the increasing effectiveness of a machine industry
would only hasten the approach to such a percentage of exclusion from work
and the income which had become attached to it that society would
be submerged.

Others, for instance Patten, who had a brilliance of thought which
equalled Veblen's and who had at least as wide an intellectual following
during the Wilsonian era, took a fundamentally different view of human
nature and consequently of the future of society. When Patten wrote the
famous essay about the beginning of the century in which he divided
history into what he called "pleasure" and "pain" economies that is
deficit and surplus ages he illustrated a more typically American approach.

THE FOURTH POWER 15

The problem once was, he said, that of finding enough to eat and wear;
it had now become that of discovering how to dispose of overflowing
bounties. In contrast with Veblen, however, he took an optimistic view of
the likely end of man. The distinguishing characteristic of human nature,
he felt, was its richness and flexibility. True it was capable of beastly
manifestations, of jealousy, selfishness, hatred, fear and sadism. It was also
capable of generosity, kindness, sympathy, loyalty, cooperation, and
most significant of all of creativeness. All these traits good and bad
existed in men. One environment would call out one set; another environ-
ment would require the other. Nor was it usually a clear-cut matter.
They became mixed. Nevertheless he believed that reformed institutions,
that is institutions which asked of people that they should be kind, intelli-
gent and cooperative, would result in a kind, intelligent and cooperative
race. At present, he said, the difficulty was that modern technique required
men to love and help one another, and to work peacefully together, at the
same time that morals exhibited a lag. Preachers and teachers insisted on
exclusive and jealous ownership, rigorous saving, and tricky dealing. Late
in life Patten even went a step further. Society, he said, was emerging
or could emerge from the surplus or pleasure economy into a character-
istically "creative" one. In the coming years the emphasis would gradually
shift from having to doing, from gaining to sharing, from being to giving.
Standards would be revised. Man had created the technique which made
this possible; he would discover the utility of advancing into the promised
land he had labored to make fruitful.

Because of his optimistic conclusions concerning human nature Patten
did not share Veblen's pessimistic view of the future; nor did he regard
planning, for instance, as merely another technical device which would
hasten the inevitable collision between the immovable object (man's
nature) and the irresistible force (the machine process). He looked on it
as a necessary implement of advance. He did much to further it. He
encouraged many of Taylor's associates and students; indeed the Wharton
School at the University of Pennsylvania, in which he was the moving spirit
during its early years, was almost a school of scientific management 19 .

Contemporary with Patten and Veblen there was another philosopher
whose influence in the matters under discussion was very great. Mr. John
Dewey is as much American as was Patten; but he presents the planners
of the future with a methodological problem which they will be unable to
escape. His view of human nature has been expressed in terms of adapta-

19 It later joined in educating for the competitive business game, but that was
when h had escaped from Patten's leadership. Patten himself not only sought to have
taught more efficient management methods, he also exemplified in his life the belief that
men would become better as their material conditions improved. He fostered social
work, lectured in the School of Philanthropy, and rewrote a whole book of Baptist
hymns to illustrate the new appeals and motives. Peace, freedom from old restraints,
joyous creativeness, the discipline of cooperative work, the satisfaction of helping others
these were the ways by which he sought to usher in a new age. One of his better
known books was called The New Basis of Civilization. It never repaid reading better
than it does today.

16 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

tion. Men learn by doing; they think when they are presented with prob-
lems. They experiment, in other words, and habits and institutions are
shaped by the results of practice. Social arrangements, like machines,
materials or processes in industry, are good if they work; the only way of
judging an instrument is by its utility.

It will be seen that the relation of these attitudes to a system of indi-
vidualism and free enterprise is immediate and easy. Businesses are begun;
they prosper or fail because they are useful or not useful. So it is also with
the changes and reforms appropriate to such a system; they can be tried
without great damage even if they should prove unacceptable. And
something else can be substituted. Success and failure, enterpriser and
reformer, sinner and moralist, move within agreed limits. They do not
disagree fundamentally. The sinner knows his wickedness; the busi-
ness failure accepts the inevitable, reformer and reformed agree on what
is desirable.

But the technical system has brought us to a scale of affairs in which
all these operations, convictions and motives break down and become
confused. A plan for an industry, a city, a nation, is not something which
can be experimented with in the old sense. Much more is involved more
people, more property in a wider space and over a longer time. Damage
is done by mistakes which may be irreparable. But there is another
consideration. The plan or policy cannot be built up from constituent
units. It has to grow out of a concept of a functioning whole. An industry
cannot place its plants, warehouses, outlets, sources of materials without
relation to each other, and it cannot place them without relation to all
other related activities: finance, insurance, communication, substitute
goods, tariffs and the like. A city cannot provide for schools, fire protection,
police, sewers, water and light, and ail its other services except through
what has come to be called a "Master Plan" implemented by control of
the capital budget.

The planner faced with problems of this sort in industry or in govern-
ment is forced to think from the center out, to use a concept of the whole
which will comprehend the parts, to have in mind a vast complex of
meshing arrangements each of which has relation to all others. None, of
course, can undergo experimentation without affecting all. Change
becomes a serious matter, one for reference to a Board of Directors or
to a Planning Commission, and safeguards are thrown about the pro-
cess to insure deliberation and the exercise of a judgment which includes
the whole.

All this reverses many accepted ideas. It is a process unfamiliar, even
uncongenial to the American habit. And Mr. Dewey's canons of thought
become difficult to understand in relation to this new reality. The in-
dividual can no longer exercise his initiative in a matter which affects a
large industry or a planned city. The processes of change are reduced to
an order in which the individual, except as a member of the cooperating
whole, cannot be allowed to function freely, if at all. Others think out

THE FOURTH POWER 17

problems which affect the individual. Since it is contrary to our habit
and since it involves restraints and limitations not envisaged in a view
of life shaped in the old individualism, there are many who dissent from
it, others who are not clear in their own minds about its processes, and
still others who, while using the new devices, appeal to the old ideas,
thus seeking to restrain others in matters where they do not themselves
accept restraint.

It is the planner's task to find ways to plan which shall bring the experi-
mental method, with all its safeguards against long-run error and its dedi-
cation to reality, into the processes of wholeness. At present he is apt to
fall short of complete thinking, being terrorized by the rampant individual-
ists who make as much stir in the contemporary orderly world as would
a pre-historic monster at a Chicago cattle show; he forgets often that
these belong to the past and not to the future; and that they are likely
to die out, moreover, through lack of adaptation. Or he is apt to
respect his plan too much, to admire its physical symmetries, its
concordances and correlations, forgetting that it too, however majestic
and elaborated, is only an instrument by which man hopes to get on
in the world, that it is man-made and should be regarded as mutable,
even if important.

It is perhaps unnecessary to point out the contrasting stages in the
evolution of thoughtful planning at which various social organizations may
be found. It is, however, interesting to speculate on the reasons for the
differences. Everyone knows that efficiency in industry has progressed
infinitely further than it has in government in spite of strenuous attempts
to prevent or to break up integration. And everyone knows that city
government has progressed much further, in spite of frequent corruption,
than has the federal government. Indeed our central government, faced
with the most gigantic of planning tasks and with the immediate necessity
of preventing the disintegration of society, possesses only the most rudi-
mentary mechanisms for the purpose. Is it because of a written Constitu-
tion which has often been too literally interpreted; is it because the natural
divisiveness of a legislature allowed wholly inappropriate powers has
prevented change; or because industrial interests, intent on their own
profitable evolution, have deliberately kept government weak in their own
interest; or, again, because the Federal Government has been kept more
closely under the scrutiny of moralists, educators, and others who were
insulated from the evolution of institutions and who lingered in a half-
imaginary past from which they sought to prevent departure? Whatever
the reason, it is the supreme political tragedy of our time that the central
government should have suffered an arrested development. The instru-
ments of wholeness are not ones which can be invented and perfected over
night. They require long preparation and maturation in a period when
time is the one thing lacking.

18 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

During the years just after the Great War it seemed impossible to
develop a new internal policy. This was true alike of cities, of rural regions
and of the nation as a whole. There was a time when such an agreed policy
existed concerning a wide range of objectives. This was before scientific
management became central to civilization. The old Progressives, the
most powerful of the minority groups, differed very mildly from the
extreme conservatives. They intended to reform existing institutions so
that they might be perpetuated. And this same wish for perpetuation
permeated both city reform and agricultural revolt. There was no desire
for change. On the contrary resentment was concentrated on unwanted
changes, such as those involved in the new big-business, the growing power
of financiers, the concentration of control and the loss of individual inde-
pendence; or, in politics, such practices as expanding business found
necessary in getting politicians out of its way.

Big business often became big by the corruption of government. Never
before the Great War was there any desire to meet the challenge by making
government big. The whole purpose was to make business little again so
that the feeblest controls could handle it, a purpose made abortive by
forces too strong to be combated by the puny powers of an emasculated
government. But the persistent fear of government itself, which led them
to keep it weak, haunted Americans of many sorts. They tended to regard
it as alien to the common life, a threat to liberty and the enemy of the
common man. The tidal rise of concentrated economic power thrust
forward by the surge of basic technical advance formed a terrifying contrast
which the old philosophy did not explain; but moral revulsion against
bigness, courage, expansiveness, spending, even while these characteristics
were developing, induced a national split between wish and fact which
was extremely dangerous for no one could forecast on what or on whom
the resulting bitterness might be poured.

This schisophrenia and the dangers of violence associated with it were
well enough understood by many statesmen. None of them, however, had
the courage to explain that the world had been revolutionized and that
living in it could not continue on the old terms. No one said to the people
"You cannot have a collectivized society if you expect to preserve in-
dividualism in economics and politics." The result was that instead of
preparing for and averting the crisis which the arts of exactitude and the
techniques of management were precipitating, emotions were wasted on
exhortations and repressions. The policy was still the old agreed "no-
policy" of the nineteenth century 20 .

The loudest shouters for this "American way of life" were the very
corrupters of it. Even after the bankruptcy of 1929, they formed the
fantastic "liberty league" which appealed again to the false sentiments of

20 C/. R. G. Tugwell "Notes on the Uses of Exactitude in Politics," Political Science
Quarterly, Vol. LIV, March 1939.

THE FOURTH POWER 19

a miseducated middleclass. But the liberty leaguers were deliberately
fostering traditionalism in government so that its opposite could develop
outside government. Others, the old Progressives, had a more serious and
single-minded purpose. They were eager to attack once more their old
enemies "the interests," though little would come of it. The New Deal of
the reformers, if it did little else, at least succeeded in exposing the short-
comings of mere honesty. Many of the reforms, as they progressed,
precipitated new crises. A bad system honestly run, the reformers learned,
might be worse than one which was corrupt. The slow rise out of the
slough of 1929 and the relapse of ^937, brought into being a terrifying
sense of inadequacy. Diminution of stress on this dangerous moral regula-
tion can make visible the alternative; nothing less than that will be
effective 21 .

Those who are familiar, in a general way, with the forces which were
focused at Philadelphia in 1787, will recognize that the struggle there was
to create an executive which should yet not be able to become a despot.
Even those who, like Hamilton, felt that Congressional committee man-
agement had brought ruin on the country, and that an executive as strong
as Britain's was perhaps more needed here than there, contemplated no
alliance with infallible Deity. The believers in states' rights, like Henry,
and those who feared the loss of personal liberty more than governmental
inefficiency, like Luther Wilson, allied themselves with an even more
powerful group led by Roger Sherman. They had little difficulty, really,
in preventing the executive from becoming what even Washington believed
would soon be needed. Hamilton had so little hope of prevailing that he
stayed away during most of the meeting and let the deliberations conclude
themselves without much help from him. It was a curious alliance of
literary folk and speculative merchants who prevented British ideas from
prevailing. Madison had read too many French books and Roger Sherman
had read too few of any kind. The balance of powers within government
which was finally worked out was deliberately intended. By one group it
was thought of as an excellent device for ensuring deliberation, dignity and

21 In speaking here of "a directive" and in other places of the three traditional
powers, the author seems to be consenting to a kind of conceptualism in political theory
which, in fact, he believes to be responsible for many of our institutional maladjustments.
This hard and fast division may be useful for purposes of analysis but when, by the
literal-minded, it is applied to government structure it may have devastating con-
sequences. Judges, administrators and other policy-makers sometimes come to have
such fixed ideas that nothing new is possible unless it fits the old classification. Sug-
gested arrangements are not condemned because they are undesirable as mechanisms
but because they are undesirable as ideas. Some of the older city planners suffered
from this compulsion. It is probably dangerous for a modernist to use such devices at
all even in the interest of easier approach to problems. The writer expects that the
divisions he has set up here will return to haunt him. He gives warning that they
may not be used legitimately to defend the prerogatives of planners beyond the useful
limits of contemporary necessity.

20 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

a circumscribed sphere of action; by the other it was known to insure a
minimum of interference with business. (Roger Sherman was a Supreme
Court Judge in Connecticut; but he was also a merchant with headquarters
in three different cities).

Deliberation of the regulator seems to the regulated a valuable virtue.
American speculative classes have never regretted the weakness of the
executive or the invention of an upper legislature whose feud with the
executive is endless. The compromise which resulted in the Senate is re-
sponsible for the curious discrepancy between what is expected of the
Presidency and what any incumbent of that office is able to deliver; for
weakness of government is identical in most minds with weakness of the
executive. It is almost true to say that our system is lacking an executive.
The President has had, by reason of his party leadership, by his more
direct relationship with the people, and because only he represents all the
people, far more responsibility than power. Everything is expected of
him; he can accomplish only as much as he can persuade a normally
recalcitrant Senate to approve.

If as the result of some national crisis war, say, or frightening depres-
sion the United States should undertake, in another constitutional
convention, to admit to our system the directive which has been spoken
of here, it would be merely an extension of the requirements our fore-
fathers knew of but failed to meet in 1787. The necessity for compromise
seemed to them, as it often has to others, controlling. What was needed
then was some remedy for the divisiveness of a legislature which was a
welter of unresolved conflicts, and which tried to govern through a system
of committees themselves composed of representatives with essentially
local interests. This condition made national administration impossible
and was bringing the nation into serious foreign disrepute. The growth of
conflict in those areas which are outside formal government, but which
affect government in its most vital relationships, together with that un-
resolved conflict within government between the President and the Senate,
are again emasculating the national administration at a time when tech-
nique has made industrial functions irrecoverably national; and they
threaten, for all our present prestige, to bring us again into disrepute
abroad. So do unsolved questions return for answers until workable solu-
tions are found.

THE FOURTH POWER 21

During the years in which the profession of planning has had its growth,
members of the profession have no doubt had difficulty in confining it
within areas which could be exploited profitably, resisting suggestions of
its conjunctural usefulness, for instance, and seeking to keep it closely
under the domination of executive or legislative. That, at least, is often
said of them. It has become clearer as time has gone on that public plan-
ning must be limited to physical layputs, and to a mild kind of zoning, if
only the profitable areas are to be occupied. And even these, when sub-
jected to the immediate interests of real estate or financial speculators
have often ended their existence on paper or have been perverted to anti-
social uses. On the whole the tendency toward the subjection of these
private interests to social necessity has perhaps been resisted by the
planners as much as by others who cannot be said to have been pro-
fessionally informed. Much has been said and written to show how
modest the profession is, how no more than "advice" is intended, and
how the "democratic process" is respected; some of this may have
been for practical purposes, but there must have been a residue of
genuine misunderstanding.

This withdrawing attitude has tended not only to placate rapacious
speculators but, as well, to reinforce ebullience, whimsicality, and favoritism
among elected officials at a time when those could ill be afforded. The
habit of providing public works with generous gestures regardless of the
per capita service they may give has accompanied the speculator-induced
migration of populations to those places where cheap undeveloped land
could be had. There has followed the inevitable demand for services
already provided in older sections and impossible to diminish. One result
of this has been large increases in city expense budgets at a time when
population was growing at a reduced rate, a situation greatly dreaded by
city officials. In the Federal Government it has resulted in enormous
contributions to state-aid systems (roads, welfare, social security, housing,
etc., etc.) with only minimum control over the standards to be maintained
or the pattern being created. In great measure this same unguided specula-
tive impulse accounts for the unforgivable exploitation of the public
domain and latterly for the development of the "Dust Bowl" and other
similar problem regions.

For the state of public budgets everywhere as well as wasted resources
the planners have to share responsibility. It is of course true and this
was the motivation of many that if they had claimed more authority
they might have been deprived of any. Still, even in this event, the
situation could hardly have been worse.

A change seems to be impending. The capital budget in the City of
New York has been confided to the Planning Commissions and the indica-
tions are that a Federal capital budget will soon evolve. There has been
no suggestion as yet that it may be entrusted to the planners, but it seems

22 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

not impossible that it may be at some future time. This last would be a
significant change in our governmental structure, especially if the Congress,
as is true of the legislative in the City of New York, should retain only
the power to reject by a three-quarters vote. A city has very restricted
power to affect economic life it is much more limited, for instance, than
is the federal government in creating credit, though it can do so, with
state permission, for certain purposes. The federal government could
hardly effect a transition to a successful public management, for instance,
if that should seem necessary in some cases, so long as legislative com-
mittees continue to interfere after their peculiar habit. It will be even
more difficult to effect the transition to conjunctural control unless some
long term body under the discipline of fact rather than local electorates
with divided interests can be entrusted with the task.

These are matters which have to do with institutional change. The
question whether such a change may be brought about within the time
still allowable is one which is as yet unsettled. It illustrates what is perhaps
the worst defect of democracy. For the democratic process depends on
what we call education, meaning persuasion, and this in turn depends, to
an extent which is appalling, on the engaging of an interest which has
been able to accumulate wealth and so can carry on an expensive propa-
ganda. The fact to be faced here is that no interest which has been so
favored will desire to institutionalize directive activities. A directive would
be bound to suppress the favoritism. It is utterly unrealistic to assume
that any individual, group, foundation, university, association, or party
will seek to further a limitation of its activities or prerogatives. It is likely,
therefore, that many private interests will be engaged from now on in
efforts to prevent the establishment of social management rather than to
further it, and that not many will be found to be even neutral.

The only interest which can be expected to be engaged in its favor will
be government, and, of government, only the executive; and even the
executive can be looked to for only a limited approval. The interest of
the lower income groups, comprising some eighty-five percent of the
population can, in the nature of our existing arrangements, similarly find
response to a rising demand for security and well-being only in the execu-
tive. As things are, Congress tends on the whole to represent the well-to-
do among its constituents, or, if not the more prosperous, at least the
more vociferous, who have come to be called pressure-groups. Nor is a
Congressman usually selected for his national, but rather for his local
views. Under the circumstances the hope of greater national income, and
of well-being for the masses, centers in the executive; he may possibly
learn that these objectives can best be gained by the fostering of long-run
and general as opposed to immediate and private interests. And so may
be led to foster an agency which undoubtedly will come to limit the
executive himself if it is allowed to grow.

THE FOURTH POWER 23

Why, it may be asked, would not simple strengthening, now, of the
executive furnish the required solution? The answer is that this is precisely
what may be expected to happen at first, but that certain elements of
unsuitability will become more significant as time passes. The executive
had difficulty in finding a constitutional place. Reaction from divine right
had carried all the way over to government by legislative committee; even
this was a reluctant modification of "tovn meeting" rule; it was less devised,
indeed, than reached inch by inch as necessity demanded; its sponsors
hoped that it might turn out to be a sufficient step toward executive man-
agement and yet not too far from pure direct representation. This ineffec-
tual committee administration in the Continental Congress opened the
way to the tri-partite government which was adopted in the convention.
And it is out of just such another failure that a fourth power may arise.
The long duel between the executive and the upper legislative, which
resulted from one of the worst defects of the Constitution, has refused to
resolve itself. The executive cannot give way and the Senate will not.
Markets, as transport and communication have improved, have become
nationwide; industry, as new management devices have been invented, has
adopted central control over decentralized operations; the workers' goods
and the farmers', as well as the funds to buy them with, emerge from a sys-
tem of which their knowledge is limited and in which they have little influence
the arts of self-sufficiency for which Americans once were noted vanished
when direct contacts between producer and consumer were broken.

The common man has had to find a friend in his new helplessness. Self-
reliance was once a useful virtue; it leads straight to the park bench and
the flop-house in an advanced industrial system unless, that is, some
powerful intervention occurs. And even if self-reliance ceases to be indi-
vidualistic and becomes collective, it results, as costs rise, in the elimination
of every task possible and in unemployment as a consequence 22 . Such
emergencies as sudden widespread increases in unemployment cannot be
met after they have arisen; and the adequacy of institutions ought not to
be judged by the way crises are met, but rather by the number there are.
This is only another way of phrasing the old aphorism that nations with-
out a history are happiest 23 . The idea of a directive power is growing,

22 The separation of income from its traditional source in private work which is
thus precipitated is proving difficult; as the machine process has mastered industry it
has become more and more necessary that the separation should take place in our think-
ing as well as in fact. But it seems to require a tour-de-Jorce for which the way is opened
only by near-disaster. The Federal Executive, operating with incredible handicaps,
has lately succeeded in creating some institutions for this adjustment. Some municipal
executives have had even more success. But in the very process the executive has
invariably demonstrated the lack which the directive needs to supply. This is not a
matter of inefficient administration. It is a matter of whimsical (or political) distribu-
tion, of mistaken timing, of over-and-under adequacy, of mistaken objectives or of
deliberate misinterpretation on the part of others.

23 A passage from a recent address of Mr. Lindsay Rogers has a double apposite-
ness: "Ten years before the Thirteen American Colonies declared their independence,

24 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

really, because Americans have had too much history. They are sick of
dangers and of insecurities perhaps a little tired, too, of that showy third
power with which our forefathers supplemented their everlasting ineffec-
tive committees. They realize that the executive has befriended them against
an industrial tyranny which the legislative and the judicial condoned
even sometimes aided. But they have a racial memory which runs back
to times when the fatherly friend grew tired in his struggle with the nobles,
or when he lacked ability at any rate when he too became the instru-
ment of their masters. And if memory fails they have contemporary
demonstrations abroad of the losses as well as the gains from executive
domination.

The directive is beyond doubt related most closely to the executive.
Necessarily, however, to assume its effective place it would need something
from the legislative and the judicial. The extent of this taking is not yet
clear. Direction is by nature pragmatic and its growth may well be mea-
sured by necessity, though it has to be understood that so long as it stops
short of conjunctural management it is not truly directive and is wholly
incapable of gaining the results hoped for from it. Some indication of
the executive loss can be had by contemplating the uses of the capital
budget 24 in an increasingly collective state. For that inevitably would
be under directive control; it must, if enlarged services are to flow from
government to its citizens. They cannot be produced without managed
investment. And this is the less insistent, perhaps, of the two great reasons
for this change, the other being the need for distributing the benefits of
productivity in such a way as to ensure continuity. The recurrence of
paralytic strokes in our productive mechanism cannot indefinitely be sur-
vived. What is required to avoid them is such an apportionment of claims
as will allow people to use all the product. A basic task of a full directive
would be to ensure continuous maximum output of goods 25 . Currently
there is being used the crude device of throwing government payments

Beccaria published his famous treatise on Crimes and Punishments. I do not cite the
book because of its title because municipalities have committed economic or adminis-
trative crimes in respect of their rapid transit policies, and have inflicted punishments
on riders who must descend into the bowels of the earth in order to travel rapidly. I
refer to Beccaria because he used a phrase which has since been repeated in various
forms. 'Happy,' he said, 'is the nation without a history.' Montesquieu, Jefferson,
and Carlyle all expressed similar opinions which derived from or paralleled Beccaria's
epigram. In one of her novels, George Eliot suggested that, like nations, women are
happiest if they have no history. Who will deny that the happiest cities are those which
have no subways those which have been so planned that rapid transit is not a con-
tinuous insoluble problem? By this standard few cities are happy." (Havana, October
1938.) Mr. Rogers thus not only confirms a historical reference but also agrees that one
good way to solve problems is by planning not to have them.

24 Sometimes called an "improvement" or "investment" budget.

26 The production of claims and the production of goods must be made to run
concurrently and to achieve a rough balance; what "freedom of enterprise" there can
be in the future (as we now understand the phrase) must survive within this formula.

THE FOURTH POWER 25

into the balance whenever purchasing power declines 26 . The difficulty
with this is that although some declines resemble sinking spells, the secular
trend itself may be downward. The power to unbalance the expense
budget is not a resource which can be used to correct permanent un-
balance 27 . That it should be suggested betrays continued adherence,
against all reason, to the notion of a meliorative principle guiding affairs
a principle which is assumed to operate, apparently, no matter what follies
are committed.

It had been expected, no doubt, that the executive would command this
field. There was reason to think so. Its representative was the people's
champion against an irresponsible upper house and reactionary courts.
As such, more and more power was flowing to him. The whole develop-
ment of administrative law was not only a delegation of legislative func-
tions but an important exclusion of the judiciary. Yet institutions were
little changed. In all save a few municipalities the fatal flaws of log-rolling,
geographic compromise, demagogic clinging to empty moralisms, and
sheer ignorance of complex arrangements still persisted. These defects
plainly destined the legislative to a place in our system where its good
qualities might come uppermost and its defects be minimized. The judi-
ciary also, it seemed clear, was to find itself confined to law and excluded
from social management. And in all this the executive seemed exalted.
Yet the federal government, at least, fell into the bad habit of regarding
most executive departments as representatives of special interests. This
was perhaps inevitable but certainly wrong. In itself, it would disqualify
the American executive for the function of direction. That power, in such
case, merely represents, in microcosm, the conflicts of all society. It can
assert no leadership because it cannot finally resolve the central paradox.

Yet, so far as the federal government is concerned, this is more seeming
than real. The American President is called the "Chief Executive." That
is more a courtesy title than anything else, for the paralysis of double
responsibility among the President's helpers has seriously undermined even
the modest intention of the 1787 compromise. It began with the Treasury
whose Secretary was made to report direct to Congress and yet was part
of the executive establishment. In adding new departments in late years
the aggressions of the Congress have become bolder. The prescriptive
enabling acts have placed congressional committees in a position with
respect to interference in executive functions, and especially as concerns
minute budgetary items, which practically abstracts the cabinet officers
from the President (he cannot even choose them without ratification) and
makes them responsible to committees. This limitation on the President
is a more severe one than is generally recognized. He is forced to gain his

26 These issue as grants or as loans with equal effect on a current situation. Of
course the maturities of loans in a given period enter into a calculation of net purchasing
power.

27 It becomes, in such case, a capital tax, but one which destroys resources rather
than transfers their ownership to the public.

26 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

power, not as a free executive officer but as a party and legislative leader.
He must pay with jobs for his legislative support if his program is even
to be begun ; and he almost inevitably loses this faithless adherence before
the third year of his administration. He can hold things together from
then on only through a popular support which recalcitrant Senators dare
not flout openly.

A reform of the Federal Government which restored to the executive the
powers without which he cannot execute anything would be a tremendous
gain. A revitalizing impulse would flow through bureaucracies filled with
Congressional appointees who often feel little or no responsibility to their
superiors. No serious function can be carried on with a raddled and
disloyal personnel; in our system it is a perpetuation (unlocked for in the
constitutional make-up) of the committee management of the Continental
Congress; it failed then and it would always fail through lack of loyalty
and discipline. For this reason it seems likely to be corrected.

Perhaps, with these considerations in mind, the suggestion that a
strengthened executive would be sufficient can be looked at more clearly.
If he had the full powers which belong to his office and are necessary to its
satisfactory operation, other defects would appear. They can be seen now
in some cities and states. There is no denying the fact that democracy
frequently turns up irresponsible demagogues with regularity as elected
executives; and even that corrupt and venal candidates sometimes have a
temporary success. Not all American Presidents would have seemed as
adequate as they did seem if their duties had been more exacting. A
power is needed which is longer-run, wider-minded, differently allied, than
a reformed executive would be. This new agency would need to be severely
hedged about with limitations on qualification, the persons chosen would
need to be given longer-term appointments than any other except judicial
officials, but with the canons of selection carefully worked out, a body use-
ful to democracy and not farther removed from its rewards and penalties
than would serve to resolve its worst paradoxes and to protect it from itself,
ought to be feasible. But it would have to be beyond and independent of
the executive almost as certainly as the legislative.

THE FOURTH POWER 27

It was intimated earlier here that the establishing of the directive might
take place in evolutionary fashion and that the incidents of its history
might very well be undramatic. This is perhaps more to be hoped for
than expected. It should be understood that the enmity of the presently
existing powers is likely to be lively and vigilant. The executive, especially,
will be in a position to prevent planning from rising toward direction.
For the executive, planning will be useful, but only so long as it can be
carefully subordinated. The planning functions will, for this reason, be
divided: they will be fostered only sporadically, and frequently, perhaps,
abandoned.

For these reasons it may be over-optimistic to anticipate an evolutionary
development. There is also another reason. Looking back at the Con-
stitutional Convention of 1787 and the relation to the events there of the
rise of the executive, it can be seen that before the convention there existed
only demoralization of government together with widespread demand for
a new national effectiveness. The executive itself had no existence and
could not begin its evolution toward the present status until it had been
brought into being. The present situation seems disturbingly similar.
This is sometimes not understood, because it is felt that the arts of planning
have more significance than really belongs to them. It is no more accurate
to confuse planning with direction than it would be to confuse measure-
ment, for instance, with experiment, or steam with power. Direction
depends on the planning arts; it grows directly out of them; but it is rather
a social than an engineering or a statistical device. It can have no existence
apart from government nor any uses which are not general.

Whether direction, as distinct from planning, can find any sort of place
at all in our system without such previous chaos as brought about the
Constitutional Convention, and whether its evolution can actually begin
until its governmental institution has come into being, it is difficult to
say 28 . The analogy is something less than perfect because partly within
and partly without the old divisions, institutions for partial direction have
already come into being. A beginning might be made by recognition of
these agencies wherever they are and drawing them together in such a
concordance as would recognizably be that thing which now exists only in
men's minds, perhaps in amorphous and undetermined form, just as the
executive did in the trying years before 1787.

Government was made necessary by the previous growth of society.

28 "It is a faith . . . even though perhaps blind, that experiment within a dem-
ocracy, if as intelligently guided as our institutions and processes can allow, will
help to resolve the confusion of our times, will clear the fog that envelopes our habits
of thought, and will reduce conflict, that causes many to maintain an interest in plan-
ning . . . our task is to clarify the methods, reveal the choices, foster the attitudes,
and implement the procedures of planning as an approach to economic life in a group-
conscience sense, seeking at the same time the development of a philosophy and ration-
ale of economic effort which is cooperative in its central drive." Mr. Arthur G. Coons,
"Economic Planning in Democracy," Plan Age, Feb. 1939, p. 57.

28 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

The kinds of government, the changes in its composition and operation,
were determined by the kinds of society in which it was expected to serve.
Ours by now is a society of an intricate sort, dependent upon the smooth
functioning of complex arrangements which by default have been left
largely to the control of those who use them not for the purposes they
serve but for extraneous private ones. It is the failure of private aims to
coincide with the provisions of goods and services on acceptable terms
which has caused the serious deviation of the system from the expectations
held out to us by the economists who identified the pursuit of private
advantage with the public good. The illogic of this has been pointed out
repeatedly; its consequences have been suffered repeatedly, too, and with
increasing intensity. But neither illogic nor suffering has resolved the
conflict in men's minds 29 Simple reasoning betrays the false basis of
present arrangements. But it has become encysted in a moral and aesthetic
system which seems precious, even to those who may have no stake in its
favors, because of its familiarity. It contains aphorisms learned in youth;
it has guided conduct for generations. Can it be thrown away for a doubtful
new philosophy which offends many allegiances ? 30 . The penalties of
keeping the old system are, like the erosion of our soil, too slow to be fully
experienced in any one generation. Even in crises when there is terrible
suffering, the worst is never undergone by those who might become the
prophets of a new philosophy, or who might be expected to become re-
sponsible for new arrangements. Those who prosper as things are become
more and more powerful: questionings are smothered, when they are not
suppressed; the avenues to the public mind are choked with praises of the
present arrangements and of the apologists it breeds so profusely. It often
seems hopeless to expect that the needed change will be allowed to occur.
There is only the hard fact of regression, and the unwillingness, in spite of
soothing argument, among the disadvantaged, to accept any lowering in
their standard of life. The present system probably cannot be reasoned
out of existence. If it disappears it will be because its favorites will have
conceded so much to rising revolt that its advantages will be emptied of
privileged content. The new system may substitute itself for the old
without clear recognition.

Assuming that the executive first, perhaps, and then the directive, may
be allowed in time to occupy fully its logical ground, it must, in order to
carry out its generalizing purpose, assume preferential control of improve-

29 This is again the Veblenian conflict between "workmanship" and "pecuniary
advantage."

30 VebIen once said in a review of Oscar Loyell Triggs' Chapters in the History of
the Arts and Crafts Movement (Journal oj Political Economy, referred to in Dorfman,
op. cit . p. 204) : ' The machine process has come, not so much to stay merely, but to go
forward and root out of the workmen's scheme of thought whatever elements are alien
to its own technological requirements and discipline. It ubiquitously and unremittingly
disciplines the workman into its way of doing and therefore in its way of apprehending
and appreciating." But a different discipline entirely habituates the business class, of
course, to the discipline of wasteful consumption. The worker is torn between the desire
to emulate his superiors in status and the requirements of his trade.

THE FOURTH POWER 29

ment projects additions to the capital structure of governments; it must
also be able to ensure the subordination of private interests to social ones.
This is true both of city and nation. Where necessary to effectuate this,
it must, if it is to become really social, be able to suggest the substitution
of public for private ownership or operation; and it should do this freely
wherever regulation fails to subordinate private to public interest. It
could be trusted, in all this, with less than complete authority. But the
legislative should have to refer projects to it, as should also whatever
regulatory agencies may exist; and then be unable to override its recom-
mendations by less than say a two-thirds, or, at any rate a preponderant
vote 31 . The executive should be confined to preparation of the expense
budget and to strictly defined execution; the judiciary should have no
power of definition or of review of its findings 32 .

One of the features of the laissez-faire system is that it seems to permit
escape from penalties nature imposes for violation of her laws. Or, if this
seems like an old-fashioned way of putting it in a generation which has
escaped the rule of what once were regarded as natural laws, the thought
can be put in another way: Laissez Jaire is so disconnected, and
causes and effects throughout the system are so apparently unrelated, that
management of affairs without reference to "the state of the industrial

31 This was the suggestion in the so-called Hoover Model City Planning Bill, of
1928, which has been adopted in several cities. Nothing is to be gained, of course, from
being unrealistic about the present situation. In the Federal Government the National
Resources Planning Board, as it now is, has gradually evolved out of the old Equaliza-
tion Board which was set up during Mr. Hoover's administration to do forward plan-
ning for public works. It is obviously becoming the central planning agency for the
whole government. Much planning is separately done in Agriculture, Commerce, and
other agencies. Often this is of high quality; but it needs the coordination which the
Planning Board will doubtless supply.

The states, many of them, have Planning Boards subsidized through the Resources
Board but none amounts to anything from the directive point of view.

It is in the cities that most progress has been made. Indeed the profession of planning
is largely understood to mean city planning. But, although there are several hundred
cities which pretend to maintain an agency for this purpose, they are (i) unpaid citizen
boards which have been captured by realtors or lawyers; or (2) ex-officio boards which
are treated with contempt by the department heads which comprise them; or (3) they
have only "advisory" powers, after the pattern recommended by Mr. E. M. Bassett,
et al. (In Model Laws for Planning Cities, Counties, and States, Harvard University
Press, 1935).

In the new charter of the City of New York there has been provided a full-time
commission which has been given, in addition to zoning powers, the duty of creating
a master plan and the task of preparing a capital budget with which to implement it.
This latter is subject to a three-quarters modification vote in the Board of Estimate
but otherwise is difficult to influence or modify. This is the longest step yet taken.
Such a federal agency still seems far off. There is even a difference in theory. The
President's Committee on Administrative Management (which reported in 1937) seems
to regard planning as a staff function of the executive, along with a budget bureau and
a personnel agency. A President's Committee might be expected to take this view.
It has so far prevailed: under Reorganization Plan No. i, submitted on April 25, 1939,
the National Resources Planning Board was established within the Executive Office.

32 Any such specification as this is to be regarded as suggestion for beginning
arrangement to be tried in practice and to be changed freely as experience accumulates.
It might be pointed out, however, that there is considerable experience already in the
city field.

30 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

arts" is possible 83 . Of course it is not. And the penalties are always
paid, although they may not be paid by the people who are responsible
for incurring them, nor within any short period of time. To all this a
putative directional system stands in complete contrast. It makes of
industrial society a continuum in which causes and effects are clearly
related 34 and in which penalties are traced directly to violations. In
this sense the directive system can be said to be a regimented one 35 .
The regimentation is, however, imposed by nature and by the state of the
industrial arts, not by any individual or any group. The part of the
planner in it is merely one of recognizing and submitting to nature and
existing technology 36 .

The directive indeed is subject to much more rigorous limitations than
might be gathered from what is said about planning by representatives of
the other powers of government who recognize so few limitations that they
find difficulty in appreciating the situation of a power which by its nature
is subject to the control of existent fact and circumstance. If the directive
is examined in a detached way, it is seen at once that it cannot become an
arbitrary regimenting power, but must always be ruled by the necessity
for deliberately gathering up wisdom from wherever it may come, and for
applying it under the most strictly given conditions. This gathering-up
process can only be accomplished by a rigorously fixed procedure of expert
preparation, public hearings, agreed findings, and careful translation into
law which are in turn subject to legislative ratification. The directive

33 This is like the escape of every first generation of farmers on new land from the
penalties of soil mining.

34 To use a phrase from Veblen the planner is "required to administer the laws
of causal sequence. . . ." Theory oj Business Enterprise, p. 313.

36 "... the opponents of planning wrongly assume that planning must in-
evitably increase the total power now in use throughout our social order, whereas it
might very well lead to a mere redistribution of that power without any enlargement of
it at all." Mr. Rene DeVisme Williamson, "A Theory of Planning," Plan Age, Feb.
1939, P. 36.

36 His methods too, though they may seem erudite to the uninitiated are a simple
growth from common thinking. Mr. C. E. Ayers in a recent discussion of Mr. John
Dewey (New Republic, LXXXXVII, 1259, p. 306, 18 January 1939) makes this point
concerning all the instrumental arts, quoting the following well-known passage from the
Essays in Experimental Logic:

"This point of view knows no fixed distinction between the empirical values of
unreflective life and the most abstract process of rational thought. It knows no fixed
gulf between the highest flight of theory and control of the details of practical con-
struction and behavior. It passes, according to the occasion and opportunity of the
moment, from the attitude of loving and struggling and doing to that of thinking and
the reverse. Its contents or material shift their values back and forth from technological
or utilitarian to esthetic, ethic or affectional. ... In all this there is no difference of
kind between the methods of science and those of the plain man. . . . The funda-
mental assumption is continuity in and of experience."

Veblen certainly did not regard himself as a pragmatist. In fact he felt that the com-
mon sense of this attitude was pre-Darwinian and that it supported the classical attitudes
he was striving to break down. Dewey's position that the thinking of common men
blossomed out into science was, however, very similar to Veblen's position. Labels
aside, the approach of theae two was very similar.

THE FOURTH POWER 31

has an advantage over the executive from not having to operate any or-
ganization, over the legislative from not representing any faction or
region, and over the judicial from dealing with a volume of fact rather
than a volume of precedent 37 .

The margin of safety which the community possesses in entrusting power
to the directive is widened by its persistent orientation to the future, a
future discovered by charting the trends of the past through the present.
And this projection is not subject to opinion or to change as a result of
pressure from special interests. In thic forecasting of the shape of things
to come, it can succeed, aside from maintaining the most honorable relation
with facts, only by possessing and using the most modern techniques for
discovering them. It thus has an interest in progress and in modernization
which is quite different from the traditional interests of the other powers.
The discipline of fact is a more impressive one than the discipline of legal
ethics or even of a watchful constituency 38 .

All this is of the nature of theory at present, since there are few instances
in which governments of any sort have admitted the directive to effective
status. It seems clear, however, that if the directive is permitted to evolve,
these will be features of its operation. It may thus establish a genuinely
social policy, as contrasted with private policies, dictated by contemporary
resources, techniques and circumstances rather than by political expediency;
tuned to the universe, the continent, the region, and the times, rather than
to an imaginary environment in some past Utopia for speculators in private
advantage. It will not be pursued because it suits a whim, a prejudice, an
economic interest or a political gain. It will be distilled with modern
devices from the then controlling conditions for the success of society.
It will take account of all there is to work with and allow itself to be
guided only by the interests of all there are to work for. It appears to be
the best way, in a modern society, of carrying out the brave commitment
made in the preamble to the American Constitution.

37 It is perhaps significant in this connection, also, that the choice of members
for any likely planning body would be made necessarily from a group at least as highly
qualified and restricted as is true of the iudiciary. An understanding of the contrast
in point of view between the politician, the jurist or the business man as over against
the planner can be got by reading the passages in The Theory of Business Enterprise
which begin on p. 318. The planner is simply under a different discipline.

38 VebIen described the discipline of the machine industry in similar terms: 'The
discipline of the machine process enforces a standardization of conduct and of knowledge
in terms of quantitative precision, and inculcates a habit of apprehending and explain-
ing facts in terms of material cause and effect. It involves a valuation of facts, things,
relations and even personal capacity, in terms of force. Its metaphysics is materialism
and its point of view is that of casual sequence." (Theory of Business Enterprise, pp.
66-7). If this seems strikingly like the discipline under which the planner works tnat
is because the discipline actually is identical. Planning grows out of measurement,
exactitude, repetivity, and so on, all principles on which the machine process also rests.
They are related parts of the modern culture. To speak of planning as cold, arbitrary,
a regimenting force and so on, as its detractors like to do, is merely to object to precision
as a substitute for whimsy, to measurement as a substitute for rule-pf-thumb, to rep-
etivity and exchangeable part manufacture for craft work on the medieval pattern.

Planning and
Civic Comment

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

CONTENTS

Page
New National Resources Planning Board 1

Editorial Comment: Hope Deferred on the Kings Canyon Na-
tional Park; What Express Parkways Are Doing to Bill-
boards; A Patriotic Duty 2

Regional Planning in Harrisburg Area 5

Zoning Round Table: How Generous? 8

Strictly Personal 10

For Better Roadsides 11

The Summer Program in Planning at M. I. T 13

Notes on National Resources Planning Board 14

Progress in U. S. Housing 16

State Park Notes 17

President and Director of NCSP to Prepare Study of National
Capital Parks 21

New Land Acquisition Program for Cook County Forest Pre-
serve District 22

Eastern Regional Conference of NCSP 24

Recent Court Decisions 25

Watch Service Report 27

The International Congress at Stockholm 28

National Park Conference An Unusual Opportunity 29

Conservation Education in the Northwest 30

Recent Publications . .31

JULY- SEPTEMBER 1939

PLANNING AND
CIVIC COMMENT

Published Quarterly

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

Official Organ of: American Planning and Civic Association,
National Conference on State Parks

SCOPE: National, State, Regional and City Planning; Land and Water Uses;

Conservation of National Resources; National, State and Local Parks,

Highways and Roadsides.
AIM: To create a better physical environment which will conserve and develop

the health, happiness and culture oj the American people.

EDITORIAL BOARD

HARLEAN JAMES FLAVEL SHURTLEFF CHARLES G. SAUERS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

FREDERICK J. ADAMS ELISABETH M. HERLIHY

HORACE M. ALBRIGHT P. J. HOFFMASTER

HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW HENRY V. HUBBARD

EDWARD M. BASSETT JOHN IHLDER

RUSSELL V. BLACK RAYMOND F. LEONARD

PAUL V. BROWN RICHARD LIEBER

STRUTHERS BURT THOMAS H. MACDONALD

HAROLD S. BUTTENHEIM J. HORACE MCFARLAND

ARNO B. CAMMERER HENRY T. MC!NTOSH

DAVID C. CHAPMAN KATHERINE MCNAMARA

MARSHALL N. DANA MARVIN C. NICHOLS

S. R. DEBOER JOHN NOLEN, JR.

EARLE S. DRAPER F. A. PITKIN

CHARLES W. ELIOT 2o ISABELLE F. STORY

L. C. GRAY L. DEMING TILTON

S. HERBERT HARE TOM WALLACE
CONRAD L. WIRTH

MANAGING EDITOR

DORA A. PADGETT

$3.00 a Year

Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Washington, D. C., under
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Planning and Civic Comment

Vol. 5

July-September, 1939

No. 3

New National Resources Planning Board

By FREDERIC A. DELANO, Chairman

The former National Resources
Committee, an independent agency,
is now the National Resources
Planning Board and is a part of the
Executive Office of the President.
This change was brought about
under the President's Reorganiza-
tion Plan No. i, effective July I,

1939-

All the functions of the National
Resources Committee and of the
Federal Employment Stabilization
Office in the Department of Com-
merce were transferred to the new
board and these two agencies were
abolished.

The functions of the National
Resources Committee, as set forth
in Executive Order No. 7065 of
June 7, 1935, establishing the Com-
mittee, were as follows:

2) To collect, prepare and make
ble to the President, with recom-
mendations, such plans, data and in-
formation as may be helpful to a planned
development and use of land, water, and
other national resources, and such related
subjects as may be referred to it by the
President.

"(b) To consult and cooperate with
agencies of the Federal Government, with
the States and municipalities or agencies
thereof, and with any public or private
planning or research agencies or institu-
tions, in carrying out any of its duties and
functions.

"(c) To receive and record all proposed
Federal projects involving the acquisition
of land (including transfer of land juris-
diction) and land research projects, and in
an advisory capacity to provide the

agencies concerned with such information
or data as may be pertinent to the proj-
ects. All executive agencies shall notify
the National Resources Committee of
such projects as they develop, before
major field activities are undertaken."

The Federal Employment Stabil-
ization Office was authorized by
law "to advise the President from
time to time of the trend of employ-
ment and business activity and of
the existence or approach of periods
of business depression and un-
employment in the United States
or in any substantial portion thereof;
to cooperate with the construction
agencies in formulating methods of
advance planning; to make progress
reports; and to perform the other
functions assigned to it. . . ."

Reorganization Plan No. i was
approved without modification by
Congress, but the Relief Bill of 1940,
providing funds for the operation of
the new Board during the current
fiscal year, changed the composition
of the Board from five to three mem-
bers and stipulated that they should
be chosen from widely separated
sections of the country and their ap-
pointment approved by the Senate.

With the exception of the mem-
bers of the Committee the per-
sonnel of the National Resources
Committee, including the Advisory
Committee, was transferred to the
National Resources Planning Board,

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Hope Deferred on the Kings Canyon
National Park

After fifty years of effort, and
with only a few of the original
advocates still alive, Congress ad-
journed without final action on the
Kings Canyon National Park. The
bill passed the House on July 18, in
very good form, but, on objection
in the Senate when it came up on
Unanimous Consent Calendar, the
bill was passed over. When Con-
gress convenes in January, the bill
may be taken up by the Senate on
any one of its various calendars.

Except for the detached redwood
grove, which would have to be
purchased, the land for the proposed
Kings Canyon National Park lies
in the National Forests, and, ac-
cording to Chief Forester Silcox,
is now being used almost exclusively
for recreation. Because of its adapt-
ability for recreation, the U. S.
Forest Service has consistently been

reducing grazing and other com-
mercial and private uses in the area.
At the hearings before the House
Public Lands Committee, Mr. Sil-
cox advocated the transfer of the
area to the National Park Service.
There is no conflict, therefore, be-
tween the Federal agencies involved.
This localizes the objections to the
park to those who have misunder-
stood the issues or who hope in some
way to profit by preserving its
present status. Some of these hopes
have been shown by the U. S.
Reclamation Service to be unlikely
of realization in any case and others
would most certainly not be in the
interests of the public good. It
should be remembered, however,
that selfish objectors are apt to be
much more vociferous than advo-
cates of action for the general
welfare. This bill is still pending.

What Express Parkways Are Doing
to Billboards

In the last decade Westchester
County, New York, has been setting
an example for the rest of the United
States in its extensive system of
parkways and freeways. It is now
possible to travel out of New York
City and around Westchester
County on a network of protected

parkways free from billboards and
furnished with attractive-looking
filling stations and similar structures
at intervals spaced for service.
These parkways generally do not
provide right of access from abut-
ting property. Motorists may enjoy
the naturally beautiful rolling coun-

Planning and Civic Comment

try, unspoiled by short-sighted ex-
ploiters, who have ravaged most
of the so-called standard highways
of the country.

We have often said that Highway
No. i is a lost soul! Many of the
miles of this highway from Maine
to Florida are lined with billboards
and blatant signs. The right of way,
inherited from the past, is all too
narrow. The public is dependent
on the good taste and good will of
the private property owners along
the line. This has proved an
inadequate dependence.

Ever since Westchester County
has provided its system of parkways,
it has been possible for a motorist
with adequate maps and a sixth
sense for direction, to substitute for
a few miles of Highway No. I,
the pleasant county parkways. But
now Connecticut has provided a
connecting link in the Merritt
Parkway which may be reached
from Westport, Connecticut, and
which flows naturally into the Saw
Mill Parkway of Westchester
County and connects with the
Hendrick Hudson Parkway which
borders the Hudson River and
enables motorists to drive along the
entire length of New York City to
the Holland Tunnel, offering the
quickest, most interesting and eas-
iest route from New England to
South Atlantic cities, a real sur-
prise and relief to the harassed
motorist.

This provision of pleasant park-
way passage through one of the
most congested regions in the world

is a promise of better highway con-
ditions to come; for who can doubt
that those who travel for pleasure
will use such modern, well-designed
and well-built parkways and free-
ways in preference to such un-
sightly and inconvenient routes as
No. i and other principal trans-
continental highways?

Not quite as closely paralleling
the Atlantic seaboard routes is the
Blue Ridge Parkway, now being
built under the supervision of the
National Park Service, to join
Shenandoah and Great Smoky
Mountains National Parks. Con-
siderable stretches of this 5OO-miIe
parkway, maintaining an average ele-
vation of more than 2500 feet above
sea level, are now open to the public,
and when completed the Blue Ridge
Parkway should attract a great
part of the through pleasure motor
travel from the north to the south.

One begins to envision parkways,
built originally for local or regional
use, connected up in a national
system which will provide the
traveling public of the United
States with a new allure. The bill-
boards and other unsightly struc-
tures which now despoil the through
highways will be left to the drivers
of trucks and other commercial
vehicles. Will large business enter-
prises continue to pay for this sort
of advertising on billboards and
selling signs? At any rate the
traveling public will have an effec-
tive alternative. They will be using
the protected parkways of the
country wherever they are provided.

A Patriotic Duty

Our American way of living and
our form of government are de-
pendent upon a responsible, well-
informed citizenry. The American
Planning and Civic Association for
more than a third of a century
(nearly one fourth of the entire life
of the United States of America) has
been making available to its mem-
bers, and to many citizens and stu-
dents who consult its literature in
college and other public libraries,
reliable information concerning ways
and means of improving living and
working conditions.

During that time a new technique
of planning has developed. Zoning
has been devised and applied. A
comprehensive program for sensible
conservation and use of land and
water resources has been undertaken.
National, State and local parks have
increased in number, size and facili-
ties. Parkways have been born and
multiplied.

Who can suppose that today there
would be a National Resources
Planning Board, state planning
boards and city and county planning
commissions if the American people
had not been educated to the need
for planning? Who can suppose
that these planning agencies will
continue to exist and be supported
from taxation if the American people
do not know of their activities and
believe in them?

Imagine, if you can, the abandon-
ment of the safeguards which cities
have set up through their compre-
hensive and detailed plans. What
would it mean if suddenly neighbor-
hoods were left unprotected and
home owners might find filling sta-
tions, grocery stores, factories and
billboards as next-door neighbors?
Would the citizens of Westchester
County be willing to forfeit their
protected parkways for obsolete high-
ways, bordered by billboards and un-
controlled commercial structures?

And yet, not only shall we fail to
realize new gains, we shall lose some
of the gains we have already made,
if the process of education in these
planning fields is interrupted. No
matter how disorganized the Euro-
pean world may become, it is im-
portant to preserve in the United
States, agencies for the distribution
of educational material which citi-
zens may use to contribute to the
comfort, convenience and safety of
the community.

The members of the American
Planning and Civic Association de-
serve recognition for the valuable
service which they are rendering to
the advance of planning and civic
improvement and, indirectly, to the
democratic processes of government.

In that light, membership in the
Association appears to be a patriotic
duty!

1920
1930
1939

Growth of the National Park System

Year Natl. Natl. Other Total Size Visitors

Parks M'n'ts Areas No. Sq. Mi.

19 24 43 12,674 1,026,025

2 3 32 55 16,185 2,774,561

27 49 154 5 2 5 2 6 9,777,572 (10 mo.)

Regional Planning in Harrisburg Area

By MALCOLM H. DILL, Regional Planner

HARRISBURG is sixty-
seventh in population among
metropolitan districts in the
United States, according to the 1930
census, but is tied for eighteenth
place as regards the number of
incorporated suburbs surrounding
the central city. In this multi-
plicity of local governments lies the
major clue to planning problems of
Metropolitan Harrisburg. Other
factors, however, of nearly equal
importance account for urgent need
of planning in this area. The central
city is cut off from its western sub-
urbs by the three-quarters-of-a-
mile-wide Susquehanna River, the
shores of which are connected by
only two bridges, and these merely
a block apart. Topography, like
the river, is a mixed blessing.
Extensive bluffs combine with
fairly high-level but narrow river
flood-plains and nearby rolling hills
to create a site, the natural beauty
of which well justified its selection
for the Capital City of Pennsyl-
vania. If the city could have been
designed in advance, this site would
have challenged the ingenuity of a
planner in making it accommodate a
city of about 160,000 population.
Unfortunately forethought was not
given to planning; the city grew as a
large nucleus surrounded by many
separate, unrelated communities.
Harrisburg itself in 1930 had slightly
over 80,000 inhabitants; fifteen
satellite boroughs and various un-
incorporated communities which
double that population figure, join

with the central city to comprise a
constellation defined by the 1930
census as the Harrisburg Met-
ropolitan District.

It is only within the last few
years that inhabitants of the city
and of its various suburbs have
begun to realize that they have
many matters of mutual concern,
including planning. Local jealousies
and prejudices have been taken
seriously, but within the past year,
the West Shore boroughs, at least,
have breathed new life into an
erstwhile planning federation that
now represents all five of the
Cumberland County boroughs and
one large unincorporated commu-
nity all of which have official plan-
ning or zoning commissions.

Metropolitan Harrisburg spreads
over the border of two river coun-
ties Cumberland and Dauphin.
Parts of four other counties lie near
enough to be within the scope of
planning for the Harrisburg Area.
Because of the borderline relation-
ship between Harrisburg and the
two primary counties, a planning
commission pertaining to a single
political subdivision would not an-
swer. In 1937, the Pennsylvania
Legislature passed an enabling act
for regional planning commissions
so as to cover just such complicated
planning situations as that which
confronts the Capital City. The
difficulties, however, of securing
cooperative action from the various
political entities in subscribing to a
regional, or what is in effect, a

Planning and Civic Comment

metropolitan planning Commission,
are obvious.

Recognizing this fact, in June,
1938, the Municipal League of
Harrisburg, identified since 1901
with the continuous activity in
civic improvement, formed the
Harrisburg Area Regional Planning
Committee. Mr. Vance C. Mc-
Cormick was made Chairman; Dr.
J. Horace McFarland, Secretary;
Mr. Earle S. Draper, Consultant on
the planning program; and the
writer, Resident Regional Planner.
The Committee has acted un-
officially but with considerable ef-
fectiveness in helping to correlate
many of the planning activities of
the seventy-five or more local, state,
Federal and unofficial agencies that
have some concern with planning
in the Harrisburg Area. The most
important function of the Com-
mittee, however, has been the
formulation of a Land-Use Plan-
ning Report for the Harrisburg Area.
This report consists of two parts:
the first concerned with the larger
Metropolitan Area the background
or outer ring of forest lands, farms,
game lands, towns, etc., which
form a zone with a somewhat
elastic boundary around the urban
center; the second part concerns
the planning problems of the Cen-
tral City and its immediately ad-
jacent suburbs, which include nine
boroughs and numerous unincor-
porated communities. To define
this aggregation, the term Met-
ropolitan City is used in the report.

In Part I of the report are in-
cluded two main sections: (1) A
background of information con-
cerning all phases of the present
geography of the Area: topography,

forest lands, agricultural lands, pop-
ulation distribution, cities and
towns, non-urban parks, resorts,
game lands, miscellaneous public
and semi-public reservations, water
resources (including uses and prob-
lems), motorways, railways, and
airways. This section of the report
has recently appeared serially in
the Harrisburg morning paper and
in one of the evening papers, in
the form of seventeen articles, in-
cluding text, maps and photographs.
The other evening paper used the
series as a basis for almost daily
editorials or special columns. The
second section of the first part of
the report includes planning sug-
gestions for those geographical as-
pects which appear to present
problems. This section also ap-
peared in serial form early in
September.

Part II of the report begins with
a definition of the term "Met-
ropolitan City"; discusses topog-
raphy and population growth
trends. There follows the problem
of the Inner City versus the Subur-
ban Fringe, each of which is then
discussed in turn.

The ailments of the Inner City
are diagnosed, and prescriptions are
made in connection with the pro-
tection of good areas, renovation of
improvable areas, and replanning
of blighted districts. Parks and
playgrounds are discussed in re-
lation to the Inner City; traffic and
parking problems, and public tran-
sit in relation to the preceding
item; taxation policies, and dis-
position of tax-reverted properties.

Discussion of the Suburban
Fringe has a three-fold aspect:
methods of deterring premature

Planning and Civic Comment

and excessive platting; reconsidera-
tion of undeveloped subdivisions;
and assurance of well-planned de-
velopment where platting is called
for.

There follows a section on special
planning problems of the whole
Metropolitan City. This includes
discussion of a possible Metropolitan
Park System; industrial and com-
mercial development; housing; the
pros and cons of annexation; an-
ticipating the needs for new schools,
and sites for public buildings; pres-
ervation of historical buildings and
sites.

The final section concerns the
proposed technique for the organ-
ization of an official Regional
Planning Commission; provision
for zoning, which Harrisburg now
lacks; creation of a Master Plan,
and Official Maps for all the
municipalities; and the working

out of a long-term public works
program for the Harrisburg Area.
Specific recommendations follow
each of the two main parts of the
report. The exact form of final pub-
lication has not yet been determined,
but it is hoped that copies will be
available for general distribution.

Activities of the Regional Plan-
ning Committee have been sup-
ported entirely by privately con-
tributed funds. Efforts will be made
to continue the work of the Com-
mittee on at least a part-time basis
until the way may have been paved
for the creation of an official Re-
gional Planning Commission. In-
valuable assistance has been given
to the Committee by the State
Planning Board, the City En-
gineer's Office and various other
agencies and individuals in pro-
vision of plans, office space, and
in many other respects.

EDITOR'S NOTE. Malcolm H. Dill's account in this issue of planning in Harris-
burg, reminds us of the pioneer work of Dr. J. Horace McFarland and his associates,
who rescued the Harrisburg waterfront from the usual industrial hodge-podge and
gave to the city an inviting shore park which all train and automobile travelers, who
enter by way of the Susquehanna River, may see as a worthy gateway to Pennsylvania's
State capital.

Park Personnel Changes

Changes in National Park Super-
intendents were announced in July.
C. Marshall Finnan, formerly super-
intendent, National Capital Parks,
has taken over the superintendency
of Zion and Bryce Canyon National
Parks. Paul R. Francke, formerly
superintendent of those parks, has
gone to Mesa Verde National Park.
Jesse L. Nusbaum will supervise
archeological activities in Regions
II, III, and IV.

Acknowledgment

We gratefully acknowledge our
indebtedness to the Duke University
Press, Durham, North Carolina,
the publisher of the Hispanic
American Historical Review, for
permission to republish in the April-
June 1939 issue of our quarterly,
PLANNING AND Civic COMMENT, the
article entitled: "Royal Ordinances
Concerning the Laying out of New
Towns," which set forth the King
of Spain's advice to planners in 1573.

Zoning Round Table

Conducted by EDWARD M. BASSETT

HOW GENEROUS?

HOW generous can a council
afford to be in establishing
the zoning regulations of the
highest class residence district?
The provisions of the New York
City building zone resolution for
residence districts were generous.
Perhaps one reason for this was that
zoning under the police power was
novel and there was danger that
courts would overturn regulations
enforced without compensation.
But it is also true that the framers
of the regulations were thinking of
the preservation of useful localities,
the maintenance of assessed valua-
tions and the all-round protection
of legitimate property owners.
When zoning spread to munici-
palities, large and small, throughout
the country a strong tendency on
the part of councils arose to make
refinements. In many cases these
resembled the most drastic private
restrictions.

In New York City the following
buildings and uses were allowed in
every residence district: dwellings,
boarding houses, hotels, clubs,
churches, schools, libraries, public
museums, court houses, fire houses,
police stations, philanthropic or
eleemosynary institutions other
than correctional institutions, hos-
pitals and sanitariums, railroad
passenger stations, farming, truck
gardening, nurseries and green-
houses.

Many recently zoned cities would
laugh at these regulations. Their

officials would say, "How can a
residence district be exclusive if all
those unwanted uses are allowed?"
The fact is that not everything that
is allowed is built. In a one-family
detached house neighborhood a
rooming house, a boarding house or
a family hotel is just about as good
a neighbor as a one-family de-
tached house. Of course every one
knows that once in a while a lawful
building may turn out to be hurtful,
but this is the exception rather than
the rule. In a high rental neighbor-
hood low rental uses are not likely
to abound. The zoning plan of New
York has now been in existence
twenty-three years and no notice-
able injury has come to its residence
districts because of its generosity in
allowing practically all uses that
are not either business or industry.
Moreover there has never been an
outcry to exclude these uses that
elsewhere are sometimes thought to
lower the character of a neighbor-
hood.

A disturbing zoning problem
throughout the country is that of
the large well-built private house
in ample grounds in the best resi-
dence district, which comes on the
market and stands vacant. The
ordinary family does not want so
large a house. Officials debate
whether a variance can be granted
to change it into a four- or five-
family house. The neighborhood
objects. On its face it is discrimina-
tory to require new houses to be

Planning and Civic Comment

built for one family only but to
allow an old house to be divided
into four or five family units. It can
be said that in New York City this
difficulty does not often arise. One
reason is that the large house can
be used for so many different
purposes.

In the highly restricted munici-
pality, however, these fine old
houses in the best residence dis-
tricts are an almost impossible
problem. The new owner often a
widow or heir of the former wealthy
occupant cannot maintain such an
expensive house. Taxes, however,
must be paid whether it is occu-
pied or not. The owner looks for
a purchaser and cannot find any,
partly because its use is tightly
restricted to that of a one-family
dwelling.

The writer has in mind a subur-
ban Long Island town of high
character which has established
five classes of residence districts
under the zoning plan. The owner
of a mansion in the highest class
district with extensive grounds died
a few years ago and the widow did
not care to operate so large a house.
Town and county taxes are about
$25,000 a year. For several years
it has been impossible to sell this
property. The upkeep was expen-
sive. We can imagine the con-
versations between the selling agent
and the prospective customers.
Some one says, "We will buy the
property and run it as a high-class
family hotel," but looking further
he finds that hotels are prohibited.
Some one else suggests a high-class
boarding house, but on consulting
the town clerk learns that this is
prohibited. A new hospital asso-

ciation thinks this would be just
the place for a hospital in the
country (it has 100 rooms) but
learns that hospitals are not allowed.
The same with a sanitarium, college,
orphan asylum, library, museum 01
community building.

The unfortunate owners appear
to be destined to hold the property
forever and pay taxes on it without
putting it to any allowable use.
When cases like this happen the
owners become more and more
desperate while the first two or
three years are passing, and then
sometimes make a break that hurts
themselves and the neighborhood.
In this particular case the mansion
and grounds were sold at less than
one-tenth of their original value to a
new non-profit organization for fur-
nishing vacations to the families
of the street cleaners of New York
City. The families are now taking
possession. One can imagine the
consternation in the community.
It is likely that the whole will be
exempted from taxation.

It is fairly possible that the
former owner was in favor of the
superlatively tight zoning regula-
tions. Perhaps the officials were
pushed into a sort of zoning that
did not look forward to the present
deplorable condition. It is difficult
for a commentator to say that the
officials and the owners of large
estates were all wrong. When the
zoning regulations were made it
undoubtedly looked better to make
them tight than to make them gener-
ous. The question naturally arises,
however, whether this community
would be substantially worse off
if its regulations were as generous
as those in New York City.

Planning and Civic Comment

Strictly

Frederic A. Delano, on an aero-
plane trip in August to the West
Coast, which was a flying trip
in more ways than one, visited in
about ten days state planning
board members of Minnesota, North
Dakota and Montana; Grand Cou-
lee and Mount Rainier National
Park; Seattle where he attended a
meeting of the Washington State
Planning Council; Olympic Na-
tional Park; Bonneville and Mount
Hood; Portland and Salem, Oregon;
Shasta Dam in California; San
Francisco and the John Muir park
area; Los Angeles where regional
planning problems of the area were
discussed at a dinner given by the
John Randolph Haynes and Dora
Haynes Foundation and interested
citizens; and Boulder Dam.

* # * #

Members of the Dallas News
WFAA family numbering more than
600 officers and employees, gathered
together last summer in Dallas to
honor President George B. Dealey
of the Dallas News, the occasion
being the unveiling and dedication
of an oil portrait of the beloved
publisher who has been so prom-
inently identified with the planning
movement in Dallas. The painting,
by the renowned British portrait
painter Douglas Chandor, has been
hung in the News Building. It is a
three-quarter length portrait of Mr.
Dealey, seated, looking up from a
copy of the News which he holds
in his left hand.

Personal

President Roosevelt as a member
of the present three-man National
Resources Planning Board.

A lawyer by profession, Mr.
Yantis has been Chairman of
the Pacific Northwest Regional
Planning Commission and Presi-
dent of the Northwest Regional
Council, and served as Speaker
of the House of Representatives
of the Washington State Legisla-
ture for a period covering five
sessions.

A. P. Greensfelder, member of
the Advisory Council of the AP&
CA, attended the International
Housing and Town Planning Con-
ference at Stockholm in July. He
sent back a collection of programs
and pictures which form the basis
of the brief report of the Con-
ference on page 28.

Horace M. Albright, President
of the AP&CA, first civilian
Superintendent of Yellowstone Park
and later Director of the National
Park Service, visited Yellowstone in
August for four days. Several days,
also, were spent in Grand Teton
National Park and the adjoining
area which Mr. John D. Rocke-
feller, Jr., has purchased to add to
the Park. So far, however, the U. S.
Government has not been author-
ized to accept the 40,000 acres.

$*$*$$ Arno B. Cammerer, Director of

the National Park Service, is back

George F. Yantis of Olympia, at his office, having recovered from
Washington, has been appointed by a long and serious illness.

For Better Roadsides

By FLAVEL SHURTLEFF

New Jersey and Connecticut
were still wrestling with billboard
legislation when the last number of
PLANNING AND Civic COMMENT
went to press. The Connecticut
result was the same as it was in the
legislatures of 1935 and 1937. An
amended bill was passed by the
House of Representatives but the
close of the session prevented action
by the Senate.

Legislation which potentially will
affect the roadsides of trunk line
highways in Connecticut far more
than billboard legislation was passed
in the closing days of the session and
became Chapter 307 of the Acts of
1939. Entitled "An Act Concerning
Parkways, Freeways and Service
Highways/' this statute gives the
Highway Commissioner authority
to lay out and construct upon
direction of the General Assembly,
any trunk line highway as a park-
way or freeway. A parkway is
defined as "any trunk line highway
receiving special treatment in land-
scaping and marginal planting,
which shall be especially designed
for, and devoted exclusively to, the
use and accommodation of non-
commercial motor vehicle traffic,
and to which access may be allowed
only at highway intersections desig-
nated by the highway commissioner
and designed by him so as to elim-
inate cross traffic of vehicles." A
freeway is "any trunk line highway
which shall be designed to separate
through, high-speed, noncommer-
cial motor vehicle traffic from all
other types of traffic by the use of

independent traffic lanes. Connec-
tion between local traffic and
through traffic lanes shall be pro-
vided at intervals in the discretion
of the highway commissioner." By
the same Act the legislature directs
the laying out of the new Wilbur
Cross Highway, extending across
the State from the terminus of the
Merritt Parkway to the Mas-
sachusetts State line, as a freeway.
Connecticut becomes the third
state to adopt freeway legisla-
tion Rhode Island and New York
having passed such legislation in

I937-

No action on billboard legisla-
tion was taken in New Jersey. Be-
fore the close of the session a second
bill which had the approval of the
State Tax Commissioner was in-
troduced and referred to the Com-
mittee on Corporations. The most
interesting provision of this bill and
the one that distinguished it par-
ticularly from the bill sponsored by
the New Jersey Roadside Council
was the exclusion of billboards from
"natural scenic areas." These areas
were to be designated by the State
Tax Department after an inspec-
tion of the highways, but no area
could be so designated which had
already been defined by a municipal
ordinance as commercial manu-
facturing or business or was made
up of "unsightly, desolate, barren
or swamp land or wbicb is not
suitable for any other use than a
business use.' 1 The New Jersey
Roadside Council contended that
this provision offered no real pro-

Planning and Civic Comment

tection to the highways. It might
even be open to the objection that
the definition of "natural scenic
areas" was altogether too vague
and left too much to the discretion
of the Tax Department.

It has been held in many cases
that the legislature cannot delegate
policy-making to administrative
departments. The legislature must
declare the policy and establish a
rule for the administrative de-
partment to follow. A recent de-
cision of the Supreme Court of
South Carolina is in point. The
court was called upon to determine
the validity of a city ordinance
which provided that "hereafter it
it shall be unlawful to erect or main-
tain any billboard facing on any
street or other public place without
having first obtained a permit from
the city council." The court held
that the ordinance was void be-
cause it restricted the right of the
individual property owner not in
accordance with an announced rule
but in accordance with the pleasure
of the city council. (Schloss Poster
Advertising Company, Inc. v. City
of Rock Hill, 2 S.E. 2nd 392.)

Another long-awaited billboard
decision was announced in July by
the Appellate Division of the New
York Supreme Court. The New
York Conservation law, Paragraph
62, forbids the erection or main-
tenance of advertising signs or de-
vices of any kind within the bound-
ary of the Adirondack State Park
except with written permit from
the Park Department. The action

in this case was to recover penalties
for a violation of this provision.
The defendant claimed among other
things that the provision was un-
constitutional but the Court ruled
that the statute was not void since
it sought to "preserve and regulate
only a certain zone within the State
and was regulatory and not pro-
hibitory. The statute on its face
purports to accomplish objectives
which are legitimately within the
police power and to bear a reason-
able relationship to such accom-
plishment. The requiring of a per-
mit before the erection of such signs
is not improper restriction." (People
of the State of New York v. Joseph
F. Sterling, Appellate Division of
the Supreme Court of New York,
decided July, 1939).

These two decisions are most
useful precedents for the drafters of
laws which will insure better road-
sides. In spite of the defeats in the
last legislature there is enough at
stake in the saving of lives and the
preservation of scenic values to
carry on the campaign which is
hardly more than begun. Whatever
law is proposed for the improvement
of the highway either by regulating
outdoor advertising or more com-
prehensively by establishing pro-
tective areas, the administering
agency must be given enough direc-
tion in the statute so that arbi-
trariness may be avoided and the
protective provisions must show a
purpose within the police power and
a reasonable relationship to the ac-
complishment of that purpose.

A PLANNING BROADCAST will be issued shortly by the Association to carry comment
on recent billboard, parkway and freeway legislation.

The Summer Program in Planning
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Architects predominated at the
1939 Summer Session on Planning
sponsored jointly by the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology
and the American Planning and
Civic Association. Of the twelve
participants, two were practicing
architects and five were faculty
members of the architectural de-
partments of the Universities of
Missouri, New Hampshire, and
Oklahoma, Texas Technical College
and Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. The New Hampshire
State Planning and Development
Commission was again represented,
this time by two members of its
technical staff.

The following resume of the
courses in the Summer Program of
1939 is presented in response to
inquiries chiefly by laymen and
members of planning commissions.

PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING

Object and Scope of City and Regional

Planning.

Major factors responsible for changes in
type of urban development; relation of
physical planning to social and economic
planning; planning as a means of con-
trolling or improving physical environ-
ment.

Modern Concept of Plans and Plan

Making.

The process of plan making; the re-
lationship of the various professions
engaged in the work; the plan itself as
a means to an end and the machinery
for putting it into action; types of
plans; city, district, regional, state and
national planning.

The Circulation System.

Classification of streets and roads in
city and country areas; type and design
of streets and roads; the use of building

lines; parkways and limited access roads;
roadside protective areas; mass trans-
portation of freight and passengers on
streets and roads; mass transportation
by rail; air transportation.

Recreation and Other Open Areas.

Classification; relation to street plan-
ning; local parks and playgrounds;
regional, state and national parks.

Public Buildings Public Utilities and
Other Services.

Control of Private Development Zoning
and Subdivision Control.

Housing.

The economic, governmental and tech-
nical problem involved in providing
decent living quarters for families of low
income; the location of large-scale
housing projects in relation to the city
plan; the function of local and state
housing authorities; the place of private
enterprise in the housing program.

New Towns and Garden Cities.

PLANNING LEGISLATION

Planning Law, the Expression of the
Planners' Opportunities, Objectives
and Limitations.
The need of planning law and its

evolution.
Content of City, County and Regional

Planning Laws.

The administrative agency and its
functions; the master plan; the official
map.
Zoning Law.

The function of the zoning commission
and the board of appeals; zoning or-
dinances for cities and counties.
Other Police Power Legislation.

Subdivision control; building lines.
Highway Law.
Park Law.
Housing Law.

PLANNING ADMINISTRATION

The Relation of the Structure of Govern-
ment to the Administration of the
Planning Program.

Administration and Legislation dis-
tinguished; the composition of the
planning agency.

Planning and Civic Comment

Continuing Administrative Functions of
the Planning Agency.

Special Functions of the Planning Agency.

A Check-list of City and County Planning
Commissions and Accomplishments.

Preserving the Integrity of the Plan from
Official Violation and Violation by
Property Owners.
Zoning Administration.

The board of appeals; variances; non-
conforming uses; special problems.

Subdivision Control.

PLANNING TECHNIQUES

The Preliminary Survey.

The type of data needed, collection and
presentation.

Preparation of the Master Plan.

Preparation of the Zoning Map and
Ordinance.

The Drafting of Subdivision Regulations.

Notes on National Resources Planning

Board

The President nominated and
Congress confirmed Frederic A.
Delano, Dr. Charles E. Merriam,
and George F. Yantis, as members
of the new National Resources
Planning Board. Mr. Delano is
Chairman, and Dr. Merriam, Vice
Chairman. Henry S. Dennison and
Beardsley RumI, former members of
the Advisory Committee of the
National Resources Committee,
have been appointed advisors to the
Board. Charles W. Eliot 2d,
is now Director, Harold Merrill
Executive Officer, and Thomas C.
Blaisdell Chief of the Division of
Research.

New Publications. During the
last quarter, the following new
publications have been released and
can be obtained from the Superin-
tendent of Documents:

1. Legal Problems in the Housing Field,

(Housing Monograph Series No. 2)
76 pp., illustrated, 250.

2. Land, Materials, and Labor Costs,

(Housing Monograph Series, No. 3)
loi pp., illustrated, 300.

3. Regional Planning Part VIII North-

ern Lakes States, 63 pp, illustrated
250.

4. Energy Resources and National Policy,

435 PP-> illustrated, $1.00.

The publication, * 'Legal Problems
in the Housing Field," by Horace
Russell and Leon H. Keyserling,
discusses in the first part, some of
the underlying legal difficulties
which private builders must face.
The second part is an analysis of
the U. S. Housing Act and the
complementary State legislation,
together with a discussion of the
legal problems raised by this public
housing program.

The publication, "Land, Material
and Labor Costs," by six contri-
butors, treats the subjects of loca-
tion factors in housing programs;
site planning; the significance of
small house design; building ma-
terials and the cost of housing;
labor and the cost of housing; and
building regulations and the housing
program.

"Northern Lakes States," Part
VIII of the series of regional reports,
contains a rehabilitation program
designed to improve social and
economic conditions in the Cut-
Over Area in Northern Michigan,
Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The report on Energy Resources
which was submitted a few months

Planning and Civic Comment

ago to the President, was ordered
printed by Congress and is also now
available to the public. Its con-
tents were reviewed in the January-
March, 1939, issue of PLANNING AND
Civic COMMENT.

State planning laws and Junds.
With virtually all of the State
legislatures adjourned, the list of
appropriations to state planning
boards is nearly complete. At this
writing, only New Jersey and Ala-
bama have not yet acted. Although
Indiana received only $1,750 for
the biennium, Purdue University is
providing sufficient funds and per-
sonnel to continue the program.
Oklahoma must also operate under
a reduced appropriation.

In Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota,
North Carolina, South Carolina,
North and South Dakota, and
West Virginia, where the Boards
received no appropriations, either
the Governors have promised to
allocate funds, or the state uni-
versities or state departments are
furnishing technical personnel,
office space, and other assistance.

In Connecticut, the new Develop-
ment Commission takes over the
planning functions formerly dele-
gated to the Legislative Council.

Governor's boards have been
named in both North Dakota and
South Dakota, following abolition
of the statutory boards. A new
Arizona board comes into being
under authority of the Resources
Board Act of 1919. The new Board

has already met and a planning
program is being formulated.

The Oregon board went out of
existence in June, and thus far
Governor Sprague has not appointed
the committees which he has an-
nounced he intends to use for plan-
ning under an appropriation of
$10,000 (for the biennium) for
research.

A bill to consolidate the Mas-
sachusetts board with several other
state agencies failed to pass.

STATE PLANNING PERSONNEL

Arizona. Entirely new Board appointed
Mr. William H. Johnson is Chairman.

Connecticut. Legislative Council abolished
by law, and transferred to the new
Development Commission consisting
of all new members.

Florida. Chairman O. K. Holmes resigned,
and no successor has been named.

Indiana. Prof. George E. Lommel has
succeeded Mr. Virgil Simmons as
Chairman.

Kentucky. Dr. J. W. Martin, Chairman
of the Committee on State Planning
has resigned.

New Jersey. Dr. Jacob G. Lipman, mem-
ber of the Board, died recently.

New York. Mr. Wayne D. Heydecker
resigned as Director of State Planning
and is now Regional Representative of
the Council of State Governments.

Oklahoma. Entirely new Board appointed.
Mr. T. G. Gammie has resigned as
Secretary. Governor Leon C. Phillips
is ex officio Chairman.

Pennsylvania. Mr. Richard P. Brown has
been appointed Chairman.

South Dakota. Entirely new Board ap-
pointed. Mr. A. B. Cahalan is Chair-
man.

Washington. Mr. Ross K Tiffany, Ex-
ecutive Officer, died recently.

Wyoming. Entirely new Board appointed.
Governor Nels H. Smith is President
of the Board.

Federal Government Reorganization

The war time set-up under way for U. S. administrative agencies will prob-
ably accomplish about what would be desirable in peace time.

Progress in U. S. Housing

Since the inauguration of the low-
rent housing program administered
by the U. S. Housing Authority, an
initial group of five projects has been
occupied. A total of 92 projects
were under construction as of Sep-
tember 1, embracing 39,377 dwelling
units. At the beginning of 1938
there were very few municipal hous-
ing authorities. Now there are 259,
and additional authorities are rap-
idly being created. Only ten States
still lack the necessary enabling
legislation to permit their cities to
participate in the program.

Before the decentralized low-rent
housing program could get under
way and construction begin, essen-
tial local administrative machinery
had to be created. This task is now
largely accomplished. On the con-
struction front over 12,000 men are
now employed, and this figure is
rising rapidly as more projects come
under contract. Of the 267 projects
set up by September 1, loan con-
tracts have been signed for 176 with
129 local authorities in 30 States.
Many supporters of the housing
movement, who formerly considered
the housing problem uniquely that
of a few large eastern cities, have
been surprised by the wide geo-
graphical distribution of housing
projects and the participation by
smaller cities and towns in the
program.

In addition to the 20,000 families
living in PWA Housing Division
projects now administered by the
USHA, 1130 families had moved

into homes built under the USHA
program by September 1. Under the
present authorization some 160,000
families will ultimately be housed.
These families are all drawn from
"the lowest income group" in their
communities, which means that in
most cities average annual tenant
incomes will be less than $1,000.
For every house built under the
USHA program one slum dwelling
is demolished or reconditioned.

Technical research and accumu-
lated experience are steadily driving
construction costs down. The aver-
age over-all cost of houses under the
USHA program thus far is $4,633.
The net construction cost of USHA
houses was $2,905 on September 1,
which is less than the average cost of
comparable private construction as
shown by building permit data
collected by the U. S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics. The constant re-
duction of costs and rents is the
major goal of the USHA program.

The present congressional loan
authorization for USHA purposes is
$800,000,000, of which $670,000,000
is available and has been fully com-
mitted since the spring of 1939. An
additional authorization of the same
sum is now pending in Congress. All
of the money loaned to local housing
authorities is repaid to the Federal
government over a 60-year period of
amortization, and the only cost to
the government is the amount of
annual subsidy which, to cover the
initial program, amounted to
$28,000,000.

State Park

ALABAMA

With the recent acquisition of
80 acres of land by the State, the
boundaries of Monte Sano State
Park, Alabama, have been extended
to include Natural Well, a cavern
considered one of the outstanding
natural wonders of the South.

Plans of the Department of
Conservation for the development
of Natural Well call for the instal-
lation of an elevator or other device
to make the cavern easily accessible,
and provision of such lighting as
may be necessary to display the
Well and its corridors to the best
advantage.

Development of five of the State's
parks DeSoto, Cheaha, Chewacla,
Gulf, and Monte Sano (with the
exception of the Natural Well
project) has been completed. Of
the remaining nine, Little River
and Oak Mountain State Parks,
although still under development,
now have cabins available to the
public. In addition, the Mound
State Monument, with its unusual
archeological museum housing two
in-situ burial pits and many arti-
facts, is open to visitors.

All of these areas are described
in an attractive, illustrated folder
entitled, "State Parks in Ala-
bama."

CALIFORNIA

Three new members were ap-
pointed to the California State Park
Commission by Governor Olson
in July, 1939. Matthew M. Gleason,
who was elected Chairman of the
Commission, formerly served as a
member of the San Diego City
Planning Commission for six years.
He is vice-president of a title and
trust company of that city. The
two other new members of the
Commission are Milton T. Vander-
slice, of Walnut Creek, Contra
Costa County, and the Reverend
Francis J. Caffrey, M.M., pastor of
Old Mission San Juan Bautista,
San Benito County. Albert L.
Nelson continues as the fourth mem-
ber of the Commission. Darwin W.
Tate of Los Angeles was named
Chief of the Division of Parks, De-
partment of Natural Resources,
succeeding A. E. Henning. George
D. Nordenholt is Director of Na-
tural Resources of the State of
California.

The Division of Parks recently
purchased the "Avenue of Giants"
in Humboldt County, thus adding
to the state park system a new tract
of about 400 acres along the Red-
wood Highway containing some of
California's most magnificent red-
woods.

Planning and Civic Comment

Destined to be one of the great
state parks of its type, the Anza
State Park has become a reality by
action of the California State Park
Commission. Through patent of
the Federal government and pur-
chases from private interests, the
State has already taken title to
181,510 acres in this desert holding.
Applications for patent to 188,000
additional acres are in process, and
lands available to the State under
Acts of Congress will bring the
total to slightly more than 500,000
acres. The name "Anza*' was ap-
plied to this desert region because
of the fact that diagonally through
it runs the famous trail followed in
1774, 1775 and 1776 by the expedi-
tions of the Spanish explorer, Capt.
Juan Bautista de Anza. Anza is
located in the southwest corner of
the Colorado desert in San Diego
and Imperial counties and includes
four units: Borrego Desert, Valle-
citos Desert, Salton Sea Desert and
Carrizo Desert.

INDIANA

At the dedication of the new
hotel in Spring Mill State Park,
Indiana, on July 7, both Governor
Townsend and Conservation Di-
rector Virgil Simmons lauded Col-
onel Lieber for the excellent founda-
tion he laid for the State's park
system during his tenure in office as
director of the Department of
Conservation.

In his introductory remarks, Mr.
Simmons said, "It is very important
that every generation produce some
outstanding man, or civilization
would make slow progress. Colonel
Lieber did such a swell job that I
didn't have to add one thing, merely

to carry on a system which had been
perfectly worked out. The people
of Indiana and I want to take off
our hats to a man who did a job
when very few thought it was
necessary. This is the first time I
have had an opportunity to thank
Colonel Lieber and acknowledge
the fine thing he did, not only for
us but for generations yet to come.
He could have no better monument
than the Indiana State ParkSystem."

Construction of this newest In-
diana state park hotel was made
possible through the sale of sand
taken from Lake Michigan and
used by Chicago to fill in the area
which was used for the World's
Fair in 1934.

Colonel Lieber took part in the
dedication ceremonies.

NEW YORK

Beautiful fieldstone museums
have been erected in the organized
camping regions of Palisades Inter-
state Park to serve as nature centers.

Each building is under the super-
vision of a regional director whose
task it is to help people realize the
importance of nature study as a
cultural activity; to train leaders
in nature recreation; and to organize
for the future development of the
nature study program in the park.

There are regional museums in
connection with the organized camps
at Cohasset, Kanawauke, Stahahe,
Tiorati and Twin Lakes. When
funds are available it is planned to
provide similar facilities for Lakes
Sebago and Skenonto. In the mean-
time, directors of the other regional
museums are extending their ser-
vices to the campers in the Lake
Sebago district.

Planning and Civic Comment

Palisades has long been distin-
guished for its provision of nature-
trail facilities.

NORTH CAROLINA

The latest addition to North
Carolina's growing state park sys-
tem is Pettigrew State Park, an
area of 200 acres located on Lake
Phelps in Washington and Tyrrell
Counties.

It includes the old Pettigrew
plantation house, Magnolia, built
in 1830 by Ebenezer Pettigrew, and
the old Collins mansion, Somerset,
erected in 1805 by Josiah Collins.
There are also the remains of many
miles of canals for drainage and
transportation, dug by slave labor
for Collins and other plantation
owners, to reclaim the rich land
from what had been a dense swamp.

Collins and his descendants raised
fine horses and had a private race
track just across a canal from their
mansion, and this site is now one of
the most interesting features of the
new park.

The 200-acre tract was trans-
ferred to the North Carolina De-
partment of Conservation and De-
velopment by the Farm Security
Administration under a ninety-nine-
year lease.

Old Fort Macon, center of the
state part of that name, is enter-
taining thousands of visitors an-
nually. The Fort, construction of
which was begun in 1826 and com-
pleted in 1834, was in a very sad
state of disrepair when the State
acquired it. With the assistance of
the Civilian Conservation Corps,
it has now been restored.

Surrounded by a great moat, with
entrance by way of a drawbridge,

Fort Macon's curving arches of
masonry, massive brick walls, dun-
geon-like magazines and garrison
rooms take the visitor back a cen-
tury or more.

OHIO

The State Legislature has re-
cently reorganized the Conservation
Division into an Ohio Division of
Conservation and Natural Re-
sources to operate under a nine-
member, bi-partisan commission
empowered to select the Conserva-
tion Commissioner and personnel
of the Division. Members of the
commission will serve for eight
years.

Don Waters has been appointed
Conservation Commissioner, and
W. R. Wheelock is the new chief
of the Bureau of Inland Lakes and
Parks.

Two illustrated, descriptive
folders "State Owned Lakes and
Parks" and "Happy Days in Ohio
Play Places" have recently been
issued by the Division, which also
publishes The Ohio Conservation
Bulletin.

The folders are available without
charge, as is a map of Ohio showing
the State's principal streams and
tributaries, and the recreation areas
under supervision of the Division.
The Bulletin sells for 10 cents a
copy or for 50 cents a year.

SOUTH CAROLINA

At the Kings Mountain State
Summer Camp was held during
July the 1939 Session of the South
Carolina Conservation of Natural
Resources School, sponsored by the
S. C. Garden Clubs, the Federation
of Women's Clubs with the S. C

Planning and Civic Comment

Forest Service Cooperating. A ses-
sion devoted to state parks included
papers as follows: "The State Park
Movement in the U. S." by Herbert
Evison, National Park Service;
'The State Park System of South
Carolina," by R. A. Walker; "State
Park Needs in South Carolina/'
by H. A. Smith; "National His-
torical Parks," by Oswald E. Camp,
Supt., Kings Mountain National
Historical Park; "How Club Wo-
men Can Use and Help Others Use
State Parks," by Covington Mac-
Millan, Recreation Director S. C.
State Parks; "Need for More and
Better City Parks" by Miss Adelle
J. Minahan.

VIRGINIA

A report of attendance in Vir-
ginia's state parks discloses the
fact that their popularity is defi-
nitely increasing. For the period
May 16 to August 13, 1939, there
were 176,870 visitors in the parks,
as compared with 150,996 visitors
during the same period of 1938.

WEST VIRGINIA

The school shildren of West
Virginia are learning that the "C"
in their ABC's represents
Conservation!

The State Conservation Com-
mission and the State Department
of Education have collaborated in
the preparation of an extensive
course of study for use in every
grade and have published for the
use and guidance of the teachers
in the public schools a two-volume
compilation entitled, "West Vir-
ginia Units in Conservation."

The course of study as outlined

in these volumes does not attempt
to introduce conservation as a
separate subject but rather contains
suggestions for its integration with
subjects generally taught in each
grade of the public schools. The
outline for each grade is followed by
a bibliography; appendices contain
check lists of the flora and fauna of
West Virginia, and the volumes are
are well illustrated.

In the foreword, H. W. Shawhan,
Director of Conservation, says:
"The best investment we can make
in perpetuating our great renewable
natural resources is to inspire the
young people to conserve and
restore the soil, forests, waters and
wildlife. The Conservation Com-
mission sincerely hopes that the
outlines here presented may help
public school teachers in guiding
the growing generations into under-
standing participation in an intel-
ligent conservation program. I com-
mend heartily such efforts to meet
the responsibility we face in learn-
ing how to get along with nature."

IRMINE B. KENNEDY, Washington, D. C.

Two NOTABLE BOOKS

CITY PLANNING, WHY AND How, by
Harold MacLean Lewis, presents the
subject of city planning in terms of its
relation to the everyday life of the indi-
vidual. It shows that planning is not
limited to a professional planner or city
official, but is something in which the
average citizen can and should play an
active part.

HOUSING FOR THE MACHINE AGE, by
Clarence Arthur Perry, published by the
Russell Sage Foundation, outlines the
procedure for developing single-family
sections and apartment-house units and
presents a study of the legal procedure
which will make possible large-scale
building by neighborhoods. A valuable
contribution to the planning and housing
literature.

President and Director of NCSP to Prepare Study of
National Capital Parks

Harold G. Wagner, President,
and Capt. Charles G. Sauers, mem-
ber of the Board of Directors,
National Conference on State Parks
two outstanding men in the
metropolitan park field were se-
lected by Secretary of the Interior
Harold L. Ickes to make a joint
study of the National Capital
Parks of the District of Columbia.

In announcing the Secretary's
action, it was stated that Capt.
Sauers, General Superintendent of
the Cook County Forest Preserve
District of Illinois, and Mr. Wagner,
Director-Secretary of the Akron
Metropolitan Park District, would
be lent to the National Park Service
through the cooperation of their
respective boards.

The preliminary study has been
made and will be followed by a
more detailed survey later in the
year. After the reconnaissance in
August, Mr. Wagner and Capt.
Sauers returned to their respective
park districts. They will begin the
more detailed study after September
15. It is anticipated that from
three to four months will be re-
quired to complete the work. The
study will include an analysis of
the parks organization, its general
administrative procedure, and re-
lated functions, with recommenda-
tions for future operations of the
system.

Based upon the findings and
recommendations resulting from
this joint study by two of the

Nation's leading park experts, Sec-
retary Ickes plans to request the
Civil Service Commission to set up
a competitive examination for Na-
tional Capital Parks superinten-
dency which would permit selection
of one of the country's ranking men
in metropolitan or municipal park
work.

The problems of the National
Capital Parks system differ greatly
from those of other park systems
throughout the country, both na-
tional and municipal. Because of
the importance of the Nation's
Capital as a focal point for travel
from all over the country, park use
is exceptionally heavy. In addition,
the approximately 600 units of the
National Capital Parks system are
operated in close relation to numer-
ous other agencies of the local and
Federal Government in the District,
as well as with civic organizations.
Because of these peculiar condi-
tions, Secretary Ickes felt the en-
tire field should be surveyed im-
partially by members of an outside
disinterested organization before a
successor is appointed to Superin-
tendent C. Marshall Finnan, who
recently left Washington to take
up his new duties as superintendent
of Zion National Park, Utah.

Assistant Superintendent Frank
T. Gartside will continue as Acting
Superintendent pending the ap-
pointment of the Superintendent
to be selected as the result of the
Civil Service examination.

New Land Acquisition Program for Cook
County Forest Preserve District

By CAPT. CHARLES G. SAUERS, General Superintendent

The Forest Preserve District of
Cook County, Illinois, is authorized
by an Act passed during the 1939
session of the State Legislature to
acquire by purchase 5,000 addi-
tional acres. The 1914 Act of the
Legislature which created the Forest
Preserve District set its limit at
35,000 acres. Present holdings em-
brace 33,690 acres.

Clayton F. Smith, President of
the Board of Forest Preserve Com-
missioners, and the members of the
Board have under consideration a
proposal made to them by Edward
E. Brown, Chairman of the Ad-
visory Committee to the Board, to
add 2,900 acres by transfer from
the Sanitary District of Chicago.

"The time is ripe for additional
acreage to be incorporated in the
plan of Forest Preserve District
Land Acquisition," stated Chair-
man Brown.

The proposed additions will bring
the total holdings of the Forest
Preserve District to more than
42,000 acres. Reasons advanced for
the expansion are: Increase of
population, anticipation of pur-
chase of land by commercial enter-
prises for factory sites in areas
adjacent to present holdings thus
impairing the landscape, and the
need for knitting more closely
present separated holdings.

Facts furnished to the Committee
as compiled by Robert Kingery,
General Manager of the Chicago
Regional Planning Association and

Secretary of the Advisory Com-
mittee, give the background for
the recommendation.

The population of Cook County,
Illinois, will be 5,500,000 in 1960.
This is not a haphazard guess nor
an optimistic hope, but a conclusion
of Mr. Kingery, who as Cook
County's "clinician" for 15 years,
has made exhaustive studies of
eras of expansion, periods of
retardation, tendencies of home
builders in establishing neighbor-
hoods, action of commercial in-
stitutions seeking sites for factories,
and general trend of the permanent
resident as well as the nomad.

He has watched Cook County
grow. He has as aides in his "clinic"
the telephone, gas and electric light
companies, the Building Permits
Departments of Chicago and
suburbs, the elevated and surface
transporation lines, the railroads,
real estate agents and many others
who are first to know the preferred
areas and recognize those destined
to be thriving communities.

In 1916, when the first plan of
35,000 acres was prepared, the
population of Cook County was
2,700,000. In 1930, it was estimated
that the County's population today
would be 4,400,000.

The proximity of the city makes
it easy for citizens to visit the
forest preserves frequently. They
come to hike the 150 miles of trails
or to ride horses or bicycles over
them. They come to swim in three

Planning and Civic Comment

perfect pools, to play on the five
superb golf courses, to picnic in
hundreds of groves, to rest, study
and observe Nature in her myriad
manifestations, to visit Trailside
Museum where there are exhibited,
living or mounted, species of every
creature in the Cook County Forest
Preserves, to watch water fowl in
their refuges, to see birds in migra-
tion and to watch and enjoy resident
birds, to fish in the Skokie lagoons
and inland lakes, to observe the
elk and deer, to skate, ski and
toboggan in numerous winter sports
areas and 15,000,000 of them come
each year!

The lands owned by the Sanitary
District of Chicago are strategically
located to form connections between
the preserves which now are sepa-
rated from one another, thus break-
ing the continuity of trails and dis-
connecting public recreation use.
In several locations these lands are
especially well suited for the ex-
pansion of the public holdings for
the definite purpose of preventing
the encroachment of some inap-
propriate use. This is especially
true in the Sag Valley where the
Sag Canal severs two great tracts
of the Palos Forest Preserve.

The property adjacent to this
canal and owned by the Sanitary
District is some 600 to 1,000 feet in
width. Were this and some adjacent
privately owned land to be sub-
divided or utilized for an oil refinery
or cement plant, real injury would
be done the present preserves. Mr.
Kingery sees this possibility, hence
advises the acquisition of this
property.

The 5,000 acres for addition to
the plan is made up of a connecting

belt of land along streams and lakes
such as Thorn Creek in southern
Cook County, around Wolf Lake in
southeastern Chicago, along the
upper Des Plaines River where the
continuity of the Forest Preserves
is still broken, and similarly along
the North Branch of the Chicago
River.

With the addition of new acres,
the paradox of permitting 15,000-
ooo visitors annually to roam over
an area set aside for the protection
and preservation of the natural
flora and fauna, without injury to
landscape, will be met more
efficiently. These new acres will
permit to a greater extent relief of
the population load in densely
forested areas by utilizing the open
land for playfields, parking spaces
and entrances.

Recreation authorities and park
administrators throughout the
country have agreed that the de-
sirable objective in respect to mu-
nicipal parks and playgrounds is 10
acres for each 1,000 persons. For
state and county parks the larger
reservation type of holdings a
similar ratio is 10 acres per 1,000
persons for the entire metropolitan
population including both rural
and urban, is recommended by
authorities.

With an anticipated population
of 7,300,000 in the fifteen-county
Chicago metropolitan area by 1960,
there should be 73,000 acres of the
large public-recreation type of hold-
ing. At present about 46,000 acres
are publicly owned in this fifteen-
county region. It is anticipated
that of the 27,000 acres needed to
attain this objective, Cook County
should acquire about 8,000 acres;

Planning and Civic Comment

the State of Illinois, 9,000 acres;
Wisconsin, 2,000; Indiana, 2,000,
all in the metropolitan region; and
the other counties the balance
of approximately 6,000 acres.

Hence, with the addition of 5,000
acres through purchase, and the

acquisition of an additional 3,000
acres by transfer from the Sanitary
District of Chicago, the Cook
County Forest Preserve District
will have set a precedent and will
fulfill the suggested ratio of acreage
to population.

Eastern Regional Conference of NCSP

The Eastern Regional Conference
of the National Conference on State
Parks was held at the Hotel Jeffer-
son, Atlantic City, N. J., on Sep-
tember 25, 26 and 27. The meeting
was held in connection with the
Annual Meeting of the N. J. Parks
and Recreation Association. Joint
sessions of the two organizations be-
gan with a dinner on Monday,
September 25. Mrs. Mina M.
Edison Hughes, Chairman of the
Conference Committee of the N. J.
Parks and Recreation Association,
presided. On the program were:
Major George W. Farny, "New
Jersey's Needs for Parks and Recre-
ation;" H. S. Wagner, 'The Na-
tional Conference on State Parks;"
Ellwood B. Chapman, "Value of
State Associations in Furthering the
Park Movement."

On Tuesday, at the morning ses-
sion, Major William A. Welch pre-
sided. The program was devoted to
a symposium on State Park De-
velopment in the East. Perry H.

Merrill, Montpelier, Vt., reported
for the Vermont State Forest Parks;
Edward L. Bike, Melrose, Mass, for
New England; James F. Evans,
Albany, N. Y., for New York;
Charles P. Wilber, Trenton, N. J.,
for New Jersey; John R. Williams,
Harrisburg, Pa., for Pennsylvania.
Herbert Evison, Richmond, Va.,
spoke on "Federal Aid for the
Eastern States."

At the afternoon session, William
E. Carson presided. The following
subjects were discussed: "Recrea-
tional Use of Forested Areas" by
William H. Howard, Director of
Lands and Forests, Conservation
Department, Albany, N. Y.; "Need
for Seashore Parks" by Conrad L.
Wirth, National Park Service;
"Group Camps" by Dr. Lloyd B.
Sharp, Executive Director, Life
Camps, Inc., N. Y.; "A Continuous
State Park System" by Ernest J.
Dean, Commissioner of Conserva-
tion, Boston, Mass.

ALEXANDER THOMSON 1879-1939

Alexander Thomson, a member an excellent business man.

of the Board of Directors of the
NCSP, died on June 27, 1939, at
his home in Cincinnati, Ohio. As
President of the Champion Coated
Paper Company, Mr. Thomson was

He was a civic leader in Ohio and
has been a generous supporter of
the work of the Conference for
several years.

Recent Court Decisions

Compiled by FLAVEL SHURTLEFF with the cooperation of Edward M. Bassett

The courts will not uphold ar-
bitrary exclusion of uses from res-
idential districts. The zoning or-
dinance of the City of Winnetka,
Illinois, allowed public schools in
residence zones but, at least by
inference, excluded private schools.
A permit was requested by the
Catholic Bishop of Chicago for the
erection of a parochial school. The
permit was refused by the Building
Inspector and the refusal was sus-
tained by the Board of Appeals but
the court held that a parochial
school in a residential zone was no
more detrimental to the welfare of
the public than a public school and
that the provision of the ordinance
had no substantial relation to health,
safety, morals or welfare. (Catho-
lic Bishop of Chicago v. Kingery,
20 N.E. 2nd 583, April 14, 1939).

The Nevada court came to the
same conclusion with regard to the
exclusion of a church from a resi-
dential district. A provision in the
zoning ordinance of the City of Reno
allowed permits only for the erection
of residences in a residential zone
but if the application for a permit
for a non-residential use were ac-
companied by the written consent
of the owners of three-fourths of the
land in the same block where the
proposed building was to be erected,
the council might grant the appli-
cation by a majority vote. The
Catholic Biship of Reno applied for
a permit to erect a church in a
residential zone and the application
was not supported by the required

consents. In holding that the sec-
tion of the ordinance requiring con-
sents for a church in a residence
district was void, the court dis-
tinguished between such uses as
churches, schools, art galleries, li-
braries, etc. and uses clearly in-
consistent with single family resi-
dence districts, such as stables,
garages, funeral parlors, billboards,
two family residences, laundries,
etc. (State exrel Roman Catholic
Bishop of Reno v. Hill, 90 Pac.
2nd 217, May, 1939).

A land owner may recover special
damages suffered as the result of a
violation of the zoning ordinance.
The Supreme Court of Kings
County, New York, granted an
injunction and awarded damages
of $2,400. This was at the rate of
$40 a month for the period in which
an adjoining property owner had
conducted an undertaking estab-
lishment in a residential district.
(Bailer v. Ringe. Reported in New
York Law Journal, May 10, 1939,
page 2 1 58).

The so-called Maryland airport
zoning statute (Chapter 383 of the
Acts of 1937) was declared uncon-
stitutional by the Maryland Circuit
Court. This statute restricted the
erection of buildings and other
structures on land adjoining public
airports. Its enforcement would
prevent an adjoining land owner
from erecting a building or structure
six and two-thirds feet high at a
distance of one hundred feet from
the boundary of the airport, thir-

Planning and Civic Comment

teen and one-third feet high at a
distance of two hundred feet, twenty
feet high at a distance of three
hundred feet; and thirty-three and
one-third feet at a distance of five
hundred feet. The Court said, "The
statute cannot be sustained as an
exercise of the police power. A
zoning law, to be valid as such, must
be for the benefit of the public
generally." The Court quotes, ap-
parently without giving the source
of the quotation, the following:
"The zoning of an area surrounding
an airport is rather for the benefit of
those who desire to use aerial trans-
portation and for those who use
airplanes than for the general
public." (Mutual Chemical Com-
pany v. Mayor and City Council of
Baltimore. Maryland Circuit Court,
Baltimore City, January 25, 1939).
Variances. Where the petitioner's
land was situated partly in a resi-
dence zone A and partly in a resi-
dence zone B, in both of which gas
stations were forbidden and where
on the other side of the street the
land was zoned for industry in
which gas stations were allowed,
the Board of Adjustment denied a
petition for a variance allowing the
construction of a gas station, and
the court, in sustaining the refusal
to grant the variance, said, "If a
municipality is to be zoned for or
against various uses, it is inevitable
that zones with differing restrictions
should abut and it is likely that a
degree of apparent hardship will
thus be visited upon the more
restricted owner along the line of

junction. It is not shown to us how
this Court may for that, and that
only, reason command the allow-
ance of an exception by a Board of
Ad j ustment without ultimately
sounding the death knell of the
whole zoning movement." (Coriell
v. Borough of Dunellen, (N. J.)
4 Atl. 2nd, 396, February 21, 1939).
Variances may be granted to
avoid unnecessary hardship in ap-
plying the restrictions of a zoning
ordinance but not to increase those
restrictions. The petitioner owned
a lot in a business zone and the
surrounding land was residential.
The Building Inspector had properly
granted a permit for a self-service
food market. Adjoining residential
owners appealed to the Board of
Adjustment which voted that the
zoning ordinance established only
minimum requirements and that
although the service food market
was not specifically prohibited in
the business zone by the ordinance,
it came within the class of trades
which the ordinance would exclude
from residential zones, i.e., those
permitting congestion. The Court
over-ruled the action of the Board
of Adjustment on the ground that
the market was clearly a use per-
mitted in a business zone and could
not be excluded by the Board of
Adjustment. The fact that the
surrounding country was residen-
tial was beside the point. (Leonard
Inc. Co. v. Board of Adjustment of
City of Trenton, (N. J.) 4 Atl.
2nd, 768. Supreme Court, March
I5 1939).

Two Beautiful Gift Books for National Park Enthusiasts

Romance of the National Parks, by Harlean James. $3.00.
Portfolio on the National Park and Monument System. $1.00.

Watch Service Report

National Parks

Final status of legislation affecting the National Parks, y6th Congress, ist Session:
H. R. 3794 (Gearhart) introduced on Feb. 7. To establish the John Muir-Kings
Canyon National Park, California. Reported from House Committee with amendments
on May 25. On July 18, the bill passed the House in amended form, with the name
changed to Kings Canyon National Park. On Aug. 3, the Committee on Public Lands
and Surveys of the Senate reported the bill without amendment. The same day, the
bill was called up on the unanimous consent calendar but was passed over. This means
that final action by the Senate is deferred until the next session of the 76th Congress.

Legislation enacted

H. R. 3409 S. 1107 (Norton-Caraway) introduced Jan. 30 and Feb. i. To amend
the Act of June 15, 1936 authorizing the extension of the boundaries of the Hot Springs
National Park. This bill authorizes an appropriation of $8,000 for the purchase of
additional lands. It passed the House July 6; Senate, Aug. i ; approved by the President
Aug. 10, 1939.

H. R. 4742 (Fernandez) introduced March 3. To provide for the establishment of
the Chalmette National Historical Park in the State of Louisiana. Passed the House
June 5; Senate, Aug. i; approved by the President Aug. 10. This new park contains
the site of the most important land battle of the War of 1812.

S. 509 (Sheppard) introduced Jan. 10. To add certain lands of the Front Royal
Quartermaster Depot Military Reservation, Virginia, to the Shenandoah National
Park. Passed Senate, Mar. 8; House, June 5; approved by the President June 13.

S. 2046 H. R. 5573 (Radcliffe-Creal) introduced April 3 and April 5. To change
the designations of Abraham Lincoln National Park in the State of Kentucky and the
Fort McHenry National Park in the State of Maryland. Passed House, Aug. 5 ; Senate,
Aug. i, approved by the President Aug. n. In future the new names will be Abraham
Lincoln National Historical Park, and the Fort McHenry National Monument and
Historic Shrine.

H. R. 2990 (Norton) introduced Jan. 20. To extend the Civilian Conservation
Corps to July i, 1943 and to provide an official seal for the Corps. Passed House, Aug. i ;
Senate, Aug. i ; approved by the President, Aug. 7.

S. 770 (Wheeler) to authorize an addition to Glacier National Park in Montana for
the establishment and operation of a fish hatchery. Passed Senate July 6; House,
July 17; approved by the President July 31.

H. Res. 284 (De Rouen) introduced July 31. A Resolution authorizing a survey and
study of the national parks, national monuments, and national shrines. Passed House
Aug. 4.

Executive Order

Tuzigopt National Monument was established by Executive Order, signed July 25,
1939. This prehistoric ruin of great archeological, scenic and educational interest,
comprises 42,663 acres of land in north central Arizona.

Bills Vetoed

S. 6 (Hayden) introduced Jan. 4. To return a portion of the Grand Canyon National
Monument to the public domain. Passed Senate July 18; House, July 31 ; vetoed Aug. 7.

S. J. Res. 1 60 (Byrd) introduced June 23. To provide for the maintenance for
public use of certain highways in the Shenandoah National Park. Passed Senate, Aug. i ;
House, Aug. 4; vetoed Aug. 9.

H. R. 3959 (Robinson) introduced Feb. 8. To authorize the Secretary of the Interior
to dispose of recreation demonstration projects and for other purposes. Passed Senate
with amendments Aug. 3; House, Aug. 4; vetoed Aug. n.

Bills awaiting action at next session

S. Res. 147 (Ashurst) introduced June 20. Authorizing the Committee on Public
Lands and Surveys to make a thorough investigation of all questions relating to the
proposed enlargement of Rocky Mountain National Park. Reported to Senate without
amendment, Aug. 3.

Planning and Civic Comment

H. R. 7272 (Monroney) introduced July 19. To add certain land to the Platt Na-
tional Park in Oklahoma. Referred to Committee on Public Lands.

H. R. 2315 (McGehee) introduced Jan. n. To provide for the addition of certain
lands to the Vicksburg National Military Park, in the State of Mississippi. Passed
House, July 31.

H. R. 7532 (Harden) introduced Aug. 5. To authorize the Secretary of the Interior
to acquire property for Moores Creek National Military Park. Referred to Committee
on Public Lands.

S. 2493 (Byrd) introduced May 25. To provide for the operation of the recreational
facilities within the Chopawamsic recreational demonstration project near Dumfries,
Virginia, by the Secretary of the Interior. Passed Senate, Aug. i.

H. R. 6959 (Horton) introduced June 22. A bill to abolish the Grand Teton National
Park in the State of Wyoming and to transfer the lands, improvements, and facilities
of the U. S. within the boundaries of said park to the Teton National Forest. Referred
to Committee on Public lands.

Housing

S. 2240 (Wagner) introduced April 25. To provide for a National Census of Housing.
Approved by the President, Aug. n. Public Law No. 385.

National Resources Planning Board

H. J. Res. 326 (Taylor, Colorado) introduced June 13. Making appropriations for
work relief and relief for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1940. Contains in Section 9
the following provision: "There is hereby appropriated to the National Resources
Planning Board out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated for the
fiscal year ending June 30, 1940, $750,000. Such sum shall be available for administra-
tive expenses in carrying out the functions heretofore vested in the National Resources
Committee, and such functions as are authorized to be carried out until June 30, 1940.
On and After July I, 1939 and until June 30, 1940, said Board shall be composed of three
members to be appointed by the President from widely separated sections of the United
States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." Passed House, June 16;
Senate, June 28; approved by the President, June 30. Public Resolution No. 40.

The International Congress at Stockholm

A registration of 940 delegates presentation and discussion were:

and visitors to the International House Building for Special Groups;

Housing and Town Planning Con- Town Planning and Local Traffic;

gress at Stockholm in July, 1939, and the Administrative Basis of

was reported by Mr. A. P. Greens- National and Regional Planning,

felder of St. Louis, who attended Two days were assigned for con-

the Congress with Mrs. Greens- sideration of each topic, the dis-

felder. About 40 were present from cussion sessions being interspersed

America. with tours, film showings, exhibi-

In addition to Mr. and Mrs. tions, a concert and the banquet in

Greensfelder, other members of the impressive city hall of the city

the AP&CA who attended were: of Stockholm.

Mr. and Mrs. Walter H. Blucher, Among the printed reports re-
Mr, and Mrs. Herbert U. Nelson, ceived from Mr. Greensfelder were:
S. R. DeBoer; Mr. and Mrs. L. F. 'Town Planning and Local Traffic,"
Eppich. general report by Landesrat R.

According to the official program, Niemeyer, and several booklets

the three topics announced for dealing with housing in Stockholm.

National Park Conference An Unusual
Opportunity

Santa Fe is one of the most en-
trancing towns in the United States.
It still fosters much of its old-world
atmosphere. Before the Mayflower
landed on the rock-bound coast of
New England, Santa Fe was founded
on the sunny slopes of the Sangre de
Cristo Mountains, in New Mexico.
It has lived on under changes of
government and shifting popula-
tions. Visitors may see the Palace
of the Governors, first erected early
in the 17th century; San Miguel
Church, known traditionally as the
oldest church in the United States;
the Cathedral, built in 1869 on the
site of a chapel erected in the early
days of Santa Fe; and the old Plaza
which is today, as it was three hun-
dred years ago, the center of the
town's activities.

There are interesting new build-
ings in Santa Fe, the Art Museum,
built in the "Santa Fe style" of
architecture and containing the
Saint Francis auditorium with its
colorful murals designed by the late
Donald Beauregard and painted by
the late Carlos Vierra and Kenneth
M. Chapman. There is the new
Municipal Building in the so-called
Territorial style of architecture.
There is the Laboratory of Anthro-
pology, endowed by the Rockefeller
Foundation, and, in the same
grounds, there is the new Region
III Headquarters Building of the
National Park Service. La Fonda
Hotel, built in the Santa Fe style
and operated by Fred Harvey, is
picturesque and colorful.

It is in this town, 20 miles from
the transcontinental Santa Fe rail-

road, that the third National Park
Conference of the American Plan-
ning and Civic Association will be
held. The New Mexico Chapter of
the Association, under the able
chairmanship of Col. T. B. Catron,
has made arrangements for many
entertaining functions, beginning on
Sunday, October 8.

The regular sessions of the Con-
ference on Monday and Tuesday,
October 9 and 10, will cover sub-
jects of interest and importance,
presented by leaders in their fields.
Among those who will address the
Conference are: Hon. Oscar L.
Chapman, Assistant Secretary of the
Interior, Hon. Robert Fechner, Di-
rector, Civilian Conservation Corps,
Arthur E. Demaray, Associate Di-
rector of the National Park Service,
Major O. A. Tomlinson, Chairman,
National Park Superintendents,
Colonel T. B. Catron, Chairman
New Mexico Chapter of the Ameri-
can Planning and Civic Association.
Horace M. Albright, President of
the American Planning and Civic
Association, will preside at the open-
ing session and the Association will
be welcomed by Hon. John E. Miles,
Governor of New Mexico, Hon.
Alfredo Ortiz, Mayor of Santa Fe,
and Hillory A. Tolson, Director of
Region III, National Park Service.
It is expected that Dr. J. Horace
McFarland, Hon. F. A. Silcox, Chief
Forester of the U. S. Forest Service;
Irvin J. McCrary, of Denver, Colo.,
Francis P. Farquhar, Editor Sierra
Club Bulletin, of San Francisco;
Conrad L. Wirth, Thomas C. Vint,
George L. Collins, Frank Pinkley,

Planning and Civic Comment

Supt. of Southwestern National
Monuments, and Jesse Nusbaum,
all of the National Park Service;
Hon. Clifford H. Stone, Director of
the Colorado Water Conservation
Board, Earle S. Draper of the
T. V. A.; Dr. Hermon C. Bumpus,
Chairman, and Dr. Henry E. Bolton
and Col. Richard Lieber, members of
the Advisory Board of National
Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and
Monuments; Miss Pearl Chase of
Santa Barbara, and Dr. H. Scudder
Mekeel, Director of the Laboratory

of Anthropology will participate in
the program.

The 1200-mile tour (October 11-
18), which is in charge of Region III
of the National Park Service, will
include stops at San Ildefonso Indian
Village, Bandelier, Chaco Canyon
and Aztec Ruins National Monu-
ments, Mesa Verde National Park,
the proposed Escalante National
Monument, Canyon de Chelly Na-
tional Monument, Navajo and Hopi
Indian Reservations and Grand
Canyon National Park.

Conservation Education in the Northwest

The Northwest Conservation
League is to be congratulated on its
First Annual Conference in the
form of an Institute at the Central
Washington College of Education
at Ellensburg, Washington, on July
10 to 12 this past summer. The
summer courses for teachers were
in session. Many of the regular
classes were dismissed in order to
permit the students to attend the
general and round-table sessions of
the Conference.

Members of the faculties of the
various Washington colleges, rep-
resentatives of the Washington
State Planning Council, and other
State of Washington officials,
speakers from the regional Federal
Park, Forest and Biological Ser-
vices, joined with members of the

Northwest Conservation League to
provide a program which was ac-
knowledged by those present to be
of high educational value. The
interest shown by present and
prospective teachers in current con-
servation problems was most stim-
ulating. Two students from the
Yakima High School who attended
the Institute, plan to form a Con-
servation group in the school and
have written the American Planning
and Civic Association for printed
material to use.

Mrs. Margaret Thompson, Presi-
dent of the League, and Professor
Ernest Muzzall, of the faculty
of the Washington College of Edu-
cation, cooperated in the arrange-
ments for this excellent educational
program.

CLARENCE PHELPS DODGE 1877-1939

Clarence Phelps Dodge, former
member of the Board of Directors
of the American Planning and Civic
Association, died at his home in
Denver, Colorado, on July 29, 1939.
Graduated from Yale in 1899, he

became connected with the various
philanthropic foundations estab-
lished by his grandfather. He served
as a director of the George Wash-
ington Parkway Fund during his
residence in Washington, D. C.

Recent Publications

Compiled by Katharine McNamara, Librarian of the Departments of
Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Harvard University

ARONOVICI, CAROL. Housing the Masses.
New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc.,
1939. 291 pages. IIIus., diagrs., tables.
Price $3.50.

CHAWNER, LOWELL J. Residential build-
ing. . . Washington, Goyt. Printing
Office, 1939. 19 pages. Diagrs., tables.
(U. S. National Resources Committee.
Industrial Committee. Housing Mono-
graph Series, no. i.) Price 10 cents.

CITY PLAN AND ZONING COMMISSION.
Twelfth Annual Report, 1938-1939.
Des Moines, Iowa. Comp. by Edyth
Howard, Secretary.

CITIZENS' HOUSING COUNCIL OF NEW
YORK. A public housing program for
New York City. New York, The Coun-
cil, Dec. 29, 1938. 1 6 pages. Mimeo-
graphed. Table.

CONOVER, REEVE. If you want to be a
planner. Chicago, American Society
of Planning Officials, [1939]. 8 pages.

GIBBON, SIR GWILYM, and REGINALD W.
BELL. History of the London County
Council, 1889-1939. London, Mac-
millan and Co., Ltd., 1939. 696 pages.
IIIus. (one folded), maps (part folded),
diagr., tables. Price 2 1 s.

GUSTAFSON, A. F., and OTHERS. Conser-
vation in the United States, by mem-
bers of the faculty of Cornell University:
A. F. Gustafson, H. Ries, C. H. Guise,
W. J. Hamilton, Jr. Ithaca, N. Y.,
Comstock Publishing Co., Inc., 1939.
445 pages. IIIus., maps, diagrs., table
Price $3.00.

HANDBOOK OF THE CITY PLANNING DI-
VISION, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL
ENGINEERS. Sept. 1938. Prepared by
the Executive Committee of the Divi-
sion. The Society, New York City.
Price 5oc. to non-members.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE. Public
works a factor in economic stabilisation.
Geneva, The Office, 1938. 33 pages.

Reprinted from the International
Labour Review, Dec. 1938; vol. 38,
no. 6.

JAMES, HARLEAN. Romance of the
National Parks. New York, The Mac-
millan Co., 1939. 240 pages. IIIus.
Price $3.00.

MARYLAND STATE PLANNING COMMISSION.
Some Planning Accomplishments of the
J 939 General Assembly of Maryland.
June 1939. Pub. No. 23. The Com-
mission.

cs.

MASSACHUSETTS. SPECIAL COMMISSION
ON CONSERVATION. Report. . . Feb-
ruary 1939. Boston, Wright and Potter
Printing Co., 1939. 85 pages. (Senate
No. 465.)

MUNICIPAL YEAR BOOK, 1939. The
authoritative resume of activities and
statistical data of American cities.
Editors: Clarence E. Ridley, Orin F.
Nolting. Chicago, The International
City Managers' Association, 1939. 587
pages. Tables, diagrs. (vol. 6.) Price
$5.00.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOUSING
OFFICIALS. Housing yearbook, 1939;
Coleman Woodbury, ed. Chicago, The
Association, 1939. 240 pages. Price
$3.00.

NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL PLANNING
COMMISSION. From the ground up.
[Boston], The Commission, [Mar. 1939].
54 pages. IIIus.

NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL PLANNING
COMMISSION. The problem of the road-
side. Boston, The Commission, Apr.
1939. 32 pages. Mimeographed. IIIus.,
diagrs., table. (Publication no. 56.)

NEW YORK, N. Y. ART COMMISSION.
Condensed report of the Art Commis-
sion of the city of New York for the
years, 1930-1937. New York, The
Commission, 1938. 112 pages. IIIus.,
plans.

. PARKWAY AUTHORITY, and

NEW YORK, N. Y. BOARD OF ESTIMATE.
Rockaway improvement. New York,
The Authority and the Board, June 3,
1939- [32] pages. IIIus.

PERRY, CLARENCE ARTHUR. Housing for
the machine age. New York, Russell
Sage Foundation, 1939. 261 pages.
IIIus., map, plans, diagrs. Price $2.50.

Pi RATH, CARL, ed. Aerodromes: their
location, operation and design; trans-
lated from the German. A research
monograph of the Scientific Institute
for Air Transport, Technical College,
Stuttgart. London, Sir Isaac Pitman
and Sons, Ltd., 1938. 120 pages. IIIus.,
maps, plans, diagrs., cross section,
tables. (Air Transport Series.) Price
i os. 6d.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC PLANNING.
Report on the location of industry; a
survey of present trends in Great
Britain affecting industrial location and
regional economic development, with

Planning and Civic Comment

proposals for future policy. London,
Political and Economic Planning, March
1939. 314 pages. Maps, diagrs., tables.
Price i os. 6d.

RATCLIFF, RICHARD U. The problem of
retail site selection. Ann Arbor, Uni-
versity of Michigan, Bureau of Business
Research, 1939. 93 pages. Diagrs.,
tables. (Michigan Business Studies,
vol. 9, no. i.) Price $1.00.

SCHNEIDER, J. THOMAS. Report to the
Secretary of the Interior on the preser-
vation of historic sites and buildings.
Washington, U. S. Dept. of the Interior,
1935. 185 pages. Diagrs. (folded).
Preface dated July 14, 1938.

TECTON, architects. Planned a[ir] r[aid]
precautions], based on the investigation
of structural protection against air
attack in the metropolitan borough of
Finsbury. London, The Architectural
Press, 1939. 138 pages. IIIus., maps
(one folded), plans, diagrs., cross sec-
tions, tables. Price $s.

TODD, ARTHUR J., and OTHERS. The
Chicago recreation survey, 1937, a
project sponsored jointly by the Chicago
Recreation Commission and North-
western University. By Arthur J.
Todd, in collaboration with William
F. Byron, Howard L. Vierow. Con-
ducted under auspices of the Works
Progress Administration, National
Youth Administration, Illinois Emer-
gency Relief Commission. Chicago,
[Chicago Recreation Commission], 1939.
2 volumes. IIIus., (maps, plans, diagrs.,
tables.)

Contents: vol. 3, Private recreation;
vol. 4, Recreation by community areas
in Chicago.

Volumes i and 2 listed in the July-
Sept. 1938 issue.

TOMFOHRDE, KARL M. Special report of
trailers and trailer camps, prepared by
Karl M. Tomfohrde, with the aid of
W.P.A. project no. 15245. Boston,
Massachusetts State Planning Board,
June 1939. 64 pages. Mimeographed.
IIIus., maps, plans, cross sections.

U. S. COMMITTEE APPOINTED SEPTEMBER
20, 1938, BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES TO SUBMIT RECOMMEN-
DATIONS UPON THE GENERAL TRANS-
PORTATION SITUATION. Report. [Wash-
ington, The Committee], Dec. 23, 1938.
88 pages. Diagrs., tables.

U. S. HOUSING AUTHORITY. Annual report
of the United States Housing Authority

for the fiscal year 1938. . . Washington,
Govt. Printing Office, 1939. 63 pages.
Diagr., tables.

U. S. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. 1938
yearbook: park and recreation progress.
Washington, Govt. Printing Office,
1939. 92 pages. IIIus., maps, tables.
Price 35 cents.

U. S. NATIONAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE.
Current status of state planning board
legislation and appropriations. Wash-
ington, The Committee, Apr. 12, 1939.
10 pages. Mimeographed.

. National resources planning

facts. Washington, Govt. Printing
Office, 1939. ii pages.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON

WATER POLLUTION. Water pollution
in the United States; third report of the
Special Advisory Committee on Water
Pollution. . . Message from the Presi-
dent of the United States transmitting
a report on water pollution in the
United States. . . Washington, Govt.
Printing Office, 1939. 165 pages. IIIus.,
maps (part folded), diagrs. (part
folded), tables. (U. S. Congress. y6th.
ist Session. House Document No. 155.)
-. INDUSTRIAL SECTION. Pat-

terns of resource use; a technical report
prepared by the Industrial Section
under the direction of Gardiner C.
Means. . .; preliminary ed. for technical
criticism. Washington, Govt. Printing
Office, [1938]. 149 pages. Diagrs.
(part folded), tables. Price 35 cents.

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SMALL

WATER STORAGE PROJECTS. Low dams;
a manual of design for small water
storage projects. Washington, The
Committee, 1938. 431 pages. IIIus.,
map (folded), plans (part folded),
diagrs., cross sections (part folded),
tables. Price $1.25.

U. S. SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE.
REGION FIVE. Topsoil: its preservation.
Washington, Govt. Printing Office,
1937. 22 pages. IIIus. Price 10 cents.

UNITED STATES JUNIOR CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE. CITY PLANNING AND BEAU-
TIFICATION COMMITTEE. Manual for
City Planning Committee. New York,
The Chamber, [1939]. 7 pages. Mimeo-
graphed.

WOODS, RALPH L. America reborn: a
plan for decentralization of industry.
London, Longmans, Green and Co.,
IQ39- 376 pages. Tables. Price $3.00.

Plaiiitind and
Givic Comment

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

CONTENTS

Planning Progress in the United Slates in 1939 ...

Editorial Comment: The- National Capital Parks; Past,
Present and Future; Why the Taxpayer Should Take
Active Interest in City and Town Planning; Self-Liquidat-
ing and Subsidized Government Housing; D, C. Re-
organization .

National Park Comment: The Olympic Centre v-;r The
Cascades; Kings Canyon National P<.r .1 Awaits
Senate Action , , .

Zoning Round Table: The Health, Safety and Comfort i
the Community; Strong Arm Variances . . , , , , ,

Resume of 1939 Progress on the Washington PI ?

Historic American Building Survey Continues ,

Strictly Person;;';

Massachusetts Planning Conference

Congratulations and Best Wishes

For Better Roadsides ,

State Park Notes

Fees and Charges for Public Recreation

Public Housing in the District of Columbia

The Southeastern Planning Conference

Do Billboards Depreciate Real Estate Values?

Notes on National Resources Planning Board

Recent Court Decisions

Truth in a Facetious Vein

Book Reviews

Recent Publications

OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1939

PLANNING AND I
CIVIC COMMENT

Published Quarterly

jsor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

il Organ of: American Planning and Civic Association,
National Conference on State Parks

City Planning; Land and Water Uses;
f ces; National, State and Local Parks,

onrnent which will conserve and develop
of toe American people.

EDITORIAL BOARD

; : '.';> i SHI RTLEFF CHARLES G SAUERS

NTRIBUTING EDITORS

^^H ELISABETH M. HERLIHY

^HB P. J. HOFFM ASTER

HH^IH Ml ; V. HuBBARD

H^fl JOHN IHLDER

^H RAYMOND F. LEONARD

RICHARD LIEBER

THOMAS H. MACDONALD
HlH^I J. HORACE MCFARLAND

iR HENRY T. MC!NTOSH

II KATHERINE MCNAMARA

^^1 MARVIN C, NICHOLS

JOHN NOLEN, JR,

F, A. PITKIN

r 2D ISABELLE F. STORY

L. DEMING TILTON
TOM WALLACE
CONRAD L. WIRTH

MANAGING EDITOR
DORA A. PADGETT

$3.00 a Year

second-class matter at the Post Office at Washington, D. C., under

3, 1879. Additional entry at Harrisburg, Pa.

4D PUBLICATION OFFICE: 901 Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C.
the Mount Pleasant Press, J, Horace McFarland Company, Harris-

Planning and Civic Comment

Vol. 5

October-December, 1939

No. 4

Planning Progress in the United States

in 1939

By KARL B. LOHMANN, Professor of Landscape Architecture,
University of Illinois

federal appropriation for purposes
of state planning during the current
fiscal year ending June, 1940.

Of considerable interest in the
realm of planning organization was
the establishment for the first time
by official ordinance, of the Chicago
Planning Commission to be com-
posed of 22 members and an ad-
visory board of 200 members.

The New York City Planning
Commission which was established
under the new charter early in 1938
has made its first annual report
through Chairman Rexford Tugwell.

Suggestive of broadening horizons
was the change of name for the most
outstanding of our professional plan-
ning organizations. The former
American Oty Planning Institute
is now known by the new name of
American Institute of Planners.

Planning organization in general
assumes many forms in all parts of
the nation and is responsible for
numerous well attended planning
conferences East, West, North, and
South. The National Conference on
Planning held in Boston, in May,
was attended by 450 persons.

PLANNING progress suggests
forward motion in that which
is being attained and in that
which has been attained. As we
look back upon the past year, there
come to view many evidences of
such forward motion in the form of
administrative, protective, educa-
tional and material accomplishment.
These will be seen in large measure
to focus upon planning organiza-
tion; accommodations for traffic,
parking; road beautification efforts;
housing progress; development of
recreational, water and other re-
sources; land use and zoning prob-
lems; educational efforts and plan-
ning literature.

Planning Organization

In the field of planning or-
ganization nothing has deserved
more attention perhaps, than the
creation of the National Resources
Planning Board as proposed by
President Roosevelt to Congress in
April under the Reorganization
Plan No. i. Such achievement
gave to planning a genuine place as
one of the principal staff concepts
of modern administration.

Indicative of continued interest
in state planning activity on the
part of state legislatures and gover-
nors is the availability of $750,000

Accommodations for traffic, parking;
road beautification efforts

Planning for circulation is as-
sociated with the great network of

Planning and Civic Comment

our streets and highways, and with
the comfort, safety, and spetd of
the people who use them. Some of
the statewide programs in this
connection are important as are
also the specific undertakings within
them. Witness the work on the
i6i-mile highway between Harris-
burg and Pittsburgh in Pennsyl-
vania, in which distance is being
materially shortened by the use of a
railroad project started 50 years ago
and abandoned.

Ingenious also is the vehicular
tunnel 7,000 feet long completed
in the town of Bingham, Utah, and
introduced as a substitute for a road
passing over an ore bed.

In the New York vicinity in
particular have been completed an
approach to the Lincoln Tunnel,
also improved means of access on the
West through the Bronx to Tri-
borough Bridge. Exciting are the
prospects of such new proposals as
the Perth Amboy New York mul-
tiple-lane super highway which is to
accommodate 250,000 cars a day.

Along with the betterment of
roads and highways, has marched
the problem of better roadsides.
In some of the States, bills have
favored improvement in this con-
nection, while in others opposition
has developed. In retaliation for
opposition in the State of Maine,
thousands of stickers were used in
connection with letters posted con-
taining the invitation to "Come to
Maine and admire our billboards."

Not only must automobiles be
thought of in motion, but also at
rest, and if possible in a safe harbor
of parking. Numerous special
studies of this subject have been
made. A new bill in Michigan

permits cities to operate and main-
tain parking facilities and issue
bonds for their construction and
purchase. Additional cities have
taken to parking meters Salt Lake
for example has installed some 2000
of them, Cleveland 3000. There are
now at least 100 cities that are
equipped with these parking
facilities.

Planning Progress in Connection
with Housing

In some phases of housing there
has been perhaps more interest than
ever. The U. S. H. A. in particular
has begun to make its influence felt
among many of the 229 cities now
equipped with housing authorities.
Profiting by experience here and
elsewhere in housing the officials of
U. S. H. A. have expressed the
belief that they will be able to keep
costs down on several of the proj-
ects to as low as $2,830 per dwelling.
This is said to be $1,000 below what
private buildings would cost in the
localities of those same projects.

Of interest in connection with
this phase of housing is the new
short sound film on "Housing in
Our Time" just announced by the
Informational Service of U. S. H. A.

New state housing possibilities
begin to loom as purely municipal
projects are made possible in New
York. Through its legislature the
State of Connecticut has authorized
local authorities to issue revenue
bonds to finance their housing
projects.

In the private field, poi table
rentable houses that command high
rents and a tidy financial return,
have made their first appearance in
Reno. The Fort Wayne housing

Planning and Civic Comment

has been attracting a lot of notice.
Objections are leveled against it,
however, on such matteis as
amortization, increased cost in the
long run as compared with the most
recent Federal housing, and in-
ability to withstand and prevail
against surrounding dilapidation.

F. H. A. has continued to be of
help in promoting better sub-
division planning in its position of
passing upon many real estate
activities within the range of their
operation.

The auto trailer which is some-
times mistakenly thought of as
housing, has continued to be a
difficult civic problem, leading to
the enactment in a number of our
cities of regulating sanitary housing
and health legislation and the
construction of properly controlled
and equipped trailer camps.

The Planning oj Recreational
Resources

During 1939 the National Park
Service has had the assistance of
some 90 CCC Camps on its park
system areas and some 230 Camps
were detailed on county and met-
ropolitan parks. One -third of the
480 miles of the Blue Ridge parkway
is now completed and work is
progressing on the Natchez Trace
Parkway, which will eventually
have a length of 500 miles. A Park,
Parkway and Recreational Area
Study is now in process of publica-
tion and is expected to result in the
preparation and adoption of in-
tegrated and coordinated state park
proposals and in the formulation of a
national plan for recreation.

To cope with the needs for parks,
a number of our communities also

as well as federal and state au-
thorities, have been busily occupied.
There has been the construction of
beaches as, for example, along 2
miles of ocean front within limits of
New York City; as in connection
with the extensive Pittsburgh water-
front proposal, or in the shore drive
and lake improvement of Cleveland.
West Baltimore has opened a wide
parkway over the long time barrier
of Gwynns Falls Valley.

The foresters also have been
active. The increase over the past
year in the numbers of community
forests is especially startling. Al-
though there are now more than
1,500 such in the United States, new
forests were established this year
in Florida, North Dakota, Virginia,
Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, North
Carolina, and in a number of other
States.

Water Resources

Progress also is to be noted in the
field of planning for water resources.
The continuing contribution of the
National Resources Planning Board
in this connection deserves es-
pecially to be recognized. Progress
also may be observed in almost
every direction over the country in
flood control, the building of sea
walls, dams and reclamation works.
When, during a flood this spring,
Glasgow, Montana was saved from
almost complete inundation by a
five-mile levee recently completed,
there was reason for gratification.
A new sea wall is being completed
at Tampa with a 6-lane divided
highway paralleling it. Construction
of a dam on the Grand River in
Pensacola, Oklahoma, is progressing.
The Sardis dam on a tributary of
the Yazoo River in Mississippi adds

Planning and Civic Comment

the first headwaters detention
reservoir to the modern flood con-
trol works on the Lower Mississippi.
A combination reservoir and local
protection flood control program
has been begun in the Ohio River
Valley to prevent repetition of
previous high water disasters. The
longest T.V.A. dam at Gilbertsville
on the Tennessee River has entered
the construction stage. Early in
the year Congress allotted $36,000-
ooo, said to be more than ever, for
reclamation projects.

Prevention and correction of pol-
lution of streams have been under-
taken by many groups and from
many points of view. Among the
interesting attempts should be listed
the reciprocal agreement entered
into within the Delaware River
Drainage Basin by four States
New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl-
vania, and Delaware.

Land Uses and Zoning

The planning of our land uses has
gone ahead in many places. The
importance of this subject is recog-
nized especially in the Department
of Agriculture where reorganization
has resulted in making the Bureau
of Agricultural Economics the cen-
tral planning agency for the entire
department. There was to be set
up in this bureau a division of State
and Local Planning. County land
use will engage increasing attention,
and the preparation of agricultural
plans will probably be encouraged
for all of the counties in the United
States.

Special interest in zoning among
our towns and cities grows out of an
increasing realization of improperly

balanced zoning and of the conse-
quent need for correction and re-
zoning.

Education Efforts

There are activities and events
of an educational and promotional
sort that stand out through the
year. Both of the World's Fairs had
tremendous educational value es-
pecially from a planning point of
view. They were not only planning
displays in themselves but they
contained numberless planning
demonstrations within their gates.
Among others at the New York
Fair were the perisphere exhibit,
the breath-taking General Motors
Spectacle and the much-talked-
about moving picture of "The City."

The General Motors presentation
included scenes of 1960 in a 35,748-
square-foot "Futurama" by Norman
Bel Geddes. Appropriate words
were synchronized with the scenes.

The moving picture of "The
City" was financed by the Carnegie
Corporation and presented by the
American Institute of Planners.
It was based on the dramatic theme
that year by year our cities are
growing more complex and that
now is the age of rebuilding.

In the educational institutions
especially noteworthy were the ex-
pansion of planning courses at
Cornell, and the offerings of 19
graduate fellowships in Traffic En-
gineering at Yale.

A high light of the year was the
interest exhibited In the subject of
planning by a number of groups
such as the Real Estate Boards,
Chambers of Commerce, Junior
Chambers of Commerce, and
Leagues of Women Voters.

Planning and Civic Comment

Planning Literature oj the Year
There was a tremendous out-
pouring of literature on all phases
of planning during the year. The
already famous collection of
Regional Works by the National
Resources Committee has been en-
riched by such new volumes as
"Urban Government," "Northern
Lakes," "Water Pollution," "Energy
Resources," "Structure of the Ameri-
can Economy." An important plan-
ning record was "America Builds"
by the P.W.A. There were also
books on "The City," by Queen and
Thomas; "City Planning," by Lewis;
"Your Community," by Colcord;
"Recreation Survey," by Kratt;
"Housing the Masses," by Arono-
vici; "American Planning and
Civic Annual;" "Conservation in
the United States," by A. F.
Gustafson and other members of

the faculty of Cornell University;
"Housing Yearbook;" "Housing for
the Machine Age," by Clarence
Perry; "Revolution in Land," by
Charles Abrams; "Airport Di-
lemma," by the A.S.P.O. and the
A.M.A.; "Transition Curves for
Highways," Joseph Barnett; "Na-
tional Conference on Planning Pro-
ceedings;" and "Romance of Na-
tional Parks," by Harlean James.

To catalogue the planning prog-
ress in the United States for 1939
is to reach into every corner of our
national, state, county, and com-
munity life. Things planned and
things accomplished are manifold.
Only a small fraction of them have
been referred to here. Most of them
whether mentioned or not are a
happy promise for the days to come.
We have good reason to be proud of
these various evidences of progress.

Appropriations for City Planning Commissions

An examination of the city
budgets for the years 1938 and 1939
shows that cities of the metropolitan
class (at least 500,000 in population)
have almost uniformly accepted
the planning commission and made
specific appropriation for its work.
Of the 17 cities in this class, only
one has never made provision in the
budget for the planning commission
and fifteen were in the list of ap-
propriating cities for the years
examined. New York City was in a
class by itself, and the range in the
other fourteen cities was from
$10,000 to $50,000 yearly, with
seven cities over $20,000. In no
case do these amounts include
extra contributions for W.P.A. proj-
ects.

In the next population group,

cities between 200,000 and 500,000,
there is a great shrinkage both in
percentage of appropriating cities
and in the amount of their ap-
propriations. Of the twenty-five
cities in this class, twelve made
appropriations ranging from $5,000
to $13,000, of which seven were
over $7,500. In the 100,000 to
200,000 class there are fifty-three
cities. Thirteen report appropria-
tions from $2,000 to $7,500 of which
eight were over $4,000.

In all the cities from 100,000 down
to 25,000, there are only four re-
porting appropriations of at least
$4,000 and it has been assumed that
less than this amount would not be
enough for the salaries of a planning
engineer and an office secretary
even in a city of 25,000 population.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

The National Capital Parks

A THE invitation of the
Secretary of the Interior,
H. S. Wagner, President, and
Charles G. Sauers, members of the
Board of Directors of the National
Conference on State Parks, served
as CoIIaborators-at-Large to pre-
pare a Study of the Organization of
the National Capital Parks, which
was issued November 26, 1939. The
Report is a credit to these ex-
perienced park men who know, not
only the theory but the practice of
park administration. Their recom-
mendations would salvage most of
the past accomplishments in the
National Capital Parks and would
give new life and direction to their
administration. Summarized, the
recommendations are:

Engage an experienced municipal park
administrator as Superintendent.

Clothe the Superintendent with full
responsibility; make all his staff respon-
sible to him and give him leeway and time
to get the situation in hand.

Set up an organization under the
Superintendent with three Divisions of
equal weight Construction, Horticulture
and Maintenance, and two auxiliary
Divisions Office and Special Activities.

Establish policies: with the public,
with public officials.

Boost up the Horticultural Division to
its merited importance.

Restore to the National Capital Park
Police the sole function of park police,
discontinuing all traffic duty within the
District of Columbia.

Place operation and control of all
concessions, refectories, and facilities for
which fees are collected, in the National
Capital Parks itself.

Transfer to the proposed unified
recreation commission all playground

construction, maintenance and operation.

Provide in-service training for the staff,
particularly laborers, gardeners, foremen
and police.

Make National Capital Parks a field
office.

Secure maximum results from current
appropriations first; then proceed with
sound and justified financial program.

Discontinue mutilation, by road con-
struction, of natural landscapes such as
Rock Creek and GIover-ArchboId.

Synchronize development and main-
tenance with the acquisition program.

Make originators of new developments
aware of consequent maintenance costs.
All the while keep one eye on Maintenance
and Maintenance Costs.

These recommendations are the
bare bones which the body of the
report covers with flesh and which
the theme supplies with the breath
of life. No one, we think, will take
exception to the gist of these 15
specific recommendations. Many of
the comments in the Report will
arouse the enthusiasm of those who
have watched with growing alarm
the tendency to supply synthetic
scenery in parks already provided
with natural landscape and the
tendency to formalize the design of
parks planted long ago on an in-
formal plan. No one can deny that
in the Federal City we have suffered
from the prevailing epidemic of
roaditis which inflicts destructive
highways on areas never meant for
rapid transportation.

With the recommendation for
more generous appropriations for
maintenance, as needed, all must
agree; but it is unfortunate that
these recommendations should have

Planning and Civic Comment

been coupled with the suggestion
that appropriations for acquisition
might be curtailed. The National
Capital Park and Planning Com-
mission, first established as the
National Capital Park Commission
in 1924, faced a stupendous task.
The consistent neglect of park and
playground acquisition for more
than a hundred years could not be
remedied in a day. The McMillan
Commission in 1901 recommended
the acquisition of 54 park areas. In
1923, but six of these had been
acquired and many of the areas were
no longer available, as trees had been
cut down and sometimes the land
had been graded or filled beyond
recognition or repair. The National
Capital Park and Planning Com-
mission was met with an almost
insoluble situation. If it had not
been for the Capper-Cramton Act
which made money available from
the Federal Treasury, to be repaid
in annual instalments in the District
of Columbia budget, both acquisition
and maintenance would have suffered
immeasurably. As a matter of fact
there is little doubt that the very
size of the acquisition program has
stimulated maintenance expenses,
for anyone who searches for adequate
park items of any sort in the Dis-
trict budget prior to 1920 is bound
to be disappointed.

The National Capital Park and
Planning Commission had to make a
decision, and establish an order of
precedence. If its principal funds had
been expended for the acquisition
of in-town parks and playgrounds at
prevailing high prices, the acreage

and use showing would have been
exceedingly poor. In the meantime,
the growing population would have
covered new areas unprovided with
parks and playgrounds, so that the
Commission would constantly have
been paying exorbitant prices for
areas which should have been pur-
chased years before, and in many
cases the opportunities to buy would
have been removed altogether.

There is no catching up on such
a program. The Commission, there-
fore, adopted a policy of securing,
under favorable conditions, the
parks and open spaces needed in
advance of settlement, buying, as
they could, such in-city property
as could be secured in the right
locations. In this way actual prog-
ress has been made. It would be
unfortunate, indeed, if the ac-
quisition program, which has never
caught up the arrears of the hundred
years' neglect, should be slowed
down in any degree, until the entire
city and surrounding metropolitan
region are supplied with an adequate
park, playground and parkway sys-
tem. To this end, the recom-
mendation that the new Superin-
tendent of the National Capital
Parks, when he is chosen, shall
become a member of the National
Capital Park and Planning Com-
mission, as was his predecessor, the
Director of Public Buildings and
Public Parks, seems logical and
desirable.

Taking the Report all in all the
Federal City will be fortunate if the
main features of the recommenda-
tions are adopted.

Past, Present and Future

In 1923, nearly 17 years ago, Mr.
Frederic A. Delano accepted the
invitation of Dr. J. Horace Mc-
Farland, then President of the
American Civic Association, to be-
come Chairman of a Committee of
100 on the Federal City. The
Committee, composed of leading
citizens of Washington, in January
of 1924 issued a Report on the
Federal City. The officers of the
Committee, in addition to Mr.
Delano, were: Fred G. Coldren,
Vice-Chairman; John DeLaMater,
Secretary; Joshua Evans, Jr., Trea-
surer. The Chairmen of Committees
were: ARCHITECTURE, Horace W.
Peaslee; FOREST AND PARK RESER-
VATIONS, Charles F. Consaul;
SCHOOL SITES AND PLAYGROUNDS,
Evan H. Tucker; HOUSING AND
RESERVATIONS FOR FUTURE HOUS-
ING, John Ihlder; ZONING, Harry
Blake; STREET, HIGHWAY AND
TRANSIT PROBLEMS, Alvin B.
Barber; EXTENSION OF MET-
ROPOLITAN WASHINGTON, William
T. Curtis; WATERFRONT DEVELOP-
MENT, Frank P. Leetch; INDUSTRIAL
DEVELOPMENT AND LIMITATIONS,
Edwin C. Graham; CONTACT WITH
EXISTING ORGANIZATIONS, Claude
Owen.

At that time, it was stated in the
Report:

Washington is expanding rapidly. The
area covered by the L' Enfant Plan has
been exceeded long ago. Nearly a quarter
of a century has elapsed since the re-
study and extension of that plan by those
eminent Americans who served the Mc-
Millan Commission. Many recommenda-
tions contained in the McMillan Report
have not been put into effect. Some can
never be realized because virgin woods
have been swept away and acres of hill

and valley have been leveled. Moreover,
even in 1901 automobiles were hardly a
factor in the planning of highway and
park systems.

There has developed a very compelling
demand for a careful retaking of stock in
order to bring from their obscurity old
recommendations as yet unrealized and to
set forth new needs grown out of new
conditions to the end that a revised and
progressively constructive program may
be adopted and put into effect over a
period of years.

In 1923 there was no permanent
comprehensive planning agency in
Washington. In addition to the
many detailed recommendations of
the sub-committees, the Committee
of 100 joined in two principal
recommendations :

1. Just as the founders looked forward
one hundred years in their planning, so we
must look forward. Correcting past errors
is expensive. Intelligent planning for the
future is economy. Some machinery
adequate for such planning should be setup.

2. The Federal City was set amidst
hills and valleys that were notable for
their trees and shrubbery of a remarkable
variety. If that condition is to continue
in the future, ample reservations for
forests and parks should be made. Other
cities in our country are far in advance of
Washington in these respects.

Those who today accept the
National Capital Park and Planning
Commission as an established in-
stitution may forget its recent
origin and the huge task it had
before it, when it was finally set up
in 1926. Attention is called to the
"Resume of 1939 Progress on the
Washington Plan," by John Nolen,
in this issue, from which it may be
seen that the plan, like a continuing
inventory, is constantly being re-
studied and revamped to meet new
needs. They may also see how the
Commission, at first isolated from
the established Federal and District

Planning and Civic Comment

of Columbia governmental pro-
cedures, has consolidated its position
to one of positive participation. The
record is one to command respect.

But in the rapid course of achieve-
ment, it is desirable to pause at
intervals in order to look backward,
take inventory, and look forward.

On December 27, the Executive
Committee of the Committee of 100
on the Federal City is being called
together to check over the realiza-
tions of its 1924 recommendations
and to set in motion machinery for a
new "look ahead" and new goals to
work for.

Why the Taxpayer Should Take Active
Interest in City and Town Planning

FROM the point of view of the
planner and planning prog-
ress, the answer is obvious.
If the taxpayer is not interested, the
whole structure of planning is
resting on a shaky base. There may
be technical skill enough and there
may be law enough but without the
will to employ the skill and use the
law, planning will not get ahead.

In local planning at least that is
just about the situation all over the
country. Since the first planning
enabling act was passed in Con-
necticut in 1907 for the City of
Hartford, a most remarkable body
of law has been developed. No
policy of government has been given
such universal approval in such a
short time. This is significant be-
cause frills and fancies do not get
adopted by legislatures, at least
not with such unanimity. But the
American public is still cool to
planning and is very hazy about its
meaning and its value. This public
indifference is often laid at the door
of the planning advocate. He has
made it a technical mystery a
grim statistical thing without human
interest. The charge may be true
but I am not sure that it is the

reason for the lack of public support.

So many things are claiming the
attention of the average American
citizen. He is beset on all sides with
moving appeals to take heed for his
health, his wealth and his hap-
piness. He may give passive assent
to them all but he doesn't act. He
is offered hospitalization at three
cents a day, yet too often he waits
for a sudden pain to send him post
haste to the hospital at $5 to $10 a
day. The banks preach thrift but
savings are rarely an item in the
average budget savings are just
what is left. With the advance in
invention and in the arts there is
little leisure time for serious reading.
We have radios in two or three
rooms in the house. We have an
automobile or two in the garage.
We look at the movies, listen to the
radio and ride around the country
and that is our pleasure.

The claim which planning has
on the taxpayer and the voter
is a valid one. We need no longer
theorize about the value of plan-
ning. We used to say that planning
was essential in the building of a
house or a factory and all the more,
therefore, for the building of a town

Planning and Civic Comment

which is a much more complex
process. We used to point out the
wasteful public expenditures over
the past years and the considerable
portion of the annual budget which
represented the debt charges on
these expenditures. Now we have
added the proof of experience in the
many cities which have tried plan-
ning, proof in the satisfactions of
life so difficult to measure, as well
as by figures of savings which can
be expressed in reduced tax rates.

We know that zoning has brought
a good deal of order out of confusion,
has kept the tax values steady and
has checked depreciation in Amer-
ican homes. We know that many
cities can point to great savings
because public improvements are
constructed at the right time and in
the right place. The cost of street
paving has been cut down because
the function of the street is more
clearly known and the paving fits it.
The cost of building sites is cut
down because the land is bought
when the price is low. Cities have
been made more healthful, more
convenient and more attractive at
less cost because they have followed
a careful program, but we are still
waiting to have the public rise up
and call the planners blessed.

Quite recently planning and
zoning have slipped into mag-
azine fiction, notably the Saturday
Evening Post. "Before" and "after"
pictures have been used by Life.
We have dramatized the planning
appeal in the movies. The evolution
of the modern highway would be an
excellent subject for the "March of
Time." All these things will help

but possibly we aren't concentrating
our fire on the target.

I suggest that what we need in
planning is not more planners or
more laws or more orators but more
salesmen, and I take my text from
the successful practices of our great
life insurance companies. We all
believe in insurance but how many
of us would buy it if we were not
harried by the agents' sales talk?
It is almost a repetition of the
appeal that brings the result. Why
not, then, recruit in all our com-
munities a body of planning sales-
men so that no home can escape
their importunity?

Zoning is so w r ell thought of today
that there are ordinances in effect
in 1,500 cities and towns in the
United States but there are still
many communities that resist. For
years the town of Stamford, Con-
necticut, was one of them. Zoning
had been before the town meeting
several times and had always been
defeated. A leader of the people
was always ready to say that
zoning was stepping on the toes of
the property owners. Somebody
had the idea to take the cue from
the insurance companies and create
salesmen. A committee of one
hundred educated itself, learned all
the answers, then carried the torch
to the people of the community in
neighborhood meetings and when
zoning came up for adoption two
years ago, one of the most radical
ordinances adopted in the country
was passed by the town meeting
without a dissenting vote. Creating
planning salesmen is the job for
every live planning commission.

Planning and Civic Comment

Self-Liquidating and Subsidized Government Housing

In his article on The Alley Dwell-
ing Authority, John Ihlder has
shown that in the District of
Columbia, self-liquidating housing
will supply the needs of families who
can pay an economic rent, i. e. a
rent that covers all costs, but who
are not being served by private
enterprise, which must make a
profit above cost. This lessens the
load on the Federal Treasury and
gives sanitary housing to those who
otherwise would not have it.

The Alley Dwelling Authority
has rendered another service in its
plan to use the Federal subsidy in
projects financed by the United
States Housing Authority only for
those families who need it when they
need it and to the extent they need
it. In this way decent housing may

reach to the lowest-income group,
but subsidies in rental reductions
would not be given laterally to
include all in a given project whether
they need it or not. In many of
the projects elsewhere families are
forced out at the top, when income
is increased even though there are
not decent houses available, or
they are kept out at the bottom
because they have not incomes
sufficient to meet even the reduced
rates.

The Alley Dwelling Authority,
through its specific authorization to
reclaim slums, whether the area is
used for housing or not, is in a
position to make a signal contribu-
tion to city rebuilding on sound
planning principles.

Watch Washington!

D. C. Reorganization

The various proposals for Re-
organization of the District of
Columbia Government appear, so
far, to leave untouched the indepen-
dent status of the National Capital
Park and Planning Commission and
the Alley Dwelling Authority. These
are agencies that need protection

from administrative routine. There
are indications that all of the experts
have found trouble in deciding just
where the line should fall between
direct Federal and District respon-
sibilities. In some of the plans there
are still twilight zones where the re-
sponsibility is not yet defined.

As we go to press, word bos come of the death of
Mr. F. A. Silcox, Chief of the Forest Service. Con-
servationists will mourn the passing of one of their
number who has left an enviable record of achievement
in forestry and labor relations. All who knew Mr.
Silcox can bear witness to bis essential Jairness
and to bis wide sympathies.

NATIONAL PARK COMMENT

The Olympic Controversy

Among conservationists there was
real rejoicing when the Olympic
National Park Bill finally passed
Congress and was approved by the
President on June 29, 1938, after 35
years of skirmishing between public
and private interests.

In 1909, despairing of the passage
by Congress of the bill to create a
national park on the Olympic Pen-
insula, President Theodore Roose-
velt, by executive order, created the
Mount Olympus National Monu-
ment, comprising 608,640 acres of
superlatively scenic mountains and
magnificently forested valleys, sur-
rounding stately Mount Olympus,
crowned with its ineffably beautiful
Blue Glacier. The Monument, lying
as it did in the Olympic National
Forest, carved some years before
from the public domain, was given
into the custody of the U. S. Forest
Service.

During the World War, in the
emotional flurry to mobilize all
possible economic resources (real
and fancied), the Monument was
reduced to 298,730 acres, that is,
more than cut in half. The 30O-odd
thousand acres excluded from the
Monument reverted to the Olympic
National Forest, though, so far as
winning the war was concerned, the
sacrifice of protected monument
status proved futile.

Then, in 1917, the National Park
Service, authorized the year before,
entered upon the scene, and became

the guardian of all national parks
and some national monuments. In
1933, President Franklin D. Roose-
velt, as a part of a program to
bring all national monuments under
one administration, transferred by
executive order the Olympic Na-
tional Monument from the custody
of the U. S. Forest Service to that of
the National Park Service. In 1936,
the U. S. Forest Service, of its own
volition, as a part of a nation-wide
program, by administrative action
declared 238,930 acres of the Olym-
pic National Forest surrounding the
National Monument a primitive
area, which was an indication that
in the opinion of the Forest Service
these lands should be removed from
the commercial program of forest
utilization.

Then came the passage of the
Wallgren Bill by .Congress, which
enlarged the National Monument to
a National Park, with designated
boundaries of 648,000 acres and
gave to President Roosevelt specifi-
cally the authority, after consulta-
tion with the interested state and
Federal agencies, to add to the
National Park by executive order an
area which would bring the park to
a maximum of 898,292 acres.

According to the reports of the
U. S. Forest Service in 1938, the
Olympic National Forest covered
800,544 acres actually in Federal
ownership, and an area within the
outer boundaries of 911,919 acres.

Planning und Civic Comment

On the Olympic Peninsula there are
extensive areas of privately owned
forests, where clear-cutting is going
forward as rapidly as a market can
be found for the lumber. It is safe
to say that within the next few
years a large part of the privately
owned timber on the Peninsula will
be harvested, leaving behind vast
devastated areas, subject to the
same kind of erosion which the
Federal Government has been trying
so valiantly to remedy.

The State has recently enacted
legislation requiring that state forest
lands be managed on a sustained
yield basis and authorizing agree-
ments with the U. S. Forest Service
for cooperative management of state
and Federal forest lands. It is
hoped that such a program can be
conducted, including the private
lands also; otherwise, the Olympic
National Park, would soon exist as
an oasis in a vast desert of cut-over
lands. Anyone who has seen the
devastation wrought by careless
clear cutting in the State of Wash-
ington, even within recent years,
does not need to draw on his
imagination to picture the scene!

Under conditions to be an-
ticipated by the most optimistic, it
must not be supposed that lands,
subject to intelligent selective cut-
ting to bring about a sustained yield,
will offer any substitute for a
national park. The National Park
Service knows this, for, under
instructions by Congress, all ex-
traneous commercial uses are elim-
inated from the parks, in order that
natural conditions of plant and
animal life may be protected. The
U. S. Forest Service recognizes this
principle in its extensive program to

set aside protected wilderness areas.

The time approaches for the
President to issue the executive
order authorized in the Act of
Congress. Some of the proposed
additions are not opposed, so far as
we know, by officials of the State of
Washington. Perhaps, in the final
analysis, only 40,000 or 50,000 acres
of fine stands of Douglas Fir and
other species on the west side of the
park, may be considered sharply
controversial. Certain it is that
these areas, less than J^ of i per cent
of the Olympic Peninsula, will not
make or break any conceivable
sustained-yield program which may
be adopted by Federal and state
authorities. Certain it is, also, that
500- and 6oo-year-old trees, once
cut, will not come to maturity again
within a period of time equal to the
entire occupancy of the American
Continent by European white
settlers.

It should be made clear at the
outset that at the time when the
definite boundaries in the Wallgren
Bill were reduced to 648,000 acres,
and a provision was included in the
Act of Congress authorizing the
President to make additions, there
were, so far as we know, absolutely
no commitments as to where these
should be. If agreement could then
have been secured, the boundaries
would have been written into the
Act. No matter what action the
President takes, faith will not be
broken with anyone. Those who
urge the inclusion of the fine forests
west of the park do so because they
believe that is the highest use to
which these forest giants can be
put. Those who believe that the
trees in these tracts should be cut

Planning and Civic Comment

as they reach maturity are simply
voicing their honest convictions.

The readers of PLANNING AND
Civic COMMENT will of course
cheerfully accept the decision of the
President on this controversial issue;
but if the President in his wisdom
should decide to follow the advice of

the Secretary of the Interior to
include these 40,000 or 50,000 acres
of superlative forests west of the
park, together with other proposed
additions authorized under the Act,
he will have the hearty support of
conservationists throughout the
country.

The Cascades The Last Stronghold of
Primeval Wilderness

Starting just north of the
Canadian border and extending
across the States of Washington and
Oregon into Northern California,
the Cascade Range is perhaps less
known and more superlatively beau-
tiful than the longer and higher
Rocky Mountain Range which
stretches from the Yukon in Canada
to Southern Colorado. At least it
may be said that the Cascades
bear fewer marks of human use than
the Rockies. The Cascades have
been described as the most primitive
and unexplored region in the United
States. The "heavily timbered
gorges and ice-streaked ridges" rise
to mighty glacier peaks. Hermann
Ulrichs has called the Northern Cas-
cades "the last stronghold of almost
completely untouched primitive
wilderness in the United States,"
and hazards the opinion that as
mountaineers become acquainted
with its fastnesses "it will be regarded
as the most spectacular, varied and
truly Alpine of all our mountains."

To cover the 850 miles of Pacific
Crest Trail in the Washington and
Oregon Cascades on foot would
require 80 or 90 days. Yet only
about 50 of these miles He in

national parks and of the 40,000 or
50,000 square miles covered by the
Cascade Range only a little over 600
square miles are protected in na-
tional parks Mount Rainier,
created in 1899, and Crater Lake,
created in 1902. Both parks are
admittedly too small. If we would
protect this "Switzerland in Amer-
ica" we must be more generous.

Mountain lovers who have pene-
trated the Cascades, where there
are more glaciers than in Glacier
National Park, more jagged crests
and impressive peaks than in many
another more famous mountain
region and, fortunately, in the high
country few commercially valuable
timber resources, have for years
advocated one or more national
parks in the Cascades. But already
roads are being built into this
hitherto magnificently remote
region. In a few years, if present
tendencies continue, the Cascades
may be just another mountain
country which motorists see through
a car window, slipping by at fifty
or sixty miles an hour!

The policy of laissez Jaire in the
East permitted the scenic Ap-
palachians to pass into private

Planning and Civic Comment

ownership and made it necessary
for the Government to repurchase
outright nearly 1,000 square miles
for two national parks, to meet the
insistent demand of the people for
protected mountain scenery. In
the Cascades it is not yet too late.
May we not hope that adequate
national-park protection will be
assured for the climax areas in the
Cascades? Is it too much to ask
that the Joint Study by the Wash-
ington State Planning Council and

the Departments of Agriculture and
Interior will contain recommenda-
tions for the preservation of the
most scenic areas of the Cascade
Range? This would still leave the
vast remainder of these marvelous
mountains to whatever economic
exploitation may be devised. Might
it not transpire in time to come that
these protected regions would com-
mand a higher economic return than
the worked-out mines and the cut-
over timber?

Kings Canyon National Park Bill Awaits
Senate Action

At the ist Session of the y6th
Congress the Gearhart Bill to create
the Kings Canyon National Park
passed the House on July 18, 1939.
For fifty years, bills have been
introduced into Congress at in-
tervals to protect all or part of this
section of the Sierra country as a
national park. But for half a
century opposition has been voiced
by those who, directly or indirectly,
saw some material benefit to be
gained locally by commercial ex-
ploitation of the area.

The bill, as it passed the House,
would include in the proposed
national park the crest of the Sierra
from the South Fork of the San
Joaquin to Foresters Pass 81 miles
of the superb John Muir Trail the
famous Evolution Basin, the Pali-
sades, Mt. Clarence King, the
Sphinx and a score of peaks known
and loved by every mountain
climber, as well as the upper foun-
tains of the South Fork of the San
Joaquin, the Middle and South

Forks of the Kings, and the Roaring
River. Short of the Mt. Whitney
area itself there is no section of the
Sierra of more impressive beauty.

The prospect for securing this
great national park may never
again be so favorable. The Federal
bureaus concerned are agreed. The
House of Representatives has acted.
The Sierra Club, which has played
a leading part in all conservation
matters in California for nearly 50
years, is urging passage by the
Senate of the Gearhart Bill, which
also includes authorization for the
purchase of the last extensive tracts
of Sequoia gigantea on Redwood
Mountain.

At the hearings before the Public
Lands Committee of the House,
in the testimony of John C. Page,
Commissioner of Reclamation, it
developed that there is an ex-
cellent probability that the Tehi-
pite and Cedar Grove reclamation
sites which were excluded from
(Continued on page 41)

Zoning Round Table

Conducted by EDWARD M. BASSETT
THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND COMFORT OF THE COMMUNITY

TWENTY years ago when
zoning was spreading we fol-
lowed simple methods.

1. The regulations must have a
substantial relation to the com-
munity health, safety and comfort.

2. The regulations must differ in
different districts according to the
needs of those districts.

3. The regulations must be
reasonable and not discriminatory.

The passage of time tempted
local legislatures to use zoning
ordinances to accomplish almost
everything that they conceive the
taxpayers ought to have. They
saw that the courts supported
zoning regulations rather generally
and therefore they thought that the
courts would give their support to
anything that looked good regard-
less of whether it comes within the
rather limited field of zoning. Some
illustrations follow.

A village zoning ordinance is
established to regulate the character
of buildings. The purpose is to
prevent small inexpensive buildings
without cellars. It would be hard
to show the courts that small
inexpensive buildings cannot be
safe and healthful. Bad zoning.

Several cities have excluded store
buildings unless they are two stories
high. The purpose is to improve the
looks of the city by preventing
shacks. But a one-story building is
known by all to be as healthful and
safe as a two-story building. There-
fore the courts have declared that
such zoning is void.

A village has required that every
residence in a certain high-class
district shall cost $6,000. or more.
This is a rather transparent effort
to translate private restrictions into
zoning regulations. Of course, it
cannot be shown that a $6,000 build-
ing is more healthful or safe than a
$ i, ooo building. Bad zoning.

In a California city new buildings
in a certain street must be stores of
Georgian design and painted white.
This regulation probably pleases the
people of the city but it happens to
be unlawful. Why? Because the
buildings would be just as safe and
healthful if they were residences or
some other design or some other
color.

Another city desired to prevent
new moving picture theatres in a
high-class business district. In an
effort to accomplish this the local
legislature prohibited theatres,
moving picture houses, bus stations
and the selling of automobiles on
vacant lots. Nearly all of the
injurious uses were allowed,
saloons, pool rooms, skating rinks
and fish markets. On the face of the
ordinance it would seem to be
discriminatoiy to prevent a moving
picture house and permit a skating
rink. Bad zoning.

Signs in business districts are a
fertile field for all sorts of experi-
ments in exclusion. Several ordi-
nances provide that only such signs
can be placed on buildings in a
business district as relate to the
business conducted in such building.

Planning and Civic Comment

This exclusion has no relation to
health and safety and would seem
to be founded on a misapprehension
of the police power. Bad zoning.

The zoning ordinance of a New
Jersey borough ordains that in an
A residence district a new residence
should have a lot twenty acres in
extent. The evident purpose of this
requirement is to protect large
estates. This provision was an
invitation for people who wanted to
build a residence on one acre or
three acres to go to court to give the
borough an opportunity to prove
that the twenty acre requirement
was based on health and safety.
The borough did not allow the
matter to go to court, probably
because it could not procure a
competent opinion witness who
would testify that a residence on
twenty acres was safer or more
healthful than a residence on one
acre. The opinion witness, if one
could be found, would have difficulty
in showing that the fire danger was
substantially less in a house on
twenty acres than in a house on one
acre. Indeed, fire protection from
underground water pipes is sure to
be rather poor where each house is
in a twenty acre lot. Six-inch pipes
instead of three-inch pipes are likely
to be used where houses are nearer
together, thus insuring a good
flow of water in case of fire. Then,
too, it would be difficult for an
expert witness to show the court that
a residence in a twenty acre lot was
more healthful than one in a one
acre lot. The excuse for the regu-
lation was that the owners of large
estates wanted to keep small houses
out of the borough. Zoning was not
the right way to accomplish this.

They should have resorted to pri-
vate restrictions. Probably the
reason they did not was because
they could not secure the signatures
of all the landowners.

STRONG ARM VARIANCES

This memorandum does not refer
to appeals from the determinations
of the building commissioner reach-
ing the Board of Appeals on the
ground of practical difficulty and
unnecessary hardship. The merit
of such appeals depends on the
environment. The applicant or an
aggrieved neighbor can always bring
such a matter before the Board of
Appeals, not because it is so pro-
vided in the ordinance but because
the state law gives him the privilege.

I am speaking here of another set
of possible variances, those based
on special exceptions and provided
for in the ordinance itself. Almost
every ordinance has a list of these
special exceptions or rather fields in
which a special exception may be
granted by the Board of Appeals.
All good state enabling acts for
zoning give the local legislative
body the power to insert these
fields for exceptions in the zoning
ordinance. An illustration of a
proper exception would be a cement
block-making plant for a limited
number of years in a residence
district.

Some ingenious ordinance drafters
will try to evade the requirement
that a zoning regulation must have
a substantial relation to the com-
munity health and safety by giving
the Board of Appeals the apparent
power to make a special exception
in an unlawful field. This is a way
of trying to accomplish indirectly

Planning and Civic Comment

what cannot be accomplished direct-
ly. For instance, an ordinance will
exclude a one-story store from a
residence district unless it is
approved by the Board of Appeals
as a special exception. Or the
ordinance will exclude a residence
on a lot of less than twenty
acres if it is approved by the Board
of Appeals. Courts will not help
out such evasions where the regula-
tion is void on its face. The Board
of Appeals in such cases will be
powerless to make a valid special
exception.

The correct fields for special
exceptions are where local practice

in that particular municipality
makes an occasional departure from
the general rule desirable. The
temporary permit for a cement
block-making plant in a residence
district, the drying of nets in a
residence district in a fishing village,
or parking lots for automobiles in a
business district in a city are
examples.

Strong arm regulations that is,
not based on community conve-
nience, health and safety and also
strong arm variances should be
avoided. They deceive the land-
owners and in the long run they
will hurt more than help.

Resume of 1939 Progress on the
Washington Plan

By JOHN NOLEN, JR.
Director of Planning, National Capital Park & Planning Commission

THE work of the National
Capital Park and Planning
Commission in furthering the
orderly planning and development
of Washington and its environs has
been moving forward on all fronts
with the accelerated growth of the
city. Progress has been marked by
continued perfecting and extension
of basic plans formulated by the
Commission in the last 1 5 years and
by the actual realization of projects
which are important features or
objectives in the general plan.

In the field of planning, the
Commission has been active on all
of the seven elements which Mr.
Bassett so ably describes as com-
prising the scope of the community
or master plan. These involve for
the National Capital continued

revisions in the Highway Plan of
the District and the general plan
for the park, parkway and recreation
system; new studies for development
of the central area of Washington;
progress towards a comprehensive
revision of the zoning regulations
and maps; cooperation with the
Alley Dwelling Authority on seven
low-cost housing projects; a rec-
ommendation for enabling legisla-
tion to make a comprehensive re-
view of waterfront development
problems; and work with adjoining
jurisdictions on revision and ex-
tension of the regional plan.

The duty of acquiring land for
local parks and playgrounds and
for the regional parks outside the
District in cooperation with Mary-
land and Virginia agencies has con-

Planning and Civic Comment

tinued to be the Commission's well-
chosen birthright and one of its ma-
jor interests and activities. In this
field, the year has been a turning
point marked by the appropriation
to the commission of the largest
amount for land since 1931 and
by the signing of agreements with
both Maryland and Virginia for
the acquisition of important units
of the George Washington Me-
morial Parkway.

Current modifications in the
Highway Plan of the District bring
the total for these changes since
1926 to almost 200. While many are
apparently of only local importance,
the pattern of these changes covers
all outlying sections of the city and
has helped materially to reduce the
cost of opening streets and develop-
ing land, and to make more
attractive home sites by adaptation
of the streets to topograplty. The
rapid growth of the District due to
the building boom of the last
several years has emphasized the
importance of this type of flexible
control over the street plan.

A new and up-to-date edition of
the general plan for the District
park, parkway and recreation sys-
tem has been made together with a
new plan for the proposed recreation
system, including about 26 major
recreation centers. The general plan
has served to focus attention on the
need for a definite program for the
development of such major projects
as the Fort Drive and the Anacostia
River Parkway, both of which are
now ready for development. In the
case of the Anacostia Parkway,
studies were made for this route as a
possible by-pass of the central
business district connecting U. S.

Route No. 1 in Maryland with U. S.
Route No. 1 in Virginia.

The recreation system plan is a
revision of the original plan of 1930
developed by a committee represen-
tative of all interested agencies. To
develop and operate the proposed
system with effectiveness and
economy, the Commission has ad-
vocated unification of recreation
agencies in the District. Progress
toward this objective was made
through a provision inserted in the
appropriation bill consolidating the
work of the Playground and Com-
munity Center Departments. How-
ever the Commission believes that
the requisite permanent enabling
legislation is desirable to create a
Recreation Department or Com-
mission which among other things
would be authorized to effect
arrangements for the use of park
areas designated by the Planning
Commission as suitable for activities
in the community recreation pro-
gram.

A considerably revised edition
of the central area plan was also
developed during the year and
published in the September issue
of Pencil Points at the time of the
annual convention of the American
Institute of Architects held in
Washington. The principal re-
visions were a new plan for the
grouping of the Navy Buildings
west of the present Naval Hospital
overlooking the Potomac River, on
which a general agreement has been
reached among the agencies con-
cerned; also a site plan for the War
Department Building, funds for
the first unit of which are now
available; and adoption of the plan
for the area around the Jefferson

Planning and Civic Comment

Memorial involving revision of the
approaches to Virginia via the
Highway Bridge. A plan for the
new Army cantonment located on
the Arlington Farm was also worked
out so as not to interfere with the
proposed southerly approach to the
Arlington Memorial Bridge.

Of more far-reaching importance
however was the active extension
of the Commission's studies for the
area east of the Capitol with a view
to crystallizing the principal features
of a practical plan for the grouping
of public and semi-public buildings
along the East Capitol Street axis,
terminating in the proposed Sports
Center on the banks of the Anacostia
River. Initial appropriation for the
Armory on the location recom-
mended by the Commission defi-
initely marks the first step in the
Sports Center development, for the
building is being designed to ac-
commodate sports activities as well
as provide a drill hall. As a con-
sequence there is a growing interest
in the stadium as the next project
to be undertaken. Grading has
already outlined the plaza approach
and the embankment overlooking
the 3O-acre sports field and parade
ground. Set back along East Capitol
Street at natural focal points the
Commission has recommended sev-
eral sites for new low density Federal
office buildings, thus stimulating a
better balance in the growth of the
city.

The approval by Congress of a
new zoning act for the District in
1938 has enabled the Planning
Commission in cooperation with the
Zoning Commission to begin a
comprehensive revision of the zon-
ing regulations and maps which

among other things will incorporate
population density control and a
more modern system of use and
area districts. The basic land-use
survey is finished and mapping is
approaching completion. The Board
of Zoning Adjustment, authorized
by the new Act and on which the
Planning Commission is represented,
has handled nearly 200 appeals in
its first year of work, one result of
which is to relieve materially the
pressure for "spot zoning." In
Montgomery County, Maryland,
adjoining the District, a definite
policy opposed to "spot zoning" has
been adopted in response to an
aroused citizenry and the repre-
sentations of the National and
Maryland Commissions. In Vir-
ginia the Commission has co-
operated with the newly formed
Fairfax County Planning Com-
mission in the drafting of a zoning
ordinance now awaiting action by
the Board of Supervisors.

Seven low-rent housing projects
have been initiated by the Alley
Dwelling Authoiity, financed by
loans from the U. S. Housing
Authority which last year ear-
marked $15,000,000 for ten projects.
Five projects are in built-up slum
areas and two are on outlying
vacant properties to relieve the
shortage of low-rent dwellings and
permit generally lowered densities
in the slum areas. The Planning
Commission is represented on the
Authority by its Director of Plan-
ning so as to assure an effective,
close tie-in with the city plan and
the many projects on which the
Planning Commission is actively at
work.

With the redevelopment of the

Planning and Civic Comment

Washington Channel waterfront
now started under a progressive
program, there has been renewed
interest in extending the type of
study that led to this development
to include the whole of the Potomac
and Anacostia River waterfronts
in the Washington area. The Plan-
ning Commission has therefore
voted to recommend to Congress
that the Chief of Engineers be
authorized and directed to under-
take a comprehensive review and
study of waterfront development,
working in cooperation with the
Planning Commission. This study
will probably include extension of
recreational as well as commercial
development of Washington's un-
usual water and waterfront op-
portunities on both the District and
Virginia shores.

With the close cooperation and
assistance of the National Capital
Park and Planning Commission, the
Maryland-National Capital Park
and Planning Commission secured
the adoption by the Maryland
legislature in April 1939 of an
entirely new enabling act covering
both planning and land-acquisition
functions. Besides general modern-
ization, the new Act created a
regional district outside of the
metropolitan area so as to extend
zoning control in advance of sub-
urban development without in-
volving the additional park ac-
quisition and maintenance tax ap-
plied to the metropolitan area. This
extension, which unfortunately was
not adopted for the lower section of
Prince Georges County adjoining
the District Line was in accord with
the recommendation of the Mary-
land State Planning Commission's

report on the Baltimore- Washing-
ton-Annapolis area to extend plan-
ning control outward from each of
the three cities so as to cover
eventually the entire intercity area.

Considerable public interest has
been shown in the Commission's
plan for a parkway between Balti-
more and Washington. The general
plan has been submitted for review
by the Public Roads Administration
and has also been laid before the
officials of the Maryland State
Roads Commission and the District
Motor Club, affiliate of the A.A.A.
On the Washington section of this
Parkway much of the land is in
public ownership or being acquired.
Through the Greenbelt and Agri-
cultural Research Center reserva-
tions approximately 6 miles of right-
of-way are available. The parkway
approach to the District is proposed
to be through Anacostia Park and
its extension in Maryland now
being acquired with an initial ap-
propriation of $300,000 made by
Congress. There will remain only a
short gap of approximately 3 miles
between Bladensburg and Greenbelt.

Chief among the projects in the
regional plan showing encouraging
advance is the George Washington
Memorial Parkway between Key
Bridge and Great Falls. Arlington
County, Virginia, has signed an
agreement with the Commission
which will make available $180,000
for acquisition of land for Unit 2 of
the Parkway, extending from Key
Bridge up Spout Run, and thus
providing a new and attractive
route from the upper section of the
County to down-town Washington,
beneath the new span of Key
Bridge which is being constructed

Planning and Civic Comment

by the National Park Service. In
Maryland the 1939 legislature au-
thorized Montgomery County to
issue $150,000 in bonds, which was
subsequently matched by $150,000
Federal appropriation for acquisi-
tion of land along the Potomac from
the District Line to a point above
Cabin John covering a section of
the Parkway most threatened with
adverse urban development. Be-
tween Georgetown and the District
Line acquisitions made by the Com-
mission for the Potomac Palisades
Park over a period of about 10
years are now approaching com-
pletion. Finally, the restoration of
the C. & O. Canal as a recreational
waterway by the National Park
Service as a public works project
to be completed in 1940, will en-
hance materially the Parkway on
the Maryland side.

Along the Mt. Vernon Memorial
Highway below Washington the
Civil Aeronautics Authority is con-
structing the Washington National
Airport on the Gravelly Point site,
first recommended by the Com-
mission in 1927. The longer run-
ways required for today's airport

have necessitated the relocation of
the Memorial Highway. The Com-
mission has given close attention to
the planning and replanning of the
entire area affected.

The service of the Commission in
initiating and coordinating plans and
proposals for the National Capital
continues to receive cooperative sup-
port from all agencies of the Federal
and District Governments. In an
area where so many different levels
and branches of Government are
undertaking a wide variety of proj-
ects, the necessity for maintaining
close liaison not only with District
and Federal agencies but also with
those in Maryland and Virginia
becomes more evident as Washing-
ton expands into the two adjoining
States. The Planning Commission
in Washington has been peculiarly
well fitted to accomplish this special
coordinating function at very
nominal cost but undoubtedly it
could work more effectively under a
more modern planning act perhaps
modeled along the lines of the newly
created New York City Plan Com-
mission with advisory review of the
capital improvement program.

Board Meeting and Annual Dinner

The Board of Directors of the
AP&CA will convene for its annual
business meeting on Wednesday,
January 31, at noon at the Cosmos
Club, to be followed by a session in
the Board Room of the Union Trust
Company, on the 9th floor of the
Union Trust Building.

The Annual Federal City Dinner
will be held at 7 o'clock in the large
ballroom of the Willard Hotel.

Special invitation to attend the
dinner has been issued to the ASLA
which holds its Annual Meeting in
Washington Jan. 28-31, and to the
American Institute of Planners
which is holding its Annual Meeting
in New York, Jan. 25-6. As always,
it is expected that members and
friends of the AP&CA in Washing-
ton will be well represented at the
dinner.

Historic American Building Survey Continues

By THOS. C. VINT, Chief of Planning, National Park Service

NEW impetus has been given
the Historic American
Buildings Survey by recent
allocation by the Public Works
Administration of $124,500 to the
National Park Service.

The Survey was begun in Decem-
ber 1933, by the National Park
Service under a cooperative agree-
ment with the Library of Congress
and the American Institute of
Architects. It has had the suc-
cessive aid of CWA, ERA, Federal
WPA, and the volunteer assistance
of private architects and draftsmen.
The year 1860 was selected arbi-
trarily as the date of demarcation
for buildings to be surveyed, except
in frontier States and territories
where many historically valuable
structures are of more recent
construction.

Federal participation lagged for
a time due to the withdrawal of
funds in 1937, after which the
National Park Service has had to
depend upon the various States to
continue the Survey as State WPA
Projects. After its abandonment as
a Federal project, seven States
New Jersey, Massachusetts, Con-
necticut, Rhode Island, Louisiana,
California, and New York financed
indefinite continuation of the work
under Relief Programs. Maine and
New Hampshire provided funds
sufficient to complete projects then
under way. As a result of this
curtailment, some buildings of
recognized antiquity or historical
significance, of which no architec-

tural records are available, have
disappeared.

Under the procedure developed,
the American Institute of Architects
designates one member from each
of its 70 chapters throughout the
United States as a Survey repre-
sentative, who serves without pay.
Such members are invaluable in the
selection of structures for measure-
ment and in the encouragement of
local agencies and architectural
schools to undertake measuring
programs.

Owners of the structures surveyed
are presented with a certificate
signed by the Secretary of the
Interior, stating that the buildings
possess historic and architectural
significance and are worthy of
preservation for future generations.
Buildings which might otherwise
have been permitted to fall into
ruins or to be demolished have, in
many cases, been saved by this
means of national recognition.

Measurements, measured draw-
ings, photographs, and detailed
sketches of buildings surveyed are
turned over to the Fine Arts Divi-
sion of the Library of Congress for
permanent filing. Over 15,000 draw-
ings, and the same number of
photographs, of early buildings were
deposited in the Library of Congress
by January 1938. Copies of all
drawings and photographs are
available for public use. These are
listed in a "Catalog of the Drawings
and Photographs in the Library of
Congress," compiled by the Historic

Planning and Civic Comment

American Buildings Survey, avail-
able through the Superintendent
of Documents, Washington, D. C.,
at 50 cents a copy.

Thus the information gathered
not only preserves for posterity a
record of early structures in this
country, but already has been of
recognized value to architects, his-
torians and students. During one
month alone, the Library filled
1,100 requests for photographs and
plans. In a four-year period more
than 12,000 drawings and photo-
graphs have been distributed, in-
cluding requests from British and
American periodicals.

Under the new Federal project
now starting, it is planned to cover
with measuring parties those parts
of the country which have been the
least touched by state projects and
which are rich in buildings of his-
toric interest.

Ranking high on the recom-
mended piiority list are histoiically
rich Charleston, South Carolina,
and vicinity, and wide areas in New
Mexico, Arizona and Texas. In the
Hudson River Valley in New York
and the eastern section of Pennsyl-
vania are also many early American
structures in danger of being lost
through lack of maintenance and
protection, and early recording of
these is urgent.

The funds now available will
enable the Survey to carry forward
this work on a wide front. Head-
quarters for measuring crews are
being established in Boston, Rich-
mond, St. Louis, and Santa Fe.
Each of the four offices will have
two crews of architects, a photog-
rapher, and a representative to
direct the crews, encourage state

agencies and colleges to cooperate,
and to contact the owners of houses
selected for measurement. Each
office will have a large area to
cover and will be provided with all
necessary equipment to enable it
to work in out-of-the-way locations.
Where selected buildings are
scheduled for early demolition, they
will be measured early in the
program.

In 1934, the Survey completed
the largest single assignment on its
books, the measuring, recording,
and photographing of 100 Pueblo
houses, composing Acoma, the his-
torically famous Indian fortified
city atop a 36o-foot mesa in New
Mexico, which long defied capture
by Spanish conquistadores.

Some work has been done by the
Survey in the Nation's Insular
Possessions, notably in Puerto Rico,
including the measurement of the
Church of San Jose, at San Juan,
believed to have been started in
1532, just 40 years after the arrival
of Columbus. Erected by Domin-
icans, it is among the most out-
standing of the few examples of
Gothic architecture found in North
America.

The zealous efforts of far-sighted
architects have resulted in highly
successful measuring programs
under State WPA sponsorship in
Massachusetts, New Jersey, and the
New Orleans vicinity of Louisiana.
It is hoped that the new Federal
project now beginning will lend
encouragement to the continuation
of the state surveys and to the
institution of similar programs in
localities providing equally rich
fields of historically significant and
fine old buildings.

Planning and Civic Comment

Strictly Personal

Dan W. Greenburg, formerly
acting director of the Wyoming
State Planning Board, is now a
member of the Wyoming Land-
marks Commission and regional
director of the Oregon Trail
Memorial Association.

Harold S. Buttenheim has
recently been appointed one of
several Honorary Vice-Presidents
of the National Municipal League.

Francis P. Sullivan has been
advanced to fellowship in the
American Institute of Architects in
recognition of his outstanding
achievement in architectural design.

Paul G. Hoffman, president of
the Studebaker Corporation and a
valued member of the AP&CA,
speaking before the annual con-
vention of the American Institute
of Steel Construction, visioned the
spending of at least $25,000,000,000
in modernizing street facilities
within our cities and that much
more on the improvement of our
highways. He made the prediction
that with safer roads we will double
the use of our automobiles within
the next twenty years.

In the December Nature Magazine
Tom Wallace editor of the Louisville
Times has written an interesting
article called "My Personal Forest"
which is the story of a farm bought

in 1910 on which Nature has been
allowed unmolested to transform
sub-marginal land into a dense and
beautiful woodland.

The American City carries in its
November issue an article by
Electus D. Litchfield of New York,
on Yorkship Village. Yorkship Vil-
lage near Camden, N. J. was planned
by Mr. Litchfield in 1917 and was
America's largest war-time housing
project. The article relates how it
has survived and developed during
the 22 years since its inception.

Alvah J. Webster is now Director
of State Planning for the Rhode
Island State Planning Board. He
comes to his new position from the
Tennessee Valley Authority.

Dr. J. Horace McFarland, beloved
past-president of the American Civic
Association, celebrated his eightieth
birthday, which occurred on Sep-
tember 24, at a Birthday Dinner
on September 28, given in his honor
at the Mount Pleasant Press in
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Among
those present who paid tribute to
Dr. McFarland on this happy
occasion were Harlean James, Frank
A. Waugh, Dean Hoffman and
Samuel S. Pennock.

L. Deming Tilton recently as-
sumed the new position of Counselor
on Planning with the John Randolph

Planning and Civic Comment

Haynes and Dora Haynes Founda-
tion of Los Angeles, California.

$ -$ $ *

Russell Van Nest Black, writing
in October 1939 Pennsylvania Plan-
ning states: "Planning. . . is in
some or all of its phases increasingly
essential to the satisfactory life
and successful operation of every
public corporation, township, city,
county or state, and of the private

enterprise upon which its private
and its public incomes must
depend."

+ + + +

Carl Feiss, Associate in Architec-
ture, Planning and Housing Division,
School of Architecture, Columbia
University, is the author of an
article, "To Teach Housing is Also
to Teach Architecture," in the
September issue of The Octagon.

Massachusetts Planning Conference

THE Massachusetts Federation
of Planning Boards, a volun-
tary organization of members
of town, city and district planning
bodies to promote civic foresight
throughout the Commonwealth,
held its 26th Annual Conference in
Worcester, Massachusetts, on Fri-
day, October 20. Present were 1 1 8
persons, 78 being delegates from 36
local planning boards, the remainder
representing national, state and
regional agencies as well as the
student body of the City Planning
School of Massachusetts Institute
of Technology.

The morning session was given
over to a discussion of local plan-
ning problems including a master
plan, subdivision control, zoning
and re-zoning, and cooperation with
federal agencies.

At noon a joint luncheon was held
with the Worcester Kiwanis Club.
Flavel Shurtleff, Counsel for the
American Planning and Civic Asso-
ciation, was the guest speaker on
the subject: "Why the Taxpayer
Should Take an Active Interest in
City and Town Planning."

The afternoon was divided into
three sessions:

1. A symposium on County Planning
with a discussion of land -use problems,
transportation, water resources, industry
and recreation. Abstracts of these papers,
which were presented by the consultants
and staff of the State Planning Board,
appeared in the October-November issue
of A Planning Forum.

2. A discussion of Advanced Pro-
gramming and Budgeting of Public Works,
with particular reference to the Town of
Winchester, Massachusetts, which enjoys
the distinction of being the first community
in the United States to adopt the proce-
dure as outlined by the Public Works
Committee of the National Resources
Planning Board.

3. A business meeting at which time
the following officers were elected for the
ensuing year: Chairman, Philip Nichols;
Vice-Chairman, James A. Britton; Sec-
retary, Frank H. Malley; Treasurer,
Angus J. MacNeil; Directors, Harry V.
Lawrence, Gorham Dana, and Rufus B.
Dunbar.

The conference, which was con-
sidered one of the most successful
in the history of the Federation,
concluded with a discussion at the
dinner meeting by Maxwell Halsey,
Associate Director of the Bureau of
Street Traffic Research, Yale Uni-
versity, on the subject of "Traffic
Facilitation."

The various papers presented at
the conference will be published in
the forthcoming issue of the Fed-
eration Bulletin. E. M. H.

Congratulations and Best Wishes !

IN THE recent report of the
President, John C. Merriam,
to the Save-the-Redwoods
League, of which Newton B. Drury
is Secretary, a record of significant
achievement and a proposal for
further accomplishment were
presented :

Said Dr. Merriam: "In acquisition
of property, the Redwoods League
has been helpful in securing at least
a substantial representation of the
four areas of Redwoods considered
outstanding, namely, Bull Creek-
Dyerville, Prairie Creek, Del Norte
Grove, and Mill Creek. In co-
operating with the State in the
development of the State Park
program, there has been effort to
understand and develop these
properties in accordance with the
characteristics which are humanly
most important. Significant ad-
vance has been made in this
utilization of the Park properties,
but very much remains to be done,
first, in understanding the human
values represented and, second, in
learning how these values may best
be made available to the public.
Involved in this problem is the
entire question of human value in
features of nature, along with and in
contact with, things which are
peculiarly human in their origin.
After many years of study on this
subject, I find myself continuously
strengthened in the view that na-
ture, both broadly and in detail,
has a vast contribution to make to
enlightenment and enjoyment, and
to intellectual and spiritual uplift.
Important as are the works of man,
a vast reach of human evolution

must be experienced before the
total of human accomplishment can
be expected to compete effectively
with what is represented by the
works of creation in nature. There
is every reason to believe that along
with what is collected or built by
man himself there is a vast resource
of materials in nature which has
stimulating, enlightening, and heal-
ing qualities for all mankind.

"In addition to learning what
nature contributes, it is essential to
give more careful study than has
yet been made to the problem of
interpretation of nature, and of
presenting means by which its
values may not only be understood
but may be appreciated and en-
joyed by the public.

"The effort to work out such a
program compares in some measure
with what might be assumed as
objectives of national parks in this
and other countries, toward the
understanding of which important
contribution has been made. But
the particular point in mind, with
reference to the features of the
Redwoods, and the functions of the
Redwoods League, concerns the
development of this work upon a
higher plane than has yet been
reached by any organization, in any
land. . . . The point of view is
perhaps best expressed by quotation
from a paper on Human Values in
Natural Resources, from which I
take the following:

We are also attempting to do what I
believe to be one of the great, critical
things needed in the world at the present
moment, that is, to preserve somewhere
something from the original fact of nature
in such way that later generations may at

Planning and Civic Comment

least know what the Creator was attempt-
ing to do when he made pleasant lands,
and the sublime regions where sometimes
men worship. Protection and interpreta-
tion of nature in that sense give an
opportunity comparable to development
of a great art like literature or painting.
There is here a thing of primary impor-
tance both to intellectual and to spiritual
life of the future. Probably nowhere in
the world at the present time can this be
done so effectively as in the United States.
We are just at the end of a pioneer period
when we recognize that unmodified nature
is vanishing. We have the money, and
the energy, and the intelligence to do
it. ...

"The suggestion that perhaps the
Save-the-Redwoods League would
be presuming to undertake such a
task as is discussed seems to be met
when one comes to recognize that
in reality the Redwood forests
available to us constitute one of
the greatest assets of primitive
nature found in any reservation of
the world. This feature has peculiar
value when we recognize that its

history extends back untold millions
of years, through which we have
evidence of continuity, with gradual
development of the extraordinary
qualities which characterize these
forests. We have, moreover, in the
Petrified Forest of Calistoga, in the
Redwood forest region, a repre-
sentation of a Redwood forest of
ancient time the line of ancestry of
which is unquestionably intimately
connected with that of the living
trees which we protect in the Red-
wood Parks. The pageant of history
which these forests present, the
extraordinary expression of vitality
illustrated in their growth, and the
exceptional way in which they have
come to represent unusual qualities
of grandeur and beauty, offer an
opportunity certainly comparable
in human appeal to anything that
we know in nature. . . ."

See map on back cover page

For Better Roadsides

By FLAVEL SHURTLEFF

highway commissions,
state planning boards and
citizen organizations interested
in modernizing and improving the
roads and the roadsides in the state
highway system are facing decisions
on what bills to offer to the state
legislatures of 1940. There are two
objectives; the first and more com-
prehensive is the control of all
business structures in the highway
corridors and the second, the control
merely of outdoor advertising in the
same area. The aim in either case
is to confine all business to well-
established business or industrial
centers.

To attain the more comprehen-
sive objective the methods are:

(1) Wider highways and im-
provements in highway type and
design. Except in those States
where highway commissions are
limited in discretion by antique
regulations, only a change in policy
is needed for securing wider rights-
of-way. For limited-access highways
and parkways, new legislation will
be required and reference is made to
the laws of Rhode Island, New
York and Connecticut on this
subject.*

(2) The establishment of road-

*See "Planning Broadcasts" of November, 1939

Planning and Civic Comment

side protective areas for which new
legislation will be required.* By
defining a highway area and regu-
lating its use as between business
and non-business structures, it is
insisted by some commentators that
state zoning in essence is being
attempted not through the agency
of the state legislature but through
an administrative agency. We be-
lieve that this contention is un-
sound and that such a law is no
more a zoning regulation than
several of the billboard laws now on
the statute books.

(3) State zoning of the roadside
area. The line between this type of
legislation and what has just been
discussed above is not easy to draw
but where several districts are set
up in the roadside area and where
other features of zoning laws are
incorporated in the proposed legis-
lation, it may be said with more
justice that it more nearly ap-
proaches zoning as it is commonly
understood and practiced in the
various States. For this type of
legislation reference is made to the
bill presented to the legislature of
Ohio in 1939.

To attain the more limited ob-
jective, the improvement of existing
law regulating advertising structures
and the introduction of such legis-
lation in States where none now
exists is called for. The Massachu-
setts regulations** have cleared or
have kept clear much of the state
highway system in rural districts
but it is to be noted that the success

*See the drafts proposed by the American
Planning and Civic Association in Roadside Im-
provement, December 1938, the American Auto-
mobile Association's suggested act and the act
submitted to the Maryland legislature in 1939.

of the Massachusetts regulations
depends on (a) their administration
by a sympathetic State Board of
Public Works, and (b) the following
specific provisions:

1. Advertising structures three hundred
square feet in area or over must be set back
from the highway three hundred feet.

2. All advertising structures must be
excluded from residential areas as expressly
defined in the regulations.

3. Advertising structures must be ex-
cluded from areas where, "in the opinion
of the Highway Division, having regard
to the health and safety of the public, the
danger of fire, and the unusual scenic
beauty of the territory, signs would be
particularly harmful to the public welfare."

In each State the decision on bills
to be presented will depend on the
situation in the legislature and the
attitude of the organized opponents
of roadside improvement. It is to be
noted that outdoor advertising com-
panies at private conferences and
public hearings have repeatedly
said that they would not oppose
reasonable regulation of all business
in the highway corridor but they
object to being discriminated
against. The sincerity of their
position can be tested by promoting
a roadside protective area bill aimed
at the control of all business
locations.

In addition to legislation affect-
ing road widths or road types, it is
recommended that at least two
bills be prepared, one establishing
and regulating roadside protective
areas and one regulating merely
outdoor advertising and that the
bill be pressed that has the better
chance of becoming law.

**RuIes and regulations for the control and
restriction of billboards, signs and other advertising
devices adopted by the Massachusetts Department
of Public Works, January 24. 19*4-

State Park

The New England Regional Plan-
ning Commission has recently is-
sued an interesting and informative
22-page, mimeographed bulletin
entitled, "Recreation in New
England: Inventory of Areas and
Facilities," which brings up-to-date
the information contained in two
previous reports issued by the Com-
mission on available recreational
opportunities in New England.

CALIFORNIA

The annual Mission Day Fiesta
was the occasion for a gala celebra-
tion at La Purisima State Historical
Monument, California. Residents
of Lompoc and Santa Barbara
County participated in a program
that included a barbecue, addresses
by prominent individuals, and in-
spection of the church, workshop,
storehouse and other large buildings
of the Mission that have been
restored.

Plans to restore the area sur-
rounding the Mission to its appear-
ance in the days when padres trod
its fields and walked among the
Indian barracks, are now being
worked out by interested individuals
and organizations.

To carry out these plans, it will
be necessary to re-route a section of
the county road which, according to

evidence recently uncovered, was
the site of a number of Indian bar-
racks. The proposed new road
would be built along a ridge from
which the entire Mission valley
can be viewed.

The California Division of Parks,
the National Park Service, and
the Civilian Conservation Corps are
justly proud of their restoiation of
La Purisima.

Governor Olson has recently ap-j
pointed Mr. Richard Sachse to
succeed Mr. George D. Nordenholt
as Director of the California De-
partment of Natural Resources.

ILLINOIS

The State of Illinois has recently
purchased 1,290 acres of land for
state park purposes in Vermilion
County between Danville and
Champaign.

Once the home of the Kickapoo
Indian Tribe, the timbered and]
open-meadowed area will be known \
as Kickapoo State Park. It will be
the only State park in east central
Illinois and will serve approximately j
350,000 people within a fifty-mile
radius.

MARYLAND

Gambrill State Park, near"
Frederick, Maryland, was formally^

Planning and Civic Comment

dedicated and presented to the
State at impressive ceremonies on
October 31.

Original plans called for the
dedication to take place at the park
but rain forced it to a nearby hotel.
However, the change in location did
not interfere further with the pro-
gram. The bronze marker tablet
was brought from the park to the
hotel and unveiled there in the
presence of several hundred persons.

James H. Gambrill, Jr., promi-
nent citizen of Frederick, who is
largely responsible for creation of
the i,ooo-acre park which bears
his name, was present at the
dedication.

Development of recreational
facilities in the area was carried on
by members of CCC Company 2302.

Governor O'Conor accepted the
area for the State. Other speakers
were James J. McEntee, Assistant
Director of the Civilian Con-
servation Corps, State Forester
F. W. Besley, and Mayor Lloyd C.
Culler of Frederick.

MASSACHUSETTS

The Massachusetts Department
of Conservation is now functioning
under a new set-up as the result of a
reorganization law passed by the
State Legislature in its closing days,
according to a report in the Fall
issue of the Massachusetts Con-
servation Bulletin.

Although there have been some
minor changes in the Department
since its establishment, this is the
first general and sweeping re-
organization.

Under the terms of the new law,
there will be five divisions For-
estry, Fisheries and Game, Wildlife

Research and Management, Marine
Fisheries, and Parks and Recreation.
The Commissioner of Conservation
continues to head the Department
but will no longer serve as director
of any of the divisions.

NEW MEXICO

This year New Mexico's Hyde
State Park will have a modern ski
tow in its winter sports area to
replace the temporary one in use
last winter.

Purchased with funds contributed
by the Santa Fe Winter Sports Club,
the 8oo-foot tow is being installed
by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
It will be operated by a 95-horse-
power motor housed in a permanent
building at the top of the hill.

A lodge at the base of the ski run
will also be available for the use of
winter sports enthusiasts this year.

NORTH CAROLINA

A series of interesting articles on
the State Parks of North Carolina
has been prepared for distribution
by the Division of Forestry of the
State's Department of Conservation
and Development.

Each article is devoted to a single
area and gives complete information
regarding facilities for the ac-
commodation of the public, as well
as highlights of the park's history.

WEST VIRGINIA

The West Virginia Conservation
Commission in its annual report
for the year ending June 30, 1939,
announces a 300 per cent increase
in the number of state park cabin
rentals during 1938, and a total
state park attendance of 188,588
persons.

Planning and Civic Comment

Plans for future development of
the State's parks, based on public
demand, call for additional cabins
at Watoga, a swimming pool and
bathhouse for Lost River, a second
cabin group and increased dining
and overnight accommodations for
Babcock, and picnicking facilities
at Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State
Park.

Picnicking facilities, a water
system and a sewage disposal system
are being constructed at Tomlinson
Run and other facilities will be
provided as need for them becomes
apparent. Completion of a museum
exhibit and an overlook on Hawks
Nest rock are on the schedule for
Hawks Nest State Park, and Pin-
nacle Rock is to be developed as a
wayside park offering facilities for
picnicking.

No further development of the
other areas in West Virginia's state
park system is contemplated at this
time, according to the Commission.

WISCONSIN

The Wisconsin Conservation
Commission has three new members
and a new Chairman.

The new members, recently ap-
pointed by Governor Heil, are
William J. P. Aberg of Madison,
Mark S. Catlin, Sr., of Appleton,
and Wally Adams of Conover.

Mr. Catlin and Mr. Aberg have
been actively interested in con-
servation for many years and have
assisted in the drafting and enact-
ment of many of the State's con-
servation laws, and Mr. Adams
represents the viewpoint of the
sportsman.

The new Chairman, elected by
the Commission, is Mr. James A.
Corcoran of Webster.

The Conservation Commission
has authorized the acquisition of 60
acres of land adjacent to Terry
Andrae State Park in Sheboygan
County, Wisconsin.

IRMINE B. KENNEDY, Washington, D. C.

Fees and Charges for Public Recreation A Study of
Policies and Practices

The complete results of the first
nation-wide study ever attempted
on the question of fees and charges
for public recreation are embodied
in a printed report which has just
been issued by the National Park
Service.

The report is based on replies to
questionnaires given by 238 park
administering agencies representing
20 1 government units in all parts of
the United States. Containing 56
pages, the report includes eight
chapters of explanatory text, 18
tables, and four charts giving
graphic interpretation of the

material collected in the study, as
well as numerous photographic
illustrations of park and recreation
activities.

In an introduction to the pub-
lication, A. E. Demaray, acting
director of the National Park Ser-
vice, characterizes the question of
fees and charges as "one of the
most difficult administrative prob-
lems in our field."

The publication is obtainable
from the Superintendent of Docu-
ments, Government Printing Office,
Washington, D. C. at 40 cents a
copy.

Public Housing in the District of Columbia

By JOHN IHLDER, Executive Officer, The Alley Dwelling Authority
for the District of Columbia

THE immediate program of
The Alley Dwelling Authority,
Washington's local public
housing agency, is to erect approxi-
mately 3,000 dwellings on ten sites.
Five of these sites are in down-town
slum areas, one is in a shack com-
munity, four are on vacant land.
Work on seven of the sites is now
in process, loan contracts having
been signed with the United States
Housing Authority for a total of
$10,858,000. Application has been
made to the United States Housing
Authority for additional loans total-
ing $3,085,000, for the other three
sites.

This immediate program is part
of a long-term program that will
extend over many years and is
designed to reclaim all slum areas
in the nation's capital and at the
same time assure an adequate
supply of decent dwellings for all
that part of the population not
adequately served by private enter-
prise.

Slum "reclamation" in the Au-
thority's lexicon is quite different
from slum "clearance." It is posi-
tive while "clearance" is negative.
It implies redevelopment of the site
for that use which will be most
beneficial to the neighborhood and
to the city as a whole this use often
is not low-rent residential. When
the best use is not low-rent resi-
dential the Authority, after de-
molishing the old slum dwellings,
will sell to private investors at any
stage from cleared site or new

development, or will rent on the
best terms obtainable.

Assurance of an adequate supply
of good low-rent dwellings means
supplementing the provision made
by private enterprise. Whatever
piivate enterprise does well and
adequately the Authority need not
do. The Authority therefore takes
account not only of current dwelling
construction in the lower price
ranges, but of existing decent houses,
and maps out its program in accord-
ance with its findings. At present
the indications are that it may have
to erect some 20,000 dwellings
during the coming years. But this
figure may be considerably changed,
up or down, by the performance of
private enterprise.

The program of the Authority
is based upon the Alley Dwelling
Act, approved June 12, 1934, and
amended June 25, 1938. The Act
has two titles. Title I, is essentially
the same as the original Act of
1934. It authorizes the reclamation
work that does not necessarily
result in placing new low-rent
houses on the site of the former
slum. Funds for this work must be
repaid with interest there is no
subsidy. So far the Authority has
reclaimed 14 squares or blocks under
this authorization, acquiring as
much of them as is necessary for
its purpose. It has redeveloped
five of these sites for housing and
five for non-residential use. It has
sold two sites and is holding
two for future development. This

Planning and Civic Comment

work has been self - liquidating.
Under Title II, which is pait of
the amendments approved in June
1938, the Authority is authorized
to borrow from the United States
Housing Authority on the same
terms as local housing authorities
in other cities. Funds from this
source, supplemented as they are
by subsidies, can be spent only for
low-rent housing. An administra-
tive ruling further restricts their
use to acquisition of property that

costs not more than $1.50 per square
foot. Under Title II, therefore, the
Authority's activities are confined
to the less congested slum areas and
to vacant land. But because of the
serious shortage of decent low-rent
dwellings in Washington, a shortage
accentuated by the activities of
other governmental agencies which
are acquiring slum sites for the
erection of new federal office build-
ings, emphasis should, at present,
be put on this phase of the program.

The Southeastern Planning Conference

The Southeastern Planning Con-
ference, held at Hollywood, Florida,
December 4-6, was well organized
and well attended. On the program
were many well-known planning
leaders, two Governors (Governor
Rivers of Georgia and Governor
Cone of Florida), a Member of
Congress, Honorable Claude Pepper,
and the Mayor of Hollywood, the
Honorable R. B. Springer. Honor-
able Frederic A. Delano represented
the National Resources Planning
Board, Ex-Senator Pope, the TVA
Board. Mr. Henry T. Mclntosh,
Chairman of Region 3 of the
National Resources Planning Board,
presided at the opening session.
Mr. George Gross, Executive Sec-
retary of the Florida Planning
Board, was responsible for the
excellent arrangements and the com-
prehensive program.

There was a tendency in the dis-
cussions to avoid formalism, adopt
realism and get down to brass tacks.
One of the most interesting sessions,
devoted to "Planning as a Solution
to Development Problems," was

presided over by Mr. Robert Fitch
Smith, Chairman of the Dade
County Planning Council. The
paper by Tracy B. Augur of the
TVA on "Local Planning in the
South," was full of wit and wisdom.
According to Mr. Augur, the cities
of the South which the "big wind"
of planning had passed by, can now
profit by the latest planning tech-
nique and soar to heights undreamed
of by the world-weary cities of the
North and West which timidly
tried out half-way measures in the
early days of planning. Mr. Richard
Ives, Regional Planning Director
of the Tennessee State Planning
Commission, testified that the six-
year program sponsored by the
National Resources Planning Board
had awakened interest in Tennessee,
especially in schools, sewers, roads
and data for budgeting programs.

Harland Bartholomew stressed
the need for getting citizens in-
terested in plans if they are to be
realized. He outlined the five steps
on which the success of any plan
depends: (i) Legislation for proper

Planning and Civic Comment

administration, (2) Preparation of
adequate plan, (3) Cooperation and
support of city officials, (4) Public
Support, (5) Sympathetic support
of influencial organizations such as
the chambers of commerce, real
estate boards, and women's asso-
ciations. He urged abandonment of
half-hearted measures and the re-
vision of earlier city plans to bring
them in line with modern conditions.
Mr. Bartholomew was one of the
pioneers in making factual studies of
population trends in cities in order to
forecast the needs for schools, parks
and other local facilities. Walter
Blucher, Director of the American
Society of Planning Officials, read a
very clever parable on the practical
ways in which a plan commission
could aid an honest but in-
experienced mayor.

Herbert Nelson, Executive Vice-
President of the National Asso-
ciation of Real Estate Boards, stated
that he was getting discouraged with
half measures to patch up cities.
He urged the formation and adop-
tion of plans which would really
produce cities capable of serving
their populations. He put in a word
for the pedestrians and recalled
that Leonardo Da Vinci once made
a map of Milan with depressed
sidewalks, though, sad to relate, it
was never carried out. He ad-
vocated an aggressive policy to
remake our igth century cities into
2oth century models.

Then came the light touch of
Harold Menhinick's talk, re-
produced in part in this issue.

Among other eminent speakers

were Hon. Rexford G. Tugwell,
Chairman, New York City Planning
Commission; A. J. Rountree,
Chairman, Florida State Planning
Board; R. C. Job, Director of the
Georgia State Planning Board; Dr.
Walter B. Jones, Member, Alabama
State Planning Commission; L. J.
Folse, Executive Director, Missis-
sippi State Planning Commission;
James H. Fowles, Jr., Office Director,
South Carolina State Planning
Board; Colonel Joseph H. Pratt, Sr.,
Engineer and Consultant, U. S.
Geological Survey; George E. Mer-
rick, Founder of Coral Gables;
Allison White, City Planning En-
gineer, Tennessee State Planning
Commission; H. A. Wortham, Re-
gional Director, PWA, Atlanta;
Dr. J. Paul Reed, University of
Miami; Carroll A. Towne of the
TVA staff; and Abel Wolman,
Chairman, Water Resources Com-
mittee of the National Resources
Planning Board. C. F. Palmer,
Chairman of the Atlanta Housing
Authority, showed and commented
on some interesting international
planning and housing films.

Florida Park and Recreational
Conference

Following the Southeastern Plan-
ning Conference there was held on
December 6-7 the Florida Park and
Recreation Conference which mo-
bilized most of the park and rec-
reation leaders in the State of
Florida. Conrad L. Wirth, Assis-
tant Director of the National Park
Service, was the dinner speaker.

Do Billboards Depreciate Real Estate Values?

We are pleased to re-publish the following letter sent by Herbert Nelson to
the National Roadside Council:

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REAL ESTATE BOARDS
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

MRS. W. L. LAWTON
National Roadside Council

119 East 19th Street, New York City

Dear Madam: There is no question
in my mind, nor in the minds of the
authorities on depreciation in our
Association, concerning the de-
preciating effect of billboards on
real estate values. In good resi-
dential neighborhoods, billboards
and outdoor advertising are sharply
detrimental and are often the initial
cause of blight which can destroy
more than half of neighborhood
values. Certainly the values of our
countryside are injured by bill-
boards. It has often been noted
that counties or regions where bill-
boards along the roadsides become
plentiful are soon avoided by the
traveling public, which prefers, of
course, the roads where unspoiled
nature can be enjoyed.

Real estate values are in part
created by access to certain com-
munity facilities such as roads,
municipal services, schools, libraries,
and many other things. But real
estate values are also created by
what we call the amenities, the
things that please the eye and our
other senses. This fact is accepted,
not only by common sense, but in
our laws. An industry or a business

October 21, 1939

which creates an unpleasant odor
in any neighborhood given over to
residences is declared to be a nui-
sance and can be removed. There
is a growing recognition that we can
also have visual nuisances.

The total loss in value, caused by
billboards, in my judgment, con-
stitutes a sum many times greater
than the gross annual revenue of all
of the outdoor advertising in the
nation. In other words, we could
well afford to subsidize the bill-
board industry by paying it a sum
equal to its entire annual revenue in
order to desist from outdoor ad-
vertising and still be a great deal of
money ahead in the long run.

For many years a devoted group
of men and women in the garden
clubs, the women's clubs, and the
civic associations has been seeking
to protect our amenity values.
Personally, I believe it is high time
that strongly organized business
groups come to their aid. I shall
be glad to do anything I can to be of
help.

Sincerely yours,

(Signed) HERBERT NELSON
Executive Vice-President

Notes on National Resources Planning Board

NEW BOARD QUARTERS: The
members of the Board and about 25
members of the staff have moved
from the North Interior Building
to the State Department Building
next to the White House. The
President requested this action in
order to have the Board, his
Administrative Assistants, and
the Budget Bureau housed in the
same quarters. In his Executive
Order, effective September 11, 1939,
the President expressed the hope
that Congress would eventually
provide for a new State Department
Building which would enable the
five principal divisions of the Ex-
ecutive Office of the President to
be accommodated in the present
State, War and Navy Building.
Pending such time, the larger part
of the staff will remain in the North
Interior Building. Offices on the
sixth floor have been moved to the
seventh in the same wing of the
building; and all telephones have
been transferred to the new central
switchboard of the Executive Office,
the number of which is District
2370.

TECHNICAL COMMITTEES: On No-
vember 17, the Board announced
the formation of a committee to
study relief in relation to the
Nation's resources. Its study will
cover problems involved in the
development of long range pro-
grams and national relief policies.
Based on an analysis of existing
relief information and experience,
special emphasis will be placed on
organization, administration and

finances as these factors concern
Federal, State and local govern-
ments and are related to available
private resources and services.

Those who have accepted in-
vitations to serve on the technical
committee are Dr. William Haber,
Professor of Economics, University
of Michigan, now on leave to serve
as Executive Director, National
Refugee Service, who will serve as
chairman; Dr. Will W. Alexander
from the Department of Agricul-
ture; Corrington Gill from the
Federal Works Agency; Mary
Switzer from the Federal Security
Agency; Katherine F. Lenroot from
the Department of Labor; C. M.
Bookman, Cincinnati Community
Chest; Right Reverend Monsignor
Francis J. Haas, Dean of the School
of Social Sciences, Catholic Uni-
versity of America; and Fred
Hoehler, Director, American Public
Welfare Association.

A series of subcommittees on
different aspects of the problem
will be appointed, including
leaders in business, labor and ag-
riculture. A small staff is being
recruited under the direction of
Dr. Haber and Dr. Eveline Burns,
Professor of Economics at Columbia
University, for guidance of re-
search activities. Agreements are
being negotiated with various
Federal agencies for division of the
research work among the agencies
concerned.

NEW PUBLICATIONS: During the
last quarter, the following new
publications have been released,

Planning and Civic Comment

and copies can be obtained from the
Superintendent of Documents :

The Structure of the American Economy,
396 pp., illustrated, $1.00.

Consumer Expenditures in the United
States, 195 pp., illustrated, 50c.
(Copies of digest entitled "The Con-
sumer Spends His Income" are avail-
able for lOc.)

"The Structure of the American
Economy" was prepared by Dr.
Gardiner C. Means in consultation
with the Board's Industrial Com-
mittee. A staff of specialists assisted
in the extensive research required
over a period of years.

The structure of the American
economy is examined under three
main heads. First, the economic
bases for production the wants
calling for satisfaction and the
resources available for use in filling
wants. Second, the structure of
production through which resources
are used to fill wants are discussed
in its geographical, its functional,
and its financial aspects. Third,
the influences which give organiza-
tion to the activity of the millions
of separate individuals composing
the American economy are con-
sidered with particular emphasis on
the market mechanism and
administration.

For further discussion of the
implications and refinements of the
report, the Board is arranging a
series of conferences with competent
groups.

"Consumer Expenditures in the
United States" was prepared by Dr.
Hildegarde Kneeland and a
technical staff under the direction

of the Industrial Committee of the
National Resources Committee
and is based primarily on data from
a nation-wide study of consumer
purchases conducted by the Bureau
of Home Economics of tne De-
partment of Agriculture and the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
Department of Labor.

REGIONAL PLANNING PERSONNEL

Harlowe M. Stafford has been appointed
Regional Counselor, Region 7, with
temporary headquarters at Roswell,
New Mexico. The field office at Denver,
Colorado, is at present in charge of
Paul L. Harley, Assistant Planning
Technician.

Van Beuren Stanbery, formerly Executive
Secretary of the Oregon State Planning
Board, has been appointed Regional
Counselor, Region 8, to succeed L.
Deming Tilton who has resigned.

STATE PLANNING PERSONNEL

Alaska. Ernest Greuning, formerly Di-
rector, Division of Territories and
Island Possessions, Department of In-
terior, has been appointed Governor
of Alaska, and Ex-Officio member of
the Alaska Planning Council.

Florida. A. J. Rountree, appointed Chair-
man to succeed O. K. Holmes, resigned.

New York. Dr. M. F. Neufeld, formerly
Secretary of the New Jersey State
Planning Board, has been appointed
Consultant to the New York State
Planning Council.

Rhode Island. Alvah J. Webster has been
appointed Director of State Planning.

Tennessee. David Price has been ap-
pointed Executive Director of the
State Planning Commission.

Washington. Dr. James H. Winstanley
has been appointed to fill the vacancy
on the Board created by the death of
E. F. Banker.

Washington. P. Hetherton has been ap-
pointed Executive Officer to succeed
Ross K. Tiffany, deceased.

Recent Court Decisions

Compiled by FLAVEL SHURTLEFF with the cooperation of Edward M. Bassett

The courts will not sustain an
unreasonable zoning classification.
Although the courts have said that
the exeicise of the zoning power is a
matter of legislative discretion and
that decisions of the municipal
legislatures are not usually subject
to judicial review, they have re-
peatedly insisted that there are
limits to legislative discretion which
must not be exceeded. The difficulty
in this class of cases is to determine
what facts are sufficient to establish
unreasonability.

The plaintiff's property in the
present case was zoned for residence.
The property consisted of three
vacant lots on one of the main
streets in the village of Shorewood,
Wisconsin. The street was zoned
for business up to the block where
the three lots were located and a
portion of the block beyond was
also zoned for business. The trial
court decided that the plaintiff's
property was at the time of the
adoption of the ordinance, in the
heart of an apartment and business
district and that the residential
classification for the plaintiff's prop-
erty was adopted without due
consideration being given to the
natural development of the village
in the area surrounding the plain-
tiff's property and that consequently
it was arbitrary and unreasonable.
The Supreme Court held that the
undisputed physical facts justified
the conclusion of the trial court
and that consequently the municipal
legislature of Shorewood had ex-

ceeded the bounds of legislative
discretion and the ordinance was
in respect to the plaintiff's property
unconstitutional and void.

Geisenfeld vs. Village of Shorewood.
Supreme Court of Wisconsin. October 10,
1939. 28 7 N.W.68 3 .

The New Hampshire Supreme
Court was prepared to find, if
necessary, the following zoning clas-
sification unreasonable. Five
separate parcels of land had been
classified as business because they
were then being used for business and
all the remaining land outside of the
thickly settled section of the city
had been put into one family resi-
dence district. This area was very
largely waste land or very thinly
settled. The Court considered that
no attempt had been made to dis-
tinguish between the elements of
residence, business and industry
in community life.

The court found that even if the
zoning ordinance were valid the
plaintiff's operation of a wayside
stand and particularly the selling
of ice cream was not an infringement
of the ordinance. The owners of
farms were permitted to sell farm
products on the premises as an
accessory use and the court decided
that ice cream, although a manu-
factured product, was farm produce
just like cheese and butter.

KimbuII vs. Blanchard, 7 Atlantic
2nd 394.

Can zoning prohibit the taking of
gravel, earth and clay in districts

Planning and Civic Comment

zoned for residence? There are many
cases that hold that an owner cannot
be prevented by the operation of a
zoning ordinance from taking of
earth products, but the Massa-
chusetts Supreme Court apparently
comes to a different conclusion.

A trust company foreclosed its
mortgage on a tract of land in the
Town of Lexington and sold the
right at a fixed price per acre to
strip the loam from the land,
stipulating that it should not be
sold on the premises. The premises
were contained in a highly restricted
residence district which expressly
designated the uses of land which
were permitted therein and ex-
cluded all others. Among the
designated uses permitted and the
only ones suggested as material
were "farms and customary uses
accessory thereto only and truck
gardens." The Court held that the
stripping of loam from the land was
inconsistent with such a use and
was not incidental to any other
permitted use. It held also that it
was of no importance that the un-
permitted use did not amount to a
business and restrained both the
trust company and its co-defendant
who was preparing to strip the land.

Massachusetts Supreme Court.
November 17, 1939. Town of Lexington
vs. Menotomy Trust Company and
Others.

Maine zoning decisions. Although
the zoning law in Maine was passed
in 1925 and some zoning ordinances
have been in force for at least ten
years, notably that of the City of
Portland, not more than two or
three cases involving zoning have
reached the Supreme Court. The
first one generally upheld the prin-

ciple of zoning in a very brief
decision (York Harbor Village Cor-
poration vs. Libby, 126 Maine 537).
The last case emphasizes the im-
portance of following the procedure
set out in the zoning law and of
retaining evidence that the pro-
cedure has been followed. The
Maine zoning law provides that
local ordinances must be accepted by
a majority vote at an election "duly
called and sufficiently warned."
The only evidence introduced by
the City of Portland to prove that
its ordinance had been accepted by
the voters was an allegedly in-
complete warrant calling the election
and an election return which had
been left unsigned. On this evidence
the Court sent the case back to the
trial justice with leave to either
party to cure defects in proof.

Note: The City of Portland has
since presented a new ordinance to
the voters which was passed by a
majority of 3,000 votes. The first
ordinance was passed by a majority
of only 30 votes.

Junk Yards. An ordinance of the
City of New Britain, Connecticut,
compelled the licensing of all junk
yards and provided that they must
be enclosed by a solid fence not less
than five feet high and that no junk
could be placed within one hundred
feet of any street line or within
fifty feet of any adjoining property
line or within one hundred and fifty
feet of any dwelling house. The
plaintiff's land was too small to
conform to the provisions of the
ordinance. He applied to the Build-
ing Inspector for a certificate of
occupancy and when refused
brought an action claiming that the

Planning and Civic Comment

ordinance was not a proper exercise
of the police power. The Court
found that the purpose of the
ordinance was to prevent annoyance
to adjoining proprietors and the
public, and held the ordinance
entirely reasonable and that the
plaintiff had no legal ground of
complaint because his land was
too small.

Levine vs. Board of Adjustment of
Gty of New Britain, 7 Atlantic 2nd 222.

Trailer Camps. An ordinance of
the City of Detroit which requires
the consent for a license of a trailer
camp of 65 per cent of the owners of
real estate within six hundred feet
of the proposed location and further
provides that parking of occupied
trailers must be limited to ninety
days in any twelve-months period,
was held a reasonable exercise of
the police power in a well considered
decision.

Cody vs. City of Detroit, 286 N. W. 805.

The Planning Commission Veto.
Several state laws authorizing the
appointment of local planning com-
missions provide that public im-
provements shall not be constructed
or authorized until the location is
approved by the planning com-
mission and that disapproval by the

planning commission can only be
overcome by a vote of not less than
two-thirds of the city council. This
case is the first to uphold such pian-
ning procedure and the control by
the planning commission over public
improvements.

The improvement in question was
the building of a levee within the
City of Cincinnati by the Federal
Government. It however would in-
volve the furnishing of lands or
rights-of-way and a contribution of
$150,000 by the City. The planning
commission to which the scheme
was first submitted, disapproved of
the entire project on the ground
that that portion of the City should
gradually be devoted to other types
of uses which would not be seriously
harmed by floods and that it would
be bad policy to preserve that
portion of the river front for resi-
dential use. The vote to overrule
the plan commission's decision was
five to four and failed of a two-
thirds majority. The court in
unanimously deciding that the reso-
lution embodying the improvement
had not passed, specifically found
against the contention that the
two-thirds vote requirement was an
unconstitutional delegation of legis-
lative power and was not valid.

State ex rel Bateman vs. Zachritz,
135 Ohio State Reports, 580 (Supreme
Court, June 1939).

(Continued from page 15)

the park boundaries in the bill,
may never be needed. If this proves
to be the case, there would be no
valid obstacle then to rounding out
the park by the addition of these
excluded areas.

The Sierra Club deserves the

support of conservationists in all
parts of the country in its valiant
fight to give to this great section
of the Sierra national-park pro-
tection through the prompt action
of the Senate when it meets in
January.

Truth in a Facetious Vein

Pearls from Howard K. Menhinick's Speech at the Southeastern
Planning Conference

Since 1925 I have been technically
concerned with community plan-
ning in the United States and have
observed its progress. To select
from 15 years of planning observa-
tion two pearls of wisdom which I
may cast before you is the task
which I have undertaken this
morning.

The first of these pearls is the
discovery that in every community
in the United States one single
individual holds the key to its
planning accomplishment. Un-
fortunately for simplicity, but for-
tunately in most other respects, it
is not the same individual in every
city. Sometimes the individual is a
city official and sometimes a citizen.
In certain cities he is a lawyer; in
others an architect, an engineer, a
manufacturer, or a banker. But
as a result of a study of a large
number of cases, I have been able
to develop a simple formula which
will enable any person in this
audience to determine quickly and
accurately not only the occupation
but also the individual who holds
the key to the planning situation in
his or her community whether it be
located in the south, the north, the
east, or the west and whether it be a
metropolitan center of a million or a
small cross-roads hamlet with a
population of less than one hundred.

The second pearl is, in my opinion,
equally important in the success of
planning in the United States. Now
I am not by nature a superstitious
individual nor a believer in black

magic. Yet I have a friend who
regulates his fishing in accordance
with the jingle, "When the wind is
in the North, fisherman go not
forth; w r hen the wind is in the South,
blows the bait into the fishes* mouth;
when the wind is in the east, then
the fishing is the least; when the
wind is in the west, then the fishing
is the best." Frankly, I think this
is hooey, but I must admit that my
friend catches more fish in Norris
Lake than my boss, Earle Draper,
who goes fishing when the spirit
moves. Similarly, I know a farmer
who plants corn and beans only in
the full of the moon. I know there's
nothing to this silly superstition
except that it enables the farmer to
see to work later but I must admit
that this farmer does produce better
corn and potatoes than his neighbors.
Being as I say not a superstitious
but rather a cautious man who
wouldn't think of walking under a
ladder, I was startled one evening
as I was studying the records of
planning organizations in the United
States to discover that every single
planning organization that had
made notable planning accomplish-
ments was established on the same
day of the year and that every city
in which planning had failed to take
root had delayed the establishment
of its planning commission until
the following day. If this had been
true of only 50 per cent of the cases,
I would have attributed it to the
law of chance and would have said
nothing about it this morning.

Planning and Civic Comment

If it had been true of 75 per cent
of the cases, I would have said,
"What a curious coincidence"; but
when I found it true of 99 44/100
per cent of the cases I said to myself,
being not superstitious, but only
cautious, "It's just as easy to
establish a planning organization
on that day as any other, so why
not?" Don't let me forget to give
you that date.

Now, let's not expect difficult
and complicated answers to the
two seemingly complicated ques-
tions I have posed. It has been my
observation than the most compli-
cated questions usually have the
most simple answers. For example,
if someone asked you,"For what was
Louis XIV largely responsible?"
you might search in vain for world-
shaking policies when the simple
and obvious answer is found at
home in "Louis XV."

With this simple word of caution,
let us proceed to the first pearl
the procedure for locating the man
in your community who holds the
key to the planning situation. . . .

The success or failure of planning
invariably depends upon the drive
and leadership of one individual. The
process of locating this important
individual in your community is
simple. He lives in your part of the
town, on your street, in your house.
He is you. Ladies and gentlemen,
each of you as an individual holds
the key to the planning situation in
your community be you "rich man,
poorman, beggarman, thief, doctor,
lawyer, merchant, chief."

Now I have about one minute
to pull out the second pearl, but it
is as simple as Louis XV. Whether
or not you are superstitious, if you
have resolved to assume planning
leadership in your community you
ought to know the two successive
days which have appeared to govern
the success or failure of planning.
The two days, the one on which all
successful planning commissions
have been established and the
following day on which no successful
planning commission has ever been
established in the United States are
"today" and "tomorrow."

The Santa Fe National Park Conference

The Santa Fe National Park
Conference, following the Con-
ference of National Park Officials,
offered an excellent program which
is presented in full in the 1939
AMERICAN PLANNING AND Civic
ANNUAL. The entertainment pro-
vided by the New Mexico Chapter of
the American Planning and Civic
Association was colorful, enjoyable
and withal educational. The Tour,
under the auspices of Region III
Headquarters of the National Park

Service, took the group into little-
visited places of the Southwest, and
provided a wide demonstration on the
ground of the educational programs
in effect in national parks and monu-
ments. The Pueblo, Navajo and
Hopi Indian settlements were
visited and the proposed Escalante
National Monument, followed by
the trip through Monument Valley,
elicited many enthusiastic com-
ments. For further details, see the
ANNUAL.

Book Reviews

CITY PLANNING, WHY AND How. By
Harold ^MacLean Lewis. New York,
Longmans, Green and Co., 1939. 257
pages. Maps, plans, diagrs. Price $2.50.

If the ancient Chinese proverb,
"One picture tells more than a thou-
sand words," is to be believed, then
Harold MacLean Lewis's recent
book "City Planning, Why and
How" might be appropriately de-
scribed as voluminous.

There are 84 illustrations, many
of them full page, out of a grand
total of 257 pages.

These illustrations, which are
drawn from a wide variety of
sources and from all sections of the
country, are offered as exhibits in
the chain of evidence submitted by
the author in what he aptly describes
as "an attempt to set forth in simple
language the need and advantages
of planning for the future growth
or change in a municipality."

The text contains nothing new or
sensational. It is, rather, a praise-
worthy attempt, in the interests of
simplified planning, to throw the
clear light of every-day language
upon certain planning principles and
practices, which only too frequently
have become fog-bound in technical
verbiage.

With the first part of the book,
"Why Plan," there can be no
quarrel. City Planning generally is
conceded to have passed the in-
terrogative stage, thus leaving the
reader's attention to be properly
focused upon the "How" of City
Planning, or, as set forth by Mr.
Lewis "some of the steps that must
be taken by the general public, the

officials and the planning staff in
preparing a useful city plan."

It is perhaps of passing interest
to draw a parellel between this book
and "The Planning of the Modern
City" published by Mr. Lewis's
father, the late Nelson P. Lewis, in
1916 and revised in 1923. In style
of writing and method of presenta-
tion the books bear a strong
resemblance to each other, but
many of the subjects deemed of
sufficient importance to be dis-
cussed at length in "City Planning,
Why and How" such as airports,
freeways, work relief funds, rural
planning and zoning, master plans,
and state, regional and national
planning received little or no con-
sideration in the earlier volumes.
This leaves one amazed at the
developments in planning technique
that have taken place in less than a
quarter of a century. Verily the
planners themselves must find, like
the Red Queen in "Alice in Wonder-
land," that it is necessary to run
very fast in order to keep in the
same place.

All in all, Mr. Lewis is to be
congratulated upon producing a
worthy successor to two volumes
which have done much in the past
to put planning in this country upon
a sure and even keel.

ELISABETH M. HEBLJHY

HOUSING FOR THE MACHINE AGE. By
Clarence Arthur Perry. Russell Sage
Foundation, New York, 1939. 261 pp.
Price $2.50.

Mr. Perry's association with the
Russell Sage Foundation covered a

Planning and Civic Comment

period of more than 25 years and
during that time his major pro-
fessional activity was the study of
community centers. Most of the
details of his concept of the neigh-
borhood unit were supplied by the
experience of living in Forest Hills
Gardens, a large residential develop-
ment in Queens, planned by the
Russell Sage Foundation in 1910.

In his new book, Mr. Perry
repeats in simplified form the de-
scription of the neighborhood unit
formula, contained in his former
study, Neighborhood and Com-
munity Planning.

"Housing for the Machine Age"
analyzes the factors involved in
large-scale real estate housing de-
velopments, with special reference
to individual projects, both in this
country and abroad. The pros and
cons of mass production are dis-
cussed. On this point Mr. Perry
writes, "We are not confronted by a
revolution such as occurred when
the horse-drawn buggy was super-
seded by a gasoline locomotive. A
house is still to remain a house. In
the custom-made class will still be
just as many probably more
which will give work to architects,
bricklayers, stone masons, painters
and plumbers as in the past. . . .
Not least among the benefits that
will come to the worker from
mechanization of this industry will
be much more house value for him-
self and his family in exchange for
his dollar." Mr. Perry never loses
sight of the social implications of
better housing both for the individ-
ual and the community; however,
he is just as much concerned with
the practical aspects of the building
of better dwellings and in the

appendix are tables and charts which
should be of great benefit to those
who make, as well as those who
carry out housing plans. D.P.

BIRDS IN THE GARDEN, AND How To
ATTRACT THEM. By Margaret McKenny
Reynal and Hitchcock, Inc., New
York, 1939. 349 pp. 16 illustrations in
color and 32 pages of half-tones.
Price $5.00.

A new kind of garden and bird
book, this guide to the com-
panionable charm of birds in one's
own garden is written by Miss
McKenny, who is executive secre-
tary of the City Gardens Club of
New York and one of America's
foremost writers on garden and
bird subjects. Everything one needs
to know about attracting birds,
feeding and caring for them, and
getting the most out of them, not
only in beauty and song, but as
protectors of the garden against
destructive insects, is packed into
this volume, which combines charm
and practicality.

The text is expertly illustrated
from colored plates reproduced from
Dr. Thomas S. Roberts' Bird Por-
traits in Co/or, and from countless
photographs of various bird species,
varieties of plants, different types
of feeding devices, garden plans and
related subjects.

YOUR HOME TOWN A Community De-
velopment Handbook, by Frederick P.
Clark, Planning Director, New Hamp-
shire Planning and Development Com-
mission. The Commission, Concord,
N. H. 1939. 62 pp. 25C.

All those factors essential to
making the community better are
described in this attractive little
book, which has been published in
response to a demand on the part

Planning and Civic Comment

of small communities of New
Hampshire for non-technical, under-
standable information on problems
associated with community plan-
ning and development. An appendix
presents statistics on planning and
development activities of New
Hampshire towns, and the texts of
several acts passed by New Hamp-
shire for the establishment of plan-
ning boards, official community
maps, new subdivision of land,
zoning and municipal budgets.

GOVERNMENT AND MISGOVERNMENT OF
LONDON. By William A. Robson, Pub-
lished by George Allen and Unwin Ltd.,
London. 1939. 484 pages with illus-
trations, maps and tables. Price 155.

Mr. Robson has produced an amaz-
ing record of the struggle of the
world's greatest metropolis against
impossible governmental policies
and a smashing indictment of the
ineptitude or criminal neglect of
Parliament in dealing with a situa-
tion demanding the boldest reform
measures. The Municipal Corpora-
tion Act of 1835 transformed the
local governments of provincial
towns but London was excluded
from its operation, kept its hope-
lessly antiquated local government
and remained a "jungle of areas and
authorities and a nightmare of
inefficiency." Before 1855 there was
no administrative machinery re-
sponsible for the local government
of the metropolis as a whole, and
out of the welter of royal com-
missions and Parliamentary in-
quiries in the latter part of the
nineteenth century came for the
most part futility or compromise.

Part I of the volume deals
adequately with the history of the
essential public services in met-

ropolitan London. Part II presents
the rather sad picture of the present
and Part III contains the author's
suggestions for the future.

The story of the past, says Mr.
Robson, shows "a complete lack of
foresight, a pitiful absence of leader-
ship among municipal bodies, a
lack of courage on the part of the
central government." Nowhere has
the leadership failed more signally
than in the field of territorial plan-
ning which is interpreted by the
author as the regulation of the
manner and direction of the city's
growth. The details have a familiar
sound to us who live in much
younger great cities. The picture,
in the excellent chapter on un-
planned development of industrial
locations without adequate housing
for the workers, housing estates on
sites admirably adapted and much
needed for market gardening, the
disappearance of land suitable for
open spaces, the hopeless damage,
from the point of view of safety,
speed and amenity, of the great
roads leading out of London be-
cause of the lack of any intelligent
restriction on the frontage, is a
most convincing brief for the
necessity of a city plan.

Mr. Robson has two fundamental
suggestions for the future a re-
gional governmental authority and
a regional planning commission,
both to be concerned with matters
of regional importance in their
respective fields of administration
and planning. These remedies for
London's deplorable conditions of
government and territorial develop-
ment are necessarily radical. One
wonders how much of them can be
realized. F. S.

Recent Publications

Compiled by Katherine M cNamara, Librarian of the Departments of
Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Harvard University

AERONAUTICAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
OF AMERICA, INC. The aircraft year
book for 1939; twenty-first annual ed.
Howard Mingos, ed. New York, The
Chamber, 1939. 580 pages. IIIus., map
(folded), diagrs., cross sections, chart,
tables (one folded). Price $5.00.

AMERICAN CITY MAGAZINE CORPORATION.
Municipal index and atlas. New York,
The Corporation, 1939. 603 pages.
IIIus., cross sections. Price $5.00.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.
COMMITTEE ON LAND SUBDIVISION
MANUAL. Land subdivision. New
York, The Society, 1939. 75 pages.
Plans, diagrs., cross sections, charts.
(Manuals of Engineering Practice no.
1 6.) Price $1.20.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLANNING OF-
FICIALS. National Conference on Plan-
ning; proceedings of the Conference held
at Boston, Massachusetts, May 15-17,
1939. Chicago, The Society, [1939].
1 66 pages. Price $2.00.

. Planning bibliography

Chicago, The Society, [1939]. 13 pages.
Mimeographed.

BREED, C. B., and OTHERS. Highway
costs; a study of highway costs and
motor vehicle payments in the United
States, by C. B. Breed, Clifford Older,
W. S. Downs, submitted to Association
of American Railroads. [Washington],
The Association, Jan. 30, 1939. 150
pages. IIIus., cross sections, diagrs.
(one folded), tables.

BYRNE, MARTHA, comp. Municipal hous-
ing authority laws of the various states;
a comparative chart of state enabling
legislation, 1938, prepared by Martha
Byrne, with the assistance of the United
States Works Progress Administration
for the City of New York. . . New
York, Citizens' Housing Council of
New York, 1938. 25 pages. Mimeo-
graphed.

CALIFORNIA. STATE PLANNING BOARD.
Summary report on the work of county
planning commissions in California
County Planning Commissioners Asso-
ciation. [San Francisco, The Association,
1 939-1 36 pages. Mimeographed. Map,
tables.

CALIFORNIA STATE CHAMBER OF COM-
MERCE. Building code for California,
prepared for the California State

Chamber of Commerce by committees
representing Northern California Chap-
ter, the American Institute of Architects
[and others]. Editor: Edwin Berg-
strom. [San Francisco, The Chamber],
1939. 473 pages. Tables. Price $5.00.

CHANEY, C. A. Marinas: recommenda-
tions for design, construction and main-
tenance. New York, National Asso-
ciation of Engine and Boat Manufac-
turers, Inc., 1939. 125 pages. IIIus.,
plans, cross sections, tables, charts.

CLARK, FREDERICK P. Your home town:
a community development handbook.
Concord, New Hampshire Planning
and Development Commission, 1939.
62 pages. IIIus., plans, diagrs., tables,
chart. Price 25 cents.

CLEVELAND, OHIO. BOARD OF EDUCATION.
Unit guides for the study of housing and
civic beautification. Cleveland, The
Board, 1938. 114 pages. Mimeographed.
IIIus., tables. Price $1.00.

COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS. The
book of the states, 1939-40. Volume
III. Chicago, The Council, 1939. 454
pages. Maps, tables, ports. Price $3.50.

CRANE, JACOB, and OTHERS. Land,
materials, and labor costs. . . . Wash-
ington, Govt. Printing Office, 1939.
101 pages. IIIus., maps, plans, diagrs.,
tables. (U. S. National Resources
Committee. Industrial Committee.
Housing Monograph Ser. no 3.) Price
30 cents.

GARDEN CLUB OF AMERICA. CONSERVA-
TION COMMITTEE, comp. Conservation
guide. (New York], The Club, 1939.
46 pages. IIIus.

GAUL, JOHN J., comp. Reclamation 1902-
1938: A supplemental bibliography.
Denver, Colo. Bibliographical Center
for Research, Rocky Mountain Region,
[May 1939]. 98 pages. Multigraphed.
(Regional Checklist no. 6.)

HEER, CLARENCE. Federal aid and the
tax problem. . . prepared for the Ad-
visory Committee on Education. Wash-
ington, Govt. Printing Office, 1939. 101
pages. Diagr., tables. (Staff Study no. 4.)
Price 15 cents.

HELVESTINE, MILDRED WILSON, comp.
Bibliography on highway finance com-
piled in the library, United States
Bureau of Public Roads. [Washington,
The Bureau], Nov. 1938. 95 pages.

Planning and Civic Comment

HOFFMAN, HARRIS, LJC. 1939 swimming
pool data and reference annual, volume
seven. New York, Hoffman, Harris,
Inc., 1939. 166 pages. IIlus., plans,
cross sections, diagrs. Price $3.00.

HOFFPAUIR, CURLEY C. and OTHERS, eds.
Housing laws of Germany. New York,
New York City Housing Authority,
1939. 26 pages. Mimeographed. (U. S
Works Progress Administration for the
City of New York Division of Foreign
Housing Studies. Legislative Ser. i,
Issue no. i.)

INTERNATIONAL HOUSING AND TOWN-
PLANNING CONGRESS, i yth, STOCKHOLM,
1939. Seventeenth International Hous-
ing and Town-PIanning Congress in
Stockholm, July 8-15, 1939. The
northern countries exhibition catalogue.
[Stockholm], The Congress, [1939]. 92
pages. IIlus., maps, plans.

MC!NTIRE, JOHN A., and OTHERS. Air-
ports and airplanes and the legal prob-
lems they create for cities, prepared by
John A. Mclntire, Charles S. Rhyne,
and associates. Washington, National
Institue of Municipal Law Officers,
Apr. 1939. 51 pages. Tables (Report
no. 42.) Price $1.00.
Printed in cooperation with the United
States Conference of Mayors.

MASSACHUSETTS. STATE PLANNING BOARD.
Massachusetts drainage basin studies. . .
[Boston], The Board, 1938-39. 4 vols.
Mimeographed IIlus., maps (part
folded), cross sections (folded), diagrs.,
tables.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOUSING OF-
FICIALS. COMMITTEE ON PHYSICAL
STANDARDS AND CONSTRUCTION, and
AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIA-
TION. COMMITTEE ON THE HYGIENE
OF HOUSING. Practical standards for
modern housing; a report. Chicago,
National Association of Housing
Officials, Mar. 1939. 19 4- 3 1 + 2
pages. Mimeographed. (Publication
no. NIOI.) Price $1.00.

NEUHAUS, EUOEN. The art of Treasure
Island: first-hand impressions of the
architecture, sculpture, landscape de-
sign, color effects, mural decorations,
illumination, and other artistic aspects
of the Golden Gate International Ex-
position of 1939. Berkeley, University
of California Press, 1939. 185 pages.
IIlus., plan. Price $2.00.

NEW YORK, N. Y. CITY PLANNING
COMMISSION. Major reports of the City
Planning Commission. . . adopted dur-
ing 1938. New York, The Commission,
[1938]. 54 pages.

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NING COMMISSION, and NORTHWEST
REGIONAL COUNCIL. Proceedings of
the fifth Pacific Northwest Regional
Planning Conference at Seattle, Wash-
ington, April, 27, 28 and 29, 1939.
[Portland, Ore.], The Commission, 1939.
1 86 pages. Tables.

PEARSON, S. VERE. London's overgrowth
and the causes of swollen towns. Lon-
don, C. W. Daniel Co. Ltd., [n
192 pages. IIlus., maps, diagrs., tat
Price 8s 6d.

ROBSON, WILLIAM A. The government
and misgovernment of London. Lon-
don, George Allen and Unwin Ltd.,
[1939]. 484 pages. IIlus., maps (part
folded), plan, diagr., tables. Price i$s.

RUSSELL, HORACE, and LEON H. KEYSER-
LING. Legal problems in the housing
field. Part i, Private housing legal
problems, by Horace Russell; part 2.
Legal aspects of public housing, by
Leon H. Keyserling. . . . Washing-
ton, Govt. Printing Office, 1939. 76
pages. Maps, tables (part folded).
(U. S. National Resources Committee.
Industrial Committee. Housing Mono-
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STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT,
CIRCULATION, ETC., REQUIRED BY THE ACTS OF
CONGRESS OF AUGUST 24, 191 a, AND MARCH 3,
'933t OF PLANNING AND Civic COMMENT pub-
lished quarterly, at Harrisburg, Pa., for October
i, ip39.
Washington, D. C., as:

Before me, a Notary in and for the State and
county aforesaid, personally appeared Dora A.
Padgett, who, having been duly sworn according
to law, deposes and says that she is the Managing
Editor of the Planning and Civic Comment, and
that the following is, to the best of her knowledge
and belief, a true statement of the ownership,
management, etc., of the aforesaid publication for
the date shown in the above caption, required by
the Act of August 24, 1912, as amended by the Act
of March 3, 1933, embodied in section 537, Postal
Laws and Regulations, printed on the reverse of
this form, to wit:

1. That the names and addresses of the pub-
lisher, editor, managing editor, and business
managers are: Publisher: American Planning and
Civic Association and National Conference on
State Parks, 901 Union Trust Building, Washington,
D. C. Editors: Harlean James, Flavel Shurtjeff,
Charles G. Sauers, 901 Union Trust Building.
Washington, D. C. Managing Editor: Dora A.
Padgett. Business Managers: None.

2. That the owner is: American Planning and
Civic Association and National Conference on
State Parks, 901 Union Trust Building, Wash-
ington, D. C.

3. That the known bondholders, mortgagees,
and other security holders owning or holding i per
cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages,
or other securities are: (If there are none, so state.)
None.

DORA A. PADGETT,

Managing Editor

Sworn to and subscribed before me this i6th day
of October, 1939.

REGINA C. McGivERN,
Notary Public. Washington, D. C.
(My commission expires Feb. 29, 1944.)

Planning and
Civic Comment

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

CONTENTS

Page

Roadside Improvement, 1940 and After 1

California's Freeway Law 5

New England's Newest Town 6

Zoning Round Table: Airports 9

Fifty- Year Fight for Kings Canyon National Park Won . . . .12

Strictly Personal 15

Summer Course in City and Regional Planning 16

Planning and Conservation Education in the States 17

San Ildefonso, a Planned Village 19

Watch Service Report 21

Presidential Proclamation Adds Area to Olympic National Park . 23

Editorial on H. R. 6957 from Louisville Times 24

Program of Illinois- Indiana Meeting of the National Conference

on State Parks, May 12-16, 1940 25

Scenic and Historic Significance of State Parks to be Visited . .27

What About Pennsylvania? 29

Georgia Classifies Her Parks 31

State Park Notes 32

Sanctuaries and Nature Trail Survey 33

Planning Groups to Meet in San Francisco 34

Ben H. Kizer to Address Civic Association 34

Attention Planners! 35

Detroit-Huron-Clinton-Parkway Project 35

Notes on National Resources Planning Board 36

Recent Court Decisions 38

Discussion Groups on City Planning in Portland, Maine .... 39

The Haynes Foundation's Program for Los Angeles 40

Book Reviews 41

Recent Publications 47

JANUARY - MARCH 194O

PLANNING AND
CIVIC COMMENT

Published Quarterly
Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

Official Organ of: American Planning and Civic Association,
National Conference on State Parks

SCOPE: National, State, Regional and City Planning; Land and Water Uses;

Conservation oj National Resources; National, Stale and Local Parks,

Highways and Roadsides.
AIM: To create a better physical environment which will conserve and develop

the health, happiness and culture of the American people.

EDITORIAL BOARD

HARLEAN JAMES FLAVEL SHURTLEFF CHARLES G. SAUERS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

FREDERICK J. ADAMS P. J. HOFFMASTER

HORACE M. ALBRIGHT HENRY V. HUBBARD

HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW JOHN IHLDER

EDWARD M. BASSETT RAYMOND F. LEONARD

RUSSELL V. BLACK RICHARD LIEBER

PAUL V. BROWN THOMAS H. MACDONALD

STRUTHERS BURT J. HORACE MCFARLAND

HAROLD S. BUTTENHEIM HENRY T. MC!NTOSH

ARNO B. CAMMERER KATHERINE MCNAMARA

DAVID C. CHAPMAN HAROLD MERRILL

MARSHALL N. DANA MARVIN C. NICHOLS

S. R. DEBOER JOHN NOLEN, JR.

EARLE S. DRAPER F. A. PITKIN

CHARLES W. ELIOT 2o ISABELLE F. STORY

L. C. GRAY L. DEMING TILTON

S. HERBERT HARE TOM WALLACE

ELISABETH M. HERLIHY CONRAD L. WIRTH

MANAGING EDITOR

DORA A. PADGETT

$3.00 a Year

Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Washington, D. C, under
the Act of March 3, 1879. Additional entry at Harrisburg, Pa.

EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATION OFFICE: 901 Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C.

Printed by the Mount Pleasant Press, J. Horace McFarland Company, Harris-
burg, Pa.

Planning and Civic Comment

Vol. 6

January-March, 1940

No. 1

Roadside Improvement 1940 and After

By FLAVEL SHURTLEFF
Counsel, American Planning and Civic Association

FOR twenty years the Empire
State has been trying to im-
prove the roadsides by adopt-
ing a law to regulate outdoor adver-
tising. This year there is the usual
billboard grist for the legislative
mill, and as the session approaches
adjournment a new bill has been
tossed into the hopper calling for the
appointment of a commission to
study the problem and report recom-
mendations. The sponsors of such a
billboard commission feel that if all
the interests involved could sit
around the table as an official body,
a program could be worked out that
would be fair to all. Maybe so, but
if the bill which this commission
recommends is any milder than the
one now before the legislature, the
$5,000 suggested for the commis-
sion's expenses is a high price for its
service.

The experience in New York is
typical. Most of the States have
wrestled with the problem of out-
door advertising with or without the
service of investigating commis-
sions. Some of them have had more
success than New York.

Last year twenty-six legislatures
considered the subject. There was
no uniformity in the legislative bills
but much uniformity in their fate.
Twenty of the twenty-six bills failed

of passage and most of them died in
legislative committees. Of the six
bills which passed, three were badly
battered in the rough and tumble of
committee handling and only in
Vermont was the control of outdoor
advertising by the State appreciably
strengthened. And yet despite de-
feats on many state battle fronts
there should be some cheer in the
victories. In addition to the consid-
erable achievement in Vermont,
Delaware and West Virginia passed
billboard laws for the first time, very
mild to be sure but a recognition of
the State's responsibility for the
safety and good appearance of its
roadsides. New Jersey and Cali-
fornia defeated determined assaults
on existing billboard laws.

If New York must appoint a com-
mission for further investigation, the
task should be neither difficult nor
time-consuming. The course of the
investigation is pretty well charted
by the experience all over the coun-
try. When the commission surveys
the conditions of the roads in New
York and the general billboard situa-
tion in the whole country, it can
come rapidly to several conclusions.

(/). There is a countrywide popu-
lar demand increasing with the tourist
use oj the highways that the roadsides
which are predominantly residential,

Planning and Civic Comment

scenic or rural should have protection
against undesirable business use of
which the billboard is a conspicuous
example.

(2). The best of the state laws
which regulate outdoor advertising are
not adequate protection of the road-
sides.

Regulation is by permit fees for
each billboard location or by the
establishment of areas in which bill-
boards are prohibited, or both.
High fees have had no appreciable
effect on the volume of outdoor ad-
vertising and certainly have not
prevented rankly offensive billboard
locations in rural areas. New Jersey
imposes the highest fees on outdoor
advertising $18 for a billboard of
six hundred square feet but re-
ceipts from such fees were at their
peak in 1939 and have increased
from about $50,000 in 1935 to almost
$90,000 in 1939. Some of this in-
crease is due to better enforcement
of the law but unquestionably there
are more advertising locations on
New Jersey roadsides than in 1935.
In Maine there is a fee of $5 for all
billboards above six hundred square
feet in area and $i for boards under
one hundred square feet. This has
resulted in the substitution of some
smaller boards in order to take ad-
vantage of the lesser fee, but more
permits were issued in 1939 for
boards of all kinds than in any other
year since the law was in force.

Areas closed to billboards in the
vicinity of parks, public reservations
and at road intersections give a
measure of protection for very
limited roadside areas. Much more
effective are the five-hundred-foot
set-backs from parkways and the
three-hundred-foot set-backs from

highways, but the parkway pro-
vision is found in only three state
laws and the highway provision only
in the Massachusetts law and in the
Vermont law as amended in 1939.
The billboard set-back of fifteen feet
on highways in Connecticut and of
fifty feet in Maine may have pre-
vented an occasional collision of
automobile with billboard, but the
moving back of the billboard line
has not added to the attractiveness
of the roadside nor reduced the
number of billboards.

(5). Adequate protection of certain
highways against outdoor advertising
is secured by making highways or
parts of them closed areas in which
outdoor advertising is prohibited.

How extensive the practice is of
closing the roads to billboards is
not known, but it is carried on ef-
fectively by the billboard adminis-
trators in the States of New J ersey
and Massachusetts. As has already
been seen, the practice has not
affected the volume of outdoor ad-
vertising in New Jersey, but the
wholesale closing of many highways
in Massachusetts, together with the
radical set-back provision on all
others has reduced the number of
billboard locations from 12,850 in
1928 to less than 5,000 in 1939. The
Mohawk Trail through the hills of
western Massachusetts and the en-
tire state highway system on Cape
Cod, which is hardly notable for
scenic value, have been handed
back to the traveling public, freed
from the billboard blight, and with
a resulting increase to the State of
tourist revenue.

The prohibition of outdoor ad-
vertising has been attacked as
discriminatory by the billboard

Planning and Civic Comment

industry but the courts have ruled
that the business of outdoor ad-
vertising is in a class by itself, and
the Massachusetts court has said
that billboards amount to an assault
by forcing themselves on an un-
willing public.

(4). Adequate protection of the
roadsides from business of all kinds
should be afforded by local or county
zoning but the results in practice have
been disappointing.

Rural communities most in need
of protection are slow to adopt
zoning. More urban communities
yield to the pressure of property
owners along the main highways and
place these properties in business
zones or leave them unrestricted.
California, which has achieved most
in highway protection through
county zoning, has still a long way
to go. Of the 55 counties in the
State, only 17 have zoning ordi-
nances in effect and most of these
have over-zoned their highways for
business.

(5). Adequate protection against
business of all kinds except outdoor
advertising is afforded by parkways
and limited access highways.

Since parkways are highways ex-
clusively for pleasure travel through
park land owned by the State or
county, private land has no high-
way frontage and no access to or
from the parkway except by public
highways. Limited access highways,
sometimes called "freeways," are
commercial roads open to all kinds
of vehicles but like parkways they
exclude access except by public
highways and therefore eliminate
business locations on private prop-
erty along the highway except bill-
boards. The billboard is a special

kind of business which needs no
right of access.

In zoning, the use of private land
is restricted by the State and con-
sequently roadside protection
through zoning will always be handi-
capped by the resistance of the
property owner and may be tem-
porary because of change in senti-
ment of the governmental agency
which establishes the regulations.
The roadsides of parkways and
limited access highways are protect-
ed because the State either owns the
land or controls the right of access.

The motorist on a parkway or a
limited access highway will have to
put up with the inconvenience of
turning off for food and rest and
care of his motor, but his journey
will be safer and much more at-
tractive. The Merritt Parkway in
Connecticut which runs for thirty-
five miles across Fairfield County
between the New York boundary
and the Housatonic River is a
striking example. Traffic flows at
high speed without the delays and
hazards caused by cross traffic.
The charm of the rural scenery is
now unbroken by business locations
of any kind, but eventually the
State will build an appropriate
number of filling stations. In the
first six months of the operation of
the road there were 89 accidents,
none of them fatal. For a corre-
sponding period and the same
distance on the Boston Post Road
there were 445 accidents, of which
two were fatal. Since the volume of
traffic on both roads for these
periods was substantially the same,
a motorist ran five times the risk of
accident on the old type of com-
mercial highway.

Planning and Civic Comment

The Merritt Parkway will cost
the State of Connecticut at least
$25,000,000 or an excessive cost per
mile of $700,000. Land so near
New York City and so attractive to
prosperous commuters was held at
high value and construction costs
were high. No investment the State
ever made has given it greater ad-
vertisement and the new route has
opened the whole countryside for
new residents of substantial char-
acter. The road will pay its way.

The construction of limited access
roads, whether parkways or com-
mercial highways, has hardly more
than started in this country. The
counties took the lead with park-
ways, followed by the great Federal
parkways now under construction
in the South the Blue Ridge Park-
way and the Natchez Trace which
together will give the motorist one
thousand miles of perfectly pro-
tected routes. Connecticut likes
its experiment in Fairfield County
so well that the road will be ex-
tended probably as a commercial
limited access highway across the
State. In many States new legisla-
tion will be required for both park-
ways and limited access highways,
and the precedents will be found in
the pioneer legislation of New York,
Rhode Island, Connecticut and
California.

On the basis of such findings, what
recommendations will the New York
billboard commission, if appointed,
make to the legislature of 1941 and
what kind of legislation should
receive favorable consideration by
the state legislatures of that year?
Legislative proposals should cover
both old routes where there will be
no considerable change in the high-

way lay-out and new routes involv-
ing the purchase of land for the
right-of-way. In both cases the ob-
jective of legislation and of highway
policy is the same. Roads should
be made and kept safe and at-
tractive. The investment of the
State in its highways should be
fully preserved.

For new routes the limited access
road is the best proposal.

The right-of-way should be wide
enough so that the travel lanes are
insulated or separated from private
property by state-owned land. De-
lays and hazards of all kinds will be
reduced to the minimum and any
use of the roadside inconsistent
with travel pleasure is eliminated
with one important exception. The
billboard may still loom as the most
conspicuous feature on the land-
scape. This should be taken care of
by a legislative ban on outdoor ad-
vertising within view from park-
ways and limited access highways.

An alternative proposal to be used
only when limited access roads are
prohibited by cost or legal impedi-
ments, is state zoning oj the highway
corridors.

The zoning should be based on
careful studies and a complete plan
for the development of the new high-
way corridor and the regulations
should be adopted before the route
is open. Zoning of new highway
routes should be accomplished more
easily and more satisfactorily since
the land owners along the route
who will be affected by the zoning
regulations are being given a very
important new utility at the ex-
pense of the State and are receiv-
ing compensation for their land
to boot.

Planning and Civic Comment

A third and last resort proposal is
to exclude outdoor advertising from
the whole route or from those parts of
it which are declared to be scenic,
rural or predominantly residential.

This proposal is merely an ex-
tension of the practice in Massa-
chusetts and New Jersey of closing
scenic roads to billboards.

For old routes the best proposal is
state zoning of the highway corridor.

The difficulty here is that the
rights of property owners have
long been established and that there

is community opposition to state
control even though the area regu-
lated is a very small part of any
community or county and in spite
of the great investment of the State
in the road. If opposition to zoning
proves too strong, resort must be
had to the same billboard ban as
for new routes and the opposition
of the billboard industry may be
lessened by eliminating the fees for
billboards altogether or fixing them
at a rate just high enough to cover
the cost of administering the law.

California's Freeway Law

CHAPTER 687

AN ACT to add sections 23.5, 100.1, 100.2
and 100.3 to tne Streets and Highways
Code, relating to construction or
establishment of State highways as
freeways or limited access highways
and to connections of other public
highways therewith.

The People of the State of California
do enact as follows:

Section i . A new section is added to the
Streets and Highways Code, to be num-
bered 23.5 and to read as follows:

23.5 "Freeway" means a highway in
respect to which the owners of abutting
lands have no right or easement of access
to or from their abutting lands or in respect
to which such owners have only limited or
restricted right or easement of access.

Section 2. A new section is added to the
Streets and Highways Code, to be num-
bered i oo. i and to read as follows:

100.1. The department is authorized to
do any and all things necessary to lay out,
acquire and construct any section or por-
tion of a State highway as a freeway or to
make any existing State highway a freeway.

Section 3. A new section is added to the
Streets and Highways Code, to be num-
bered 100.2 and to read as follows:

100.2. The department is authorized
to enter into an agreement with the city
council or board of supervisors having
jurisdiction over the street or highway and,
as may be provided in such agreement, to
close any city street or county highway at
or near the point of its interception with

any freeway or to make provision for carry-
ing such city street or county highway over
or under or to a connection with the free-
way and may do any and all work on such
city street or county highway as is neces-
sary therefor. No city street, county road
or other public highway of any kind shall
be opened into or connected with any free-
way unless and until the California High-
way Commission adopts a resolution con-
senting to the same and fixing the terms
and conditions on which such connection
shall be made and the said commission
may give or withhold its consent or fix such
terms and conditions as in its opinion will
best subserve the public interest.

Section 4. A new section is added to the
Streets and Highways Code, to be num-
bered 100.3 an d to read as follows:

100.3. From and after the adoption of
a resolution by the California Highway
Commission declaring any section of State
highway to be a freeway, the highway
described in such resolution shall have the
status of a freeway for all purposes of
section 100.2.

Such declaration shall not affect private
property rights of access, and any such
rights taken or damaged within the mean-
ing of Article I, section 14, of the State
Constitution for such freeway shall be
acquired in a manner provided by law.

No State highway shall be converted
into a freeway except with the consent of
the owners of abutting lands or the pur-
chase or condemnation of their right of
access thereto. Approved by Governor,
July i, 1939.

New England's Newest Town

By FREDERICK P. CLARK, Planning Director
New Hampshire Planning and Development Commission

ONE of the most interesting
developments in New En-
gland at the present time is
the planning of a new town at Hill,
New Hampshire. Shortly to be
forced out of their homes because of
the construction of a federal flood
control dam at Franklin Falls,
N. H., the 350 people of this village
have been debating the proper
course for them to take.

Confronted with the alternatives
of dispersing to other communities
throughout the State or of re-
establishing their community on
higher ground, the residents of Hill
have decided upon the latter course.
The people of the community re-
alize that the task is not easy, but
they have a conviction that done
well they may derive lasting bene-
fits from the development of the
new town.

A DECISION

Having decided on the redevelop-
ment of their homes on higher
ground, the next question was
whether to make the new com-
munity an "every man for himself"
proposition, or whether to plan
carefully its form and character.
Without hesitation the latter
method was decided upon and the
town's first step was to enlist the
advisory assistance of the state
planning division.

During the last six months the
town officials and the state planning
staff have conducted numerous stud-
ies and have evolved a town plan
which meets the needs and desires
of the townspeople.

A site for the new town was
selected on a shelf of land above the
upper limits of the reservoir basin,
a location approximately one-half
mile to the west of the present
community. The area is level
enough for economical building but
has an interesting variation of
topography. The site is mostly
wooded and includes a small pond.
The new location is near the re-
location of the principal state high-
way up the valley. State planning
and highway officials have co-
operated to secure the alignment
and grade of state highway which
would best fit the new town street
plan.

FEATURES OF THE TOWN PLAN

The plan of the new town is in
the character of the New England
village and combines the best fea-
tures of safety, economy and at-
tractiveness which could be secured
within the funds available for de-
velopment.

Safety will be achieved in the new
layout by locating the state high-
way so that it passes to one side of
the townsite. This will make it un-

EDITOR'S NOTE. As we go to press, word comes from Mr. Clark announcing that
on March 13, the Hill Town Meeting unanimously granted all necessary authority to
develop the new town as planned. A bond issue was authorized to start new public

cr It ,
officials

ics, the street plan was approved and a zoning commission established. The town
Is have already initiated work based on this authority.

Planning and Civic Comment

necessary for children to cross the
heavy state highway traffic to go to
school. Housewives will no longer
need to cross the heavily traveled
road to go to the store, and the town
hall and churches will likewise be
safely accessible. Safety will also
be improved on the state highway
since through traffic will no longer
have to force its way through local
traffic.

Economy will be achieved through
improved street layout. A reduc-
tion of more than 2,000 feet in the
length of street necessary to serve
the residents will bring not only
less street to maintain, but a
shorter length of water mains,
sewers, and other utilities. Corre-
spondingly less sidewalk will be
necessary.

The new village should have
added attractiveness because of its
layout. The streets will fit the
topography better, public building
locations will be more appropriate
and the confusion of state highway
traffic will be removed from resi-
dential areas. The town site will
also command a better view of the
river valley.

PROCEDURE IN DEVELOPMENT

The town, under state law, can-
not use public funds to purchase
lands or to erect structures for
other than public purposes. There-
fore, the people of the town or-
ganized and incorporated them-
selves under the laws of the State as
the "Hill Village Improvement Asso-
ciation." This voluntary non-profit
corporation supplements the official
activities of the town.

The town's three-man board of
selectmen and the board of directors

of the corporation form the planning
committee of the new village.

The corporation has assumed the
responsibility for acquisition of the
8o-acre site and has secured options
on the necessary land. It is ex-
pected that this land will be pur-
chased as soon as the annual town
meeting approves the construction
of public facilities at the new site.
Both the board of selectmen and the
board of directors of the corporation
have already officially approved the
new town layout.

As soon as the land is acquired by
the corporation, the town will pur-
chase from it the land necessary for
public purposes. The remaining
land, for private building purposes,
will be divided into lots and sold by
the corporation.

TOWN'S ECONOMIC STATUS

The Town of Hill is not a wealthy
town. It does have, however, a
well-diversified economic foundation
including income distributed quite
evenly from manufacturing, ag-
riculture, recreation, business and
trade. It also serves as a residential
suburb for people who work in two
adjoining industrial communities.
This diversification has resulted
in a good measure of stability.

Ten years ago the tow r n was in
debt to the limit permitted by state
law (3 percent of its two-thirds of a
million dollars valuation). Today
the town has a net surplus on its
books, having pulled itself out of
debt during the depression.

This reduction of debt was not
accomplished by reliance on public
relief funds. In fact, a short time
ago, the town applied for a WPA
project, but upon investigation

Planning and Civic Comment

found only three men in town who
could qualify.

NEW DEVELOPMENT

The new village will include, in
addition to the homes, three stores,
a garage, two gasoline stations, a
town hall, school, library, two
churches, fire station, post office,
recreational facilities and two small
woodworking plants. The number
of residences is indeterminate at the
present time due to delay in se-
curing satisfactory settlements from
the Federal Government for existing
property. Until a resident knows
reasonably close the sum he will
receive for his present home, it is
impossible for him to make definite
plans to rebuild in the new town.
Of the 88 families in the flooded zone
66 have expressed their belief that
they will be able to finance a new
home. The others will have to be
provided for on a rental basis.

FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

The town property in the area to
be flooded is valued for replacement
purposes at approximately $130,000.
The town expects to get replacement
costs for these facilities, and if it does,
the money received should permit
development of comparable facili-
ties at the new townsite.

Since it usually takes considerable
time to secure final settlement and
payment of cash by the Federal
Government, the town is in the
position of having to borrow money

for a short period to start recon-
struction of the new town facilities.

NEW RESIDENTS ANTICIPATED

The people of Hill expect that the
attractiveness of the new village
and the good financial condition of
the town will bring new residents.
As a result of newspaper publicity
so far, several specific inquiries have
been received asking lot prices.

POSSIBLE INFLUENCE OF
NEW VILLAGE

It is believed that, if the develop-
ment of the new village is carried
out as at present planned, it may
have a marked influence on com-
munity planning elsewhere in the
State.

The New Hampshire Planning
and Development Commission is
already noting a spurt of interest in
city and town planning arid believes
at least a portion of this interest
comes from the replanning of Hill,
since it serves as a specific example
of what is meant by "community
planning/'

It is important to note that the
actual decisions on the various
features of the new village are being
made by the townspeople them-
selves, the very people who are
paying for the new community and
who will live there. To the degree
that the new village is a model one,
it will mean much more than if
it had been built by a speculative
builder or a governmental agency.

The plan of the proposed new village of Hill, New Hamp-
shire, is reproduced in this issue. It will be found on the
third page of the illustrations.

Zoning Round Table

Conducted by EDWARD M. BASSETT

AIRPORTS

Can the Circle of Land Surrounding an Airport be Zoned under
the Police Power to Regulate Height of Buildings?

THERE can be no doubt that
such regulations would re-
late to safety. The only ques-
tion is whether they are for the
benefit of the public generally.
We know that eminent domain can
be employed. A public airport has
been held by the courts to be a
public use and subject to eminent
domain. A public easement limiting
buildings to two stories in height,
for instance, could be imposed and
compensatory payment to the land-
owners could be decreed. This
process would be difficult and prob-
ably never would be resorted to.
In the early days of the discussion
of zoning in New York City many
thought that ordinary zoning should
be established under eminent do-
main. We know now that it would
have been a failure. The labor and
cost of ascertaining the damage to
each parcel of land would have been
overwhelming but this would have
been merely the beginning of trouble.
The assessment of the damages on
the parcels supposed to be benefited
would have been gigantic. If the
police power could not have been
employed for height, area and use
zoning there would not be any such
zoning today.

The same situation will make
airport regulation by condemnation
impractical. Undoubtedly single
buildings can be condemned as was
the case with a high brick chimney
near the Floyd Bennett Field,

Brooklyn. I am speaking of regula-
tions of height covering a circle of
land which is an entirely different
matter from the condemnation of a
single structure.

If then imposing a public ease-
ment by eminent domain is im-
practical for the regulation of the
circle surrounding an airport, the
only remaining method must be by
the exercise of the police power.
None of us knows what the courts
will say although we do know that
one court in Maryland very likely
the only one has said that the
police power does not apply be-
cause airplanes do not benefit the
public generally but only a small
fraction of the public. This declara-
tion, however, referred to an air-
port ordinance and not to a com-
prehensive zoning ordinance. Very
likely the future will discover
methods of adapting height regula-
tions to the circle in a reasonable
way, so that a fair degree of
safety will be obtained for the air-
planes and no unreasonable damage
done to the landowners. For in-
stance, in a suburban locality al-
ready devoted to small homes and
very properly zoned for buildings
not exceeding three stories in height,
the making of the inner part of the
circle two and one-half stories and
the outer part four stories would not
be held to be unreasonable. It
could properly be called regulation
and not a taking. If, however, the

Planning and Civic Comment

inner part of the circle was limited
to a one-story height, this would
probably be called a taking and
not reasonable regulation and the
courts would set it aside if attempted
under the police power. The air-
port authorities cannot complain if

buildings of a reasonable height are
erected on private land because
they can always buy or condemn
the land out to that point in the
circle where the airplanes can rise
over the structures.

The Shallow Bowl

Writers looking at this subject
from the airport point of view are
apt to fix the center of the airport
as the bottom of a shallow bowl and
the surface of the bowl figure would
denote the constantly rising height
limitation of buildings on public
and private land. The figure of the
bowl helps to make a picture of
the concavity but there is no need
of regarding the multitudinous dif-

ferences in height that the surface of
such a bowl would demarcate. If
within the airport circle buildings
were allowed of two stories height,
further out three stories height, and
further still four stories height, this
would probably be sufficient. It
would be possible in this way to
prevent high chimneys, towers and
steeples.

Can Existing Zoning Ordinances Take Care of Airports ?

This question brings up the
rapidly advancing subject of air-
port zoning, not as a part of com-
prehensive height, area and use
zoning but as a separate field hav-
ing its own enabling acts and or-
dinances. It is apparent that this
important movement which is grow-
ing rapidly begins with the airports
and the various aeronautical State
commissions. At least twelve States
have passed airport zoning laws,
all of which look on the regulation
of land around airports as some-
thing entirely different from or-
dinary comprehensive zoning. These
state laws are not uniform. Some
simply give a state airplane com-
missioner the power to regulate
land around airports. Others en-
deavor to give aeronautic com-
missions the power to zone with all
details of regulations including va-
riances or appeals to court. Some

of these state enactments have
been on the books for several years
and have not been used. It is
likely that most of them will be
found impractical or will be super-
seded by something better. The
situation reminds one of the years
before comprehensive zoning in this
country. Chicago and St. Louis
passed laws to protect under the
police power attractive block devel-
opments of high-class homes. These
all were gradually set aside by the
courts because they were arbitrary
and piecemeal. Later when com-
prehensive zoning came along the
courts declared that if the same sort
of land within a municipality was
zoned alike and the zoning was
reasonable and not discriminatory
the courts would enforce it. It was
the universality of a zoning plan
throughout a municipality that
won the approval of the courts.

Planning and Civic Comment

The efforts to establish airport
zoning by independent and isolated
ordinances neglect regulations that
will prevent arbitrariness; they
omit hearings and advertising; no
attention is given to the adjust-
ment of special exceptions or court
review.

It is not strange that airport
owners and aeronautical commis-

sions should be pushing some sort of
airport regulations. Municipalities
are slow to take up the matter.
City officials are busy with the
intricacies of the master plan and
changes of the zoning map without
going into the difficult subject of
zoning of airports. They naturally
leave these things to the aero-
nautical commissions.

One Municipality One Zoning Ordinance

The discursive airport legislation
that is now going on sometimes
gives the power to a state agency to
do airport zoning, sometimes to
municipalities to zone surrounding
municipalities, and sometimes to
zone the airport circle of land even
if no other land in the town or
county is zoned. If these enabling
acts are carried out some cities will
have two zoning ordinances, one
for height, area and use, and one
for airports. This is something like
having two building codes for a city.
The airport zoning ordinance will
necessarily differ from the zoning
ordinance for height, area and use.
There will be constant clashing and
confusion. A builder may comply
with the zoning ordinance for height,
area and use and be surprised to
find that he did not know about an
airport zoning ordinance that reg-
ulated height three miles from the
center of an airport. There ought
to be no difficulty in placing airport
regulations in our usual municipal
ordinances. One zoning ordinance
is enough for any municipality. The
same machinery and procedure
should be used for airport zoning as
for any other. The usual zoning
maps can show the allowable height

of buildings around airports. As a
rule they will not differ largely from
the ordinary zoning map especially
in the suburbs, but the towers and
steeples will be prevented and a low
type of building will be required.
The outlying districts of many
cities today have a sort of zoning
for small homes that would har-
monize admirably with reasonable
airport zoning.

It may be that city officials
interested in zoning for height, area
and use and in keeping their or-
dinances and zoning maps up to
date have not given sufficient thought
to airports. There is no reason why
modern zoning ordinances cannot
take care of airports. It will be
found that the regular zoning maps
can without difficulty be made to
show the allowable differences in
height. The work of the Civil
Aeronautics Authority of Washing-
ton, D. C., shows how rapidly in-
dependent airport zoning laws are
multiplying. Municipal planners
and officials cannot neglect the
subject. Nothing would be worse
than to have two zoning ordi-
nances in a single municipality,
each administered by a different
authority.

Fifty- Year Fight for Kings Canyon
National Park Won

WHEN on March 4, 1940,
President Roosevelt signed
the Gearhart Bill to create
the Kings Canyon National Park,
almost the last step was taken to
preserve in the National Park
System an adequate section of the
Southern Sierra. John Muir, the
first proponent, has been dead for
more than a quarter of a century.
The list of those who have worked
hard to protect the Kings Canyon
country from commercial uses con-
tains many names of distinguished
citizens. John Muir, Colonel George
W. Stewart, Robert Underwood
Johnson, Dr. Charles Sargent and
Stephen T. Mather did not live to
see their dreams realized. But
William E. Colby, Dr. J. Horace
McFarland, Frederick Law Olm-
sted, and Horace M. Albright,
who labored for many years, and
more recently, President Roosevelt,
Secretary Ickes, Arno B. Cammerer,
Director of the National Park
Service, Frank Kittredge, Director
of Region IV of the Park Service,
Dr. Joel H. Hildebrand, President
of the Sierra Club, Mrs. Linnie
Marsh Wolfe, secretary of the John
Muir Association, and scores of
public-spirited citizens and civic
organizations of California have
lived to enjoy the results of their
hard-won victory. Mention of those
who contributed to the final result
should not omit Colonel William B.
Greeley, who, when he was Chief
Forester, appeared before a Com-

mittee of Congress to support the
inclusion in the Sequoia National
Park of Mount Whitney, the Kern,
Kaweah and Kings Canyons as
proposed in the 2o's, the late F. A.
Silcox, who, as Chief of the U. S.
Forest Service, appeared before
the House Committee on Public
Lands to support the Gearhart Bill
which has now passed Congress, and
John C. Page, who, as Commissioner
of Reclamation, appeared before
the same committee to testify that
the area was not needed for reclama-
tion projects.

This is an opportune time to
recall the piece-meal steps which
have led to the conservation of the
area now included in the Sequoia
and Kings Canyon National Parks.
In 1875, John Muir made his first
trip to the Kings country and the
Big Trees. In 1879, Colonel George
W. Stewart began to interest him-
self in saving the Sequoias from
commercial exploitation. In 1881,
Senator John F. Miller of California
introduced a bill into Congress to
make a national park of the "whole
west flank of the Sierra Nevada from
Tehipite to a point southwest of
Porterville, from the high foothills
eastward to the summit of the range/ '
But the bill was never reported from
committee because of the objections
of local residents. The lumbermen
looked with longing eyes on the big
trees, not knowing history would
demonstrate that most of the fallen
giants were wasted economically.

Planning and Civic Comment

In 1885, the Secretary of the
Interior suspended 18 townships
of mountain land from entry, in-
cluding all or part of the Sequoia
groves on public lands in Fresno and
Tulare Counties. In 1889, following
a meeting in Visalia, boundaries
were proposed which included the
entire forest region from Yosemite
(State) Park to some point in Kern
County. About that time, the
pressure on the Secretary of the
Interior to rescind the withdrawals
from entry became so heavy that
Colonel Stewart and his associates
investigated the history of Yellow-
stone National Park. In a letter
from Colonel Stewart to Colonel
John R. White, dated June 8, 1929,
Colonel Stewart stated: "We de-
sired to have a large park embracing
Mount Whitney, the Kings and
Kern Rivers and the Big Tree areas,
but, because of the strength of
the opposition, the little band of
conservationists confined their
efforts to saving the big trees, then
in immediate danger." In his letter
Colonel Stewart commented: "The
river canyons we thought could be
added if we once had a park in
existence. We didn't think then the
enlargement of the park would be
so long deferred."

Due to the combined efforts of
John Muir, the California Academy
of Sciences, and the little group in
Fresno, the Acts of 1890 created
Sequoia National Park and General
Grant National Park, the latter
badly shot with private holdings,
some of which have never been
acquired by the Federal Govern-
ment.

In November of 1891, following
the creation of the all-too-inade-

quate Sequoia and General Grant
National Parks, John Muir, at the
request of Robert Underwood John-
son, then Editor of Century Maga-
zine, published the remarkable illus-
trated article on "A Rival of
Yosemite, the Canyon of the South
Fork of the Kings River, California,"
which was reproduced in summary
in the January-March, 1939 PLAN-
NING AND Civic COMMENT.

In 1892, the Sierra Club was
organized by John Muir, William
E. Colby, Warren OIney, Sr., Dr.
Willis Linn Jepson, and Dr. Joseph
LeConte, all names closely linked
with worthy conservation and
scenic preservation movements in
California. From that date on, the
Sierra Club has consistently fostered
all efforts to make of the Yosemite
country and the Southern Sierra
fine national parks.

From 1916 to 1926 there was a
bill pending before each session of
Congress to enlarge the Sequoia to
include the Kings and Kern Can-
yons and Mount Whitney. In 1926
the Kern, Kaweah and Mount
Whitney areas were added to the
park, and this, together with private
lands purchased, gave the park
custody of 27 groves containing
thousands of big trees.

But the Kings Canyon country
was still outside the park. For some
years it was subject to overgrazing
by cattle in summer. But the U. S.
Forest Service, recognizing its su-
perior recreational value, has, in
recent years, steadily reduced the
number of cattle and sheep.

In 1939, Congressman Bertrand
W. Gearhart of California intro-
duced a bill to establish the John
Muir-Kings Canyon National Park,

Planning and Civic Comment

to include the famous Evolution
Basin, the headwaters of the South
Fork of the San Joaquin and of the
Middle and South Forks of the
Kings River, with 81 miles of the
John Muir Trail, incorporating Gen-
eral Grant National Park and
authorizing the purchase of 5,762
acres of privately owned land, in-
cluding a 4,ooo-acre tract of fine
redwoods on Redwood Mountain.

In spite of the fact that the U. S.
Forest Service joined with the
National Park Service to advocate
the transfer of the area outlined
from the Sequoia National Forest
to the new national park, the local
commercial opposition to the Gear-
hart Bill has been intense, and more
than one lobbyist was sent to
Washington to block its passage.
However, the House passed the
bill on July 18, 1939 and the Senate
concluded Congressional action on
February 19, 1940. With the Presi-
dent's signature on March 4, this
great new national park takes its
place in the system.

But there yet remains one other
step. The lower part of the Canyon
of the South Fork of the Kings
River which Muir described in his
Century article nearly fifty years
ago, still lies outside the park,
likewise a proposed reservoir site
in the Tehipite Valley. A recent

report of the Bureau of Reclamation
to Congress recommends the Pine
Flat Dam for combined irrigation,
flood control and power, and for
future development a large power
project on the North Fork of the
Kings River. Both of these sites
lie entirely out of the new park. The
effect of these recommendations
should be to release the Canyon of
the South Fork of the Kings and
the Tehipite Valley for incorpora-
tion in the national park, to com-
plete the conservation efforts of
public-spirited citizens begun over
sixty years ago.

The gratitude of the entire coun-
try should go to those intrepid
conservationists in California, led
by the Sierra Club and the John
Muir Association, who cooperated
with Congressmen Gearhart and
DeRouen, Senators Adams and
Barkley, Secretary I ekes, the Na-
tional Park Service and the U. S.
Forest Service to bring about this
long-delayed act of justice and
sound land-use redistribution.

Members of the American Plan-
ning and Civic Association who
have done their part to bring about
this consummation may feel that
they have been in good company
and have participated in a con-
servation event which will take its
place in the history of the Nation.

*$$$

A map of the new Kings Canyon National Park will be found on the
second page of the illustrations in this issue.

Reprints of the article by John Muir which appeared in the Century
Magazine for November, 1891, are available on request from the
Association.

Planning and Civic Comment

Strictly Personal

The Autobiography of Edward
M. Bassett has recently been re-
ceived. A delightful reference to
one of Mr. Bassett's youthful heroic
exploits when "little Eddie Bassett"
saved a house from burning and
thereby broke into the public press
is one of many interesting anecdotes
and experiences which all of Mr.
Bassett's friends will read with
much interest and enjoyment.

Henry P. Chandler, newest mem-
ber of the Board of Directors of
the AP&CA, has come to Washing-
ton as Director of the Adminis-
trative Office of the United States
Court, a newly created position to
expedite clearance of court dockets.
Mr. Chandler formerly resided in
Chicago, where he served as a
member of the City Plan Com-
mission and in other civic capacities.

Harlean James was presented
with a scroll from the officers and
Board of Trustees of the American
Society of Landscape Architects at
its recent annual dinner in Wash-
ington, certifying to her election to
corresponding membership. The
citation was as follows: In gratitude
for her long and valiant defense and
advancement of public parks as a
vital part of the machinery of our
civilization the American Society
of Landscape Architects has elected
to Corresponding Membership Har-
lean James a prophet of outdoor
recreation who has seen many of
her ideals become those of her
country.

Robert Fechner, able director of
the Civilian Conservation Corps
since its establishment in 1933,
died on December 31, 1939, at the
age of 63. Mr. Fechner won the
highest respect from the nation for
his capable administration of the
CCC. James J. McEntee has been
appointed Director to succeed Mr.
Fechner.

* * * *

Edmund B. Rogers, superinten-
dent of Yellowstone National Park,
has been designated acting super-
intendent of National Capital Parks,
Washington, D. C, pending the
appointment of a superintendent
through civil service. He will re-
main at this post through the
spring months.

* * $> *

Sam F. Brewster has resigned
from the Tennessee Commission of
Conservation and is now connected
with the Alabama Polytechnic In-
stitute at Auburn, Alabama, as
College Landscape Architect.

* * * *

William C. Gregg, one of the
staunchest supporters of the work
of the AP&CA, donated a 3,250-
acre tract in South Carolina for a
Boy Scout Camp, which will be
named in his honor. The Camp is
situated on the Ashley River, 18
miles from Charleston, and will be
one of the largest Scout Camps in
the country.

* * * *

Dr. J. Horace McFarland has
been elected vice-president of the
Pennsylvania Parks Association,

Planning and Civic Comment

which has its headquarters in Phila-
delphia.

* * * *

Edward B. Ballard, formerly con-
nected with the National Park
Service, is now executive secretary
of the National Parks Association,
Washington, D. C.

Numerous transfers have been
authorized in the National Park
Service. Col. John R. White be-
comes Director of Region III on
April 1 6, and Hillory A. Tolson will
succeed Col. White as Chief of
Operations in Washington. Her-
bert Maier, associate director of
Region III, has been transferred to
a similar position in Region IV with
headquarters at San Francisco. Her-
bert Evison, associate director of
Region I, which has its headquarters
at Richmond, Virginia, is exchanging

positions with Fred L. Johnston,
assistant supervisor of recreation and
land planning at Washington, D. C.

* $ * $

Major William A. Welch, for
many years Chief Engineer and
General Manager of the Palisades
Interstate Park, requested the Pali-
sades Interstate Park Commission
that he be relieved from the full
burden of the office of chief engineer
and general manager of the Park.
The Commission acceded to his re-
quest, but has retained him as a
full-time consultant. Kenneth
Morgan, formerly with the Long
Island Park Commission and later
on the staff of the World's Fair, has
been named as Chief Engineer and
General Manager of the Palisades
Interstate Park. After a month's
vacation in Florida, Major Welch
returned in March to take up his
new duties.

Summer Course in City and Regional Planning

A short summer course in City
and Regional Planning is again
being offered under the joint spon-
sorship of the Massachusetts In-
stitute of Technology and the
American Planning and Civic As-
sociation. Four courses are offered
during the three-week period com-
mencing Monday, July |8, 1940. A
two-hour seminar in Principles of
Planning will be held each morning
during the weeks commencing July 8
and July 15 and in Techniques of
Planning each morning during the
week commencing July 22. These
will be under the direction of Profes-
sor Frederick J. Adams, who is in

charge of the Division of City Plan-
ning and Housing at the Massachu-
setts Institute of Technology. Two-
hour seminars in Planning Legisla-
tion will be held each afternoon
during the week of July 8 and in
Planning Administration each after-
noon during the week of July 15,
both courses being under the direc-
tion of Professor Flavel Shurtleff,
Counsel of the American Planning
and Civic Association. The fee for
the entire course will be fifty dollars,
but participants in the program may
register in the separate subjects for
a fee of ten dollars for each series of
five seminars.

Planning and Conservation Education
in the States

As Reported by Chapter Chairmen of the AP&CA

Arkansas. Dr. George C. Branner,
State Geologist, and Chairman of the
Arkansas Chapter of the American Plan-
ning and Civic Association, writes that the
most outstanding occurrence in Arkansas
during the past year contributing to the
education of adults and of the young in
regard to planning and conservation was
the passage of Act 312 of the 1939 Arkansas
General Assembly which provides for the
teaching of conservation of natural re-
sources in the high schools and the higher
state educational institutions, including
teachers' colleges. The Commission of
Education called conferences which were
attended by representatives of the state
departments dealing with natural re-
sources. Mr. L. A. Henry, Director of the
State Planning Board, has acted as sec-
retary of these conferences which have
agreed on the publication of a source book
to be used in the schools and colleges.
There will be chapters on soils, forests,
wild life, minerals, water resources, park
and recreational areas, and flora. Dr.
Branner adds that he would like to see as
much favorable planning and conservation
publicity as possible in the newspapers,
as he realizes that planning and con-
servation are dependent on social points
of view which develop slowly.

Colorado. Mr. L. F. Eppich, Chairman
of the Colorado Chapter of the Association,
and President of the Denver Planning
Commission, reports that the Colorado
Legislature passed a new Enabling Act
for Regional Planning, with the support of
the Denver Commission. Mr. Eppich
recalls that the Denver Planning Com-
mission published a Primer on City
Planning which was designed to create
an interest in the subject and that it has
been in use in the public schools, colleges
and universities as a reference book. At
the Colorado State College of Education
at Greeley the book is used in conjunction
with the subject of geography, the early
history of Denver being considered of more
importance to the youth of Colorado than
to memorize the population of various
state capitals. At the University of
Colorado at Boulder, seniors in Civil
Engineering are required to take city

Planning courses. In Denver one of the
unior High Schools recently gave a city

planning play which was so well received
that it was put on a radio program.

Mr. Irving J. McCrary, Consultant of
the Colorado State Planning Commission,
reports that the Commission sent to all
Boards of County Commissioners copies
of the new enabling legislation for county
and regional planning, followed by a
digest of the law. Representatives of the
State Board have met with citizens and
officials in a number of the counties and
have encouraged them in efforts to set up
county planning boards. After boards
were set up, the State Planning Com-
mission has continued to assist them in
their organization and suggest ways and
means for going about their duties. In
the Legislature and in the educational
work, good use was made of a colored
motion picture film showing examples of
both good and bad planning in the
environs of Denver.

Connecticut. General Sanford H. Wad-
hams, Director of the State Water Com-
mission and Chairman of the Connecticut
Chapter of the Association, reports that
the recently created State Development
Commission has now inherited all of the
State's activities in planning and resources.
General Wadhams speaks of the excellent
educational work being carried on by the
Fairfield County Planning Association and
the Connecticut Forest and Park Asso-
ciation. In early February the latter held
a two-day meeting in New Haven.

Illinois. Mr. F. M. Lindsay, Chairman
of the Illinois Chapter of the Association,
writes that at a meeting of the statewide
annual planning conference at Champaign
a year ago, a committee was appointed to
make recommendations to bring the
Illinois planning act up to date. The act,
passed in 1922, was one of the earlier ones
and Mr. Lindsay believes now that plan-
ning commissions have made a place for
themselves they might consolidate their
gains by making it obligatory for the
taxing bodies to make a public ^ record
when they override the decisions of the
plan commissions. He suggests that the
model acts recommended by Mr. Hoover,
when he was Secretary of Commerce, and
which were progressive for their day, be
revised to meet present-day conditions.
Mr. Lindsay also stated that at a recent

Planning and Civic Comment

meeting of the Illinois Planning Com-
mission he suggested a survey of the
problem of parking in Illinois cities. Com-
pared to the billions of dollars which have
gone into the needed hard-surfaced roads,
few cities have paid any attention to the
problem of taking care of the congestion
caused by street parking.

Maine. Professor W. S. Evans, Chair-
man of the Maine Chapter of the Asso-
ciation, writes that the Maine Chapter
recently met in conjunction with the
combined service clubs at Bangor and
were addressed by Flayel Shurtleff as the
principal speaker. A similar meeting took
place in Waterville. South Berwick in-
vited the Maine Chapter to be present at a
public hearing on planning. A discussion
group has been organized in Portland to
study local planning problems. Professor
Evans reports that at present there is a
great interest displayed in planning and
zoning and that more towns are actually
considering planning measures seriously
than have adopted them in the past.
Other letters from Portland inform Mr.
ShurtlefF that he has made many converts
for planning.

Massachusetts. President Hugh P.
Baker of Massachusetts State College,
Chairman of the Massachusetts Chapter,
writes that the past year has been very
important in progress of education for
planning. In connection with the Ex-
tension Service, a State Rural Policy
Committee has been organized with
representation from all Federal and State
agencies in Massachusetts, and members
of this committee are exhibiting a real
cooperative attitude and making an honest
effort to harmonize their plans. Dr. Baker
reports that Land-use committees have
been set up in 45 towns of Massachusetts
and in seven counties. These have been
doing excellent work in studying the
land resources of their communities, with
a view to recommending better use of the
land. In some counties, it now becomes
practical to set up county planning com-
mittees to coordinate the recommendations
from the various towns. Dr. Baker states
that the local people in the town of
Williamstown recommended that the
forest area be enlarged to take in some
land owned by the town and not paying
its way. If this is done, the town will be
able to close off certain roads and schools
which have been a drain on local finances.
Conservation programs have been taken
up with the 20,000 4-H Club members in
the State. The Extension Service at the
College has taken on a new staff member,
a specialist in Soil Conservation, to work

with farmers. The Agricultural Con-
servation program in Massachusetts this
last year attracted more farmers than
ever before. The College cooperates with
the State Conservation Department and
the State Planning Board. (Quite a
budget of educational planning and
conservation news, we may remark!)

Michigan. H. O. Whittemore, Chair-
man of the Michigan Chapter, outlines the
methods used in the State for education
in planning and conservation. He lists
the outdoor pages of the newspapers of
the Booth Syndicate and of the Detroit
Free Press and of the Detroit Times,
magazine articles in the Michigan Motor
News and "Michigan Conservation" put
out by the Conservation Department. He
cites lectures by Ben East, of the Booth
Syndicate, by Walter Hastings and E. C.
Paquin of the Educational Division of
the Conservation Department; by mem-
bers of the Landscape Architecture De-
partment and the School of Forestry and
Conservation of the University of Michi-
gan. These departments and the Agri-
cultural Department of Michigan State
College, through the extension divisions,
conduct adult education along land and
rural planning and conservation subjects
among the farm and small town groups.
Professor Whittemore states that very
high quality motion picture films are sent
out by the agencies mentioned above and
the Michigan Highway Department, deal-
ing particularly with the safeguarding of
resources. Radio programs are sponsored
by the State Departments, the University
and the College. Professor Whittemore
reports that a new zoning ordinance is
under careful preparation for Detroit,
the largest unzoned city in the country,
and that a program of public education is
being carried on to aid in the adoption of
the ordinance.

For the training of youth, Professor
Whittemore states that the only formal
courses in city and regional planning are
given by the Department of Landscape
Architecture at the University of Michigan.
These cover the principles and history of
city and regional planning, city planning
problems and procedures and design of
parks and park systems. A seminar in
land utilization is conducted jointly by
the Departments of Geography, Political
Science, Sociology, Economics, Forestry,
Museum of Zoology, Landscape Archi-
tecture and Agricultural Economics of
State College. Professor Whittemore
remarks that considerable attention in the
public schools is paid to problems of
conservation of natural resources through

Planning and Civic Comment

class work and extra curricular activities;
but that very little is done on the subject
of city, regional or state planning. He
suggests that Detroit and surrounding
towns especially need a public school
primer on city planning and zoning.

New Mexico. The New Mexico Chapter
reports that in January Governor Miles
appointed the new State Planning Board
to consist of Lyle Brush, Cimarron,
Chairman; C. E. Manson, Clovis; J. L.
Lawson, Alamagordo; Enrique Gonzales,
Taos; T. B. Catron, Santa Fe, and Thomas
Posey, Magdelena. The Chairman of the
State Planning Board met with the Chap-
ter members in February to discuss plans
for the future. The Chapter has set up a
Committee on Roadside Improvement to
consist of Mrs. Loieve Doepp, Carlsbad,
Mr. F. Butts, Albuquerque, a citizen of
Tucumcari, a representative of the State
Federation of Women's Clubs, of the
State Highway Department, Landscape
Architect Cornell of the National Park
Service and Mr. Slve of the Public Roads
Administration. The Committee of Santa
Fe consists of Mrs. Francis L. Wilson,

Charles Richey of the National Park
Service, Father Theodosius Meyers, J. R.
Cole, President of the Chamber of Com-
merce, and representatives of the new city
council, to be elected in April, and of the
Santa Fe Women's Club. The Chapter is
also interesting itself in the marking of
historic buildings and sites in Santa Fe.

Oklahoma. Dr. Leonard Logan, Chair-
man of the Oklahoma Chapter, writes of
the progress of the Department of Agri-
culture rn setting up county agricultural
planning boards to develop plans for
county land utilization anid other agri-
cultural programs. He states that several
of the colleges have introduced courses
on conservation. Dr. Logan's course in
the University of Oklahoma, offered for
the first time this year, deals specifically
with planning problems.

Apropos of pending appropriations
for the National Resources Planning
Board, Dr. Logan comments that the
main job ahead of the American Planning
and Civic Association is to educate the
public on the importance of and need for
planning.

San Ildefonso, a Planned Village

EDITOR'S NOTE. Mr. James T. Mc-
Broom, Field Agent, Office of Indian
Affairs, Department of the Interior, in
welcoming the delegates of the National
Park Conference to San Ildefonso, gave
such an interesting account of the village
that we have asked permission to present
his address in this quarterly.

THE United States Indian Ser-
vice welcomes you to San Ilde-
fonso one of the first planned
communities of the United States
and one of the centers of the Indian
culture so important in the tourist
and recreation industry of the
Southwest.

The 140 people of 30 families now
resident here occupy the same land
which has been the home of their
ancestors for many, many genera-
tions. It is a matter of record that San
Ildefonso was here when Coronado
entered the Rio Grande Valley 400
years ago, and it probably was in

existence several hundred years
before that.

The people of San Ildefonso have
about 17,000 acres of land granted
them by the King of Spain in 1689
and confirmed by the United States
Congress in 1858. Only a small part
of this land is of significant value,
however, that part which may be
irrigated from the waters of the
near-by Rio Grande. The Indians
depend almost entirely on the
products of their irrigated land for
subsistence. A sedentary people,
they have cultivated and irrigated
this land for hundreds of years
one of the longest if not the longest
periods of continuous land occu-
pance and land use in the nation.

The most important phase of
pueblo life is a community spirit.
Individual activities are, in large
measure, oriented with respect to

Planning and Civic Comment

their effects on the whole of com-
munity life. A more closely knit
group exists in few places in the
world. The only entrance into
pueblo membership is by birth and
the only exit by death. In view of
such an outstanding community
spirit, it is inevitable that the
people of the pueblo have found it
desirable to adopt community
planning.

This plaza, in which we are now
standing, is the central theme of the
village plan for San Ildefonso. In
this plaza the people work and play,
dance and sing; it is the theater for
community activities. The plaza
is the civic center, if you please, and
its function, like all civic centers, is
to hold the people of the com-
munity more closely together.

Surrounding the plaza is a "Class
A" residential district. The houses
are neat and clean and, although
they are closely spaced as crowded
residential areas in large metropoli-
tan centers, please notice that they
provide for maximum light and
air a prime desideratum of all civic
planning.

Just south of this plaza is another
similar plaza. The dominating
feature of the south plaza is a round,
windowless structure in the center,
topped by two long, parallel poles
pointing skyward at a sharp angle.
This is a kiva or a ceremonial room.
Its visible part is but an entrance
to an underground chamber where
secret ceremonies are held. The
poles are the ends of a ladder by
which the lower rooms are reached.
The mystic side of pueblo life is one
of the few parts of the Indian's ex-
istence he does not share with

outsiders; it, too, is part of the
community plan.

Outside the plazas is an area
zoned for corral use. This belt is
cleverly placed far enough away
from the main residential area to
avoid nuisance and danger to health,
yet close enough to be easily
accessible. This again was not
left to chance, but is part of a
village plan hundreds of years old.

The site of the village itself
evinces sound urban planning. It is
level yet well drained; it is con-
veniently close to the irrigated land,
yet it is not subject to severe floods.
The irrigated land is owned by the
community. It is sub-divided, how-
ever, and the use of the land parcels
is assigned to members of the pueblo
for life. These assignments are
made according to a plan.

The civic affairs of the pueblo are
administered by a set of officers
headed by the Governor. The
Governor has, as symbols of his
office, two canes. One was presented
to the pueblo by Abraham Lincoln,
the other by the King of Spain. The
Governor, as well as the other
officers, has a one-year term. The
officers, together with the other
principal men of the village, form
the council of San Ildefonso. This
is the governing body and the
village planning board.

Here, then, is a village which has a
record of successful community
planning at least 400 years old.
No individual rights are impaired;
yet the unwritten village plan
benefits all members of the pueblo.
San Ildefonso truly provides a
valuable subject for students of
practical civic planning.

Watch Service Report

National Parks

H. R. 3794 (Gearhart) to establish the Kings Canyon National Park, California, to
transfer thereto the lands now included in the General Grant National Park. Passed
House July 18, 1939; passed Senate Feb. 19, 1940. Approved by the President, on March
4, 1940. Public Law No. 424. (See article on p. 12.)

The Committee on Public Lands, of which Mr. O'Connor is a member, reported the
bill favorably on February 14, 1940, but included in the report the letter of the Secretary
of the Interior advising against the enactment of the bill on the ground that the area is
of national park caliber, that it is needed for grazing of wildlife, and that "it is being
put to the best possible use for the benefit of the nation as a whole." Attention is called
in the letter to the fact that the Yellowstone National Park was created before the State
of Montana existed, that the land then belonged to the Federal Government and that
in spite of the title of the bill, this would be no recession but an outright gift of the Federal
Government to the State of Montana. It would in fact be giving away to the State of
Montana for undisclosed purposes part of the land which the Congress of the United
States in 1872 dedicated as a "public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and
enjoyment of the people."

S. 1919 (Glass) introduced March 23, 1939. To provide for the acquisition by the
United States of the estate of Patrick Henry in Charlotte County, Virginia, known as
Red Hill. Passed Senate July 18, 1939; passed House Jan. 15, 1940. Approved by the
President on Jan. 29, 1940. Public Law No. 408. This estate of approximately 1,000 acres
is to be acquired at a cost not to exceed $100,000 as a permanent memorial to Patrick
Henry and will be administered as the Patrick Henry National Monument.

S. 1978 H. R. 3759 (Gillette-De Rouen) introduced March 28, 1939 and Feb. 6,
1939. To authorize a National Mississippi River Parkway. An amendment was sub-
mitted on Feb. 15, 1940 by Mr. LaFoIIette in the nature of a substitute to the Gillette
bill, which was referred to the Committee on Public Lands. It is presumed that the
objection of the Secretary as stated in a letter to the Chairman of the Committee on
Public Lands referring to the House bill would apply to the Senate bill. The Secretary
stated that while he is in general accord with the parkway idea, the proposed project is
of such a nature and extent that it should be withheld until it can be considered in the
light of coordinated national plans for parkways and highways.

S. 3263 (Hayden) introduced Feb. 2, 1940. To authorize the participation of States in
revenue from national parks, national monuments, and reservations under the jurisdic-
tion of the National Park Service. Through this bill the States would receive 25 percent
of the revenues derived by the Federal government from the collection of fees from
visitors to areas under jurisdiction of the National Park Service. Such revenues would
be paid to States for the benefit of counties in which such areas are located.

H. R. 8512 (Tarver) introduced on Feb. 16, 1940. To provide for the acquisition of
additional lands for the national parks, national historical parks, national battlefield
parks and battlefield sites administered by the National Park Service. Through this
bill, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire on behalf of the United States
such tracts of land contiguous to or within the boundaries of any of the park areas
mentioned as he may determine necessary or desirable for additions.

H. R. 8643 S. 3504 (Bland-Byrd) introduced February 26, 1940 and March 3, 1940.
To provide uniformity in designations of certain historic areas, sites, and buildings,
administered by the Secretary of the Interior. This provides for the change in designa-
tion of 25 specific areas as National Historical Parks, National Historical Sites, Battle-
field Memorials and other Memorials.

S. 3287-H. R. 8403 (O'Mahoney-Horton) introduced Feb. 7, 1940 and Feb. 9, 1940.
To convey certain lands to the State of Wyoming. By this bill the Secretary of Agricul-
ture is authorized to convey to the State of Wyoming about one acre of land which the
State desires to use as a road maintenance station.

S. 33I7-H. R. 8648 (Brown-Hook) introduced Feb. 8 and Feb. 26, 1940. To provide
for the addition of certain lands to the proposed Isle Royale National Park in the State

Planning and Civic Comment

of Michigan. The lands proposed for addition include a lot on the mainland of Michigan
required for winter headquarters, Passage Island and the Siskiwit Islands, together with
any submerged lands within four and one-half miles of the shore line of Isle Royale.

H. R. 5590 (O'Connor) introduced April 5, 1939. To authorize the acquisition of
certain lands within the State of Montana and the Construction of dams and other
water-control structures and improvements thereon for the purpose of establishing the
Woody Island Wildlife Refuge. Referred to the Committee on Agriculture.

Stream Pollution

S. 685 (Barkley) introduced Jan. 16, 1939. To create a Division of Water Pollution
in the United States Public Health Service. Passed Senate on May 1,^939; passed
House on March i, 1940. This legislation will establish a new division in the Public
Health Service in charge of a director who shall be a commissioned engineer officer
detailed for such duty by the Surgeon General.

District of Columbia

S. 3425 (King) introduced Feb. 22, 1940. To provide for the reorganization of local
government in the District of Columbia.

H. R. 8773 (Randolph) introduced March 5, 1940. To authorize the construction of a
parade field, swimming pools, stadium and other recreational facilities in Anacostia Park,
in the District of Columbia.

National Resources Planning Board

H. R. 7922 (Woodrum) introduced Jan. 16, 1940. Making appropriations for the
Executive Office and sundry independent executive bureaus, boards, commissions and
offices for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1941. Referred to the Committee on Appro-
priations. Passed House January 18, 1940; passed Senate February 8, 1940.

The Bureau of the Budget this year approved $1,060,000 for the expenses of the
National Resources Planning Board for the fiscal year 1940-41. The House Sub-
committee on Appropriations for Independent Offices omitted the item entirely on the
ground that a point of order would be made against it on the floor as an appropriation
not specifically authorized by Congress. As the Independent Offices Appropriation Bill
passed the House, therefore, there was no mention of the National Resources Planning
Board. When the bill came before the Senate Subcommittee on Appropriations, rep-
resentations were made that in the Executive Reorganization Order the National
Resources Planning Board was set up, to which were assigned the functions of the old
National Resources Committee, which in itself was created by Executive Order, and the
functions of the Federal Employment Stabilization Board, which was set up by Act of
Congress in 1931 and had never been repealed. The Senate Committee, therefore, in-
cluded in the Independent Offices Appropriation Bill an item for $710,000 for such work
of the National Resources Planning Board as could be considered to have been author-
ized by the Federal Employment Stabilization Act. The conferees approved on March
14 the $710,000 voted by the Senate.

Secretary I ekes announced on January 29, 1940, that following the U. S. Supreme
Court's grant o/ certiorari in the Hetcb Hetcby case, be bad instructed the Department's
Solicitor to cooperate closely with the Department oj Justice in securing a final ruling Jrom
the Supreme Court. The case originates Jrom the Raker Act of 7913 which granted the
city of San Francisco the right to create a reservoir in the Hetcb Hetcby Valley in Yosemite
National Park for the purpose of supplying the city with water, and also provided that
power generated from water in the Park through the San Francisco project could not be
sold to a private agency. Subsequently a contract for distribution of power was entered
into which several successive Secretaries of the Interior believed did not fulfill the terms of
tbe Act. In August 193$, Secretary Ickes made a formal finding that the contract was
violating the Act. Tbe U. S. District Court in San Francisco held that tbe Act was not
being complied with and enjoined tbe city to cease violation. On appeal, tbe Circuit Court
of Appeals held that tbe Act was being complied with. Tbe Government then requested tbe
Supreme Court to review tbe matter.

Presidential Proclamation Adds Area to
Olympic National Park

PRESIDENT Roosevelt, by
executive proclamation, dated
January 2, 1940, added 187,
4 1 1 acres of the Olympic National
Forest to the 648,000 acres already
in the Olympic National Park,
established by Congress in 1938.
The Act of Congress authorized
the President to make additions to
bring the park up to a maximum
of 898,292 acres. The order of
January 2 brings the park within
62,881 acres of the maximum au-
thorized by Congress.

Thus, Congress, the President,
and Secretary of the Interior I ekes
have collaborated to conserve for
the people of the United States this
fine wilderness area which, for-
tunately, was still in Federal owner-
ship. The glacier-crowned Mount
Olympus is surrounded by spec-
tacular peaks and ridges and many
steep river valleys sheltering the
famous "rain forests" of ancient
Douglas firs and Sitka spruces
many of them venerable trees which
if cut, could hardly be replaced in
three hundred years, a time as far
in the future as the arrival of the
Mayflower at Plymouth Rock is
in the past. Surely no building with
a life of forty or fifty years into
which these virgin firs and spruces
might be incorporated can compete
in importance with the majesty of
forest giants which can count their
years by centuries!

The Olympic National Park con-
stitutes an incomparable scenic,

inspirational and recreational re-
source of the Nation. Secretary
Ickes and Director Arno B. Cam-
merer of the National Park Service
have pledged their best efforts to
protect this priceless wilderness
from overdevelopment of roads,
buildings and other construction
which will destroy or detract from
the primitive character of the park.
There already exist in the fringe
areas, within and without the park,
many pleasant places for the ac-
commodation of visitors.

Ten tracts of land immediately
adjoining the former boundaries
were added by the President's
proclamation. The largest, near
Port Angeles, brings into the park
the public campgrounds at Olympic
Hot Springs and two other public
campgrounds along the Elwha River.
In addition to being rich in Douglas
fir, it includes fine high mountain
scenery from Obstruction Point
and Hurricane Ridge, together with
a number of mountain streams.

The extension includes some of
the finest stands of timber on the
Olympic Peninsula Douglas fir,
western hemlock, Sitka spruce, west-
ern red cedar, and moss-festooned
giant maples, almost tropical in
appearance. It brings into the park
limits the Olympic Hot Springs and
Deer Park. The latter, already a win-
ter sports center and one of the most
picturesque recreational grounds in
the Pacific northwest, is located at
the northeast corner of the park.

Planning and Civic Comment

Dosewallips Falls, a number of
fine creeks and the Dosewallips
River, and also numerous peaks
which form the Olympic skyline
from Seattle are included in an
area added to the park along the
eastern boundary. This new sec-
tion has much Douglas fir and many
wild flowers and plants.

At the southeastern corner of
the park the boundary has been
extended to the northern edge of
Lake Cushman. This area is of
high recreational value and includes
the Staircase Rapids, one of the

chief points of interest along the
Skokomish River.

The northern shore of Lake
Quinault is included in an extension
to the southwestern corner of the park.

Farther north, along the Bo-
gachiel River, are the famed "rain
forests" of the Pacific Northwest.
An addition at the northwest corner
of the park embraces a buffer area
north and west of Lake Crescent
and is heavily covered with towering
trees. Much of this area borders
U. S. Highway 101, the Olympic
Highway.

Reproduced on the next page is a new map which shows the Olympic
National Park with its present boundary lines, as authorized by the President's
Proclamation of January 2, 1940.

This editorial from the March 8, 1940, Louisville Times, written by Tom
Wallace, is reproduced as a model editorial on the subject of H. R. 6957:

PARK PIRACY ATTEMPTED
H. R. 6957, introduced by Repre-
sentative O'Connor of Montana,
seeks to take from Yellowstone
National Park a tract of land and
give it to Montana.

The land is needed for protection
of wildlife and is being put to the
best possible use for the Nation as a
whole, the Secretary of the Interior
says, but the Committee on Public
Lands, of which Mr. O'Connor is a
member, reported it favorably.

Yellowstone National Park is
older than Montana. The land
which the bill would reconvey to

Montana was never Montana's.

Partition of Yellowstone Park
would be a calamity.

Every State in the Union values
Yellowstone as a possession of the
Nation.

The Committee on Public Lands
should be rebuked for having ad-
vanced such a bill. It is not con-
ceivable that it will become a law.

The Times invites every member
of Kentucky's delegation in the
House, and the Kentucky Senators
to consider the unfairness and un-
justifiableness of Mr. O'Connor's
hopeful measure.

North Palisade

Meadow

Obeli

-TEHIPITE VALLEY

Granite v
Pass

Mt.Hutchmgsf
NorthDome

(CEDAR GROVE

Middle Palisade
TheThumb

CartridgeV WTa boose Pas s
.Mt. Pinchot

Saw mi

Mt.ClarencfK,

^GENERAL GRANT
iNATIONAL PARK

Lookout Pk

Horse Corral
Meadow

0) i;;; The Sphin>
Avalanche Pk

\ ..VKearsar^e
IPass

-GENERAL GRANT
GROVE SECTION

SQUOIA M

N A L i& R ' ; K

To Mt. Wh.tnev-'

John Muir Trail

\s.r-t/j/js.

KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK

CHI

STARVED ROCK

STATE PARK
ASSEMBLE SUNDAY MAY 12
LEAVE TUESDAY 8:30 AM
WITH POLICE ESCORT

NEW SALEM

STATE PARK

ARRIVE TUESDAY 1 2:00 NOON

LEAVE " 2:00 PM.

WITH POLICE ESCORT

SPRINGFIELD

o S

SPRINGFIELD
ARRIVE LINCOLN'S TOMB 2:30 PM.

WITH POLICE ESCORT
DRIVE BY CAPITOL BUILDING AND

LINCOLN'S HOME ENROUTE TO INDIANA

K E M I C H I C/f A

ILLINOIS-INDIANA MEETING

OF THE
NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON STATE PARKS

TO COMMEMORATE
TWENTY YEARS OF SERVICE

MAY 12 - 13- 14- 15 AND I6t^

1940

10 \ Zp.

TURKEY RUN

STATE PARK

ARRIVE TUESDAY 6:30 PM.

LEAVE WEDNESDAY 10 00 AM.

WITH POLICE ESCORT

INDIANAPOLIS

M^CORMICK'S CREEK

STATE PARK

ARRIVE WEDNESDAY IZ'OO NOON
LEAVE " 3:00 PM.

BROWN COUNTY
STATE PARK

ALTERNATE ROUTE
LUNCHEON ON FRIDAY FOR
THOSE WISHING TO ATTEND.

SPRING MILL

STATE PARK

ARRIVE WEDNESDAY 6:3O PM.
CONFERENCE ENDS THURS. EVE.
LEAVE FRIDAY AM. MAY 17-

STARVED ROCK, ILLINOIS

This State Park, together with the Restorations at New Salem State Park, and the
Indiana State Parks pictured on the succeeding pages, will be visited by the National
Conference on State Parks at its May 12-16, Illinois-Indiana meeting.

Panorama of Main Street

Rutledge Tavern
RESTORATIONS AT NEW SALEM STATE PARK, ILLINOIS

BBBBB -

Upper Entrance drive and gatehouse at Turkey Run State Park, Indiana

Center Spring Mill Inn, Spring Mill State Park, Indiana
Lower The Village Street, Spring Mill State Park, Indiana

PROGRAM

Illinois-Indiana Meeting of the National Conference on State Parks
Commemorating Twenty Years of Service

May 12-16, 1940

The Twentieth National Conference on
State Parks will be held in Illinois and
Indiana, May 12-16, 1940. Arrangements
are being made to meet in and inspect
five important State Parks. A tentative
program has been arranged as follows:

SUNDAY, MAY 12

Afternoon

Registration of members and general
informal discussions. Starved Rock
State Park.

5:00 P.M. Meeting of the Board of
Directors.

MONDAY, MAY 13
Morning

6109:00 A.M. Breakfast served and
registration completed.

9:30 A.M. Opening Session Program:

Presiding: Hon. H. S. Wagner, Presi-
dent, National Conference on State
Parks, Akron, Ohio.

Address of Welcome Hon. Chas. P.
Casey, Acting Director, Illinois De-
partment of Public Works and Build-
ings, Springfield, III.

Response and President's Address
Hon. H. S. Wagner, President, Na-
tional Conference on State Parks,
Akron, Ohio.

Address: "The Purpose of the National
Conference on State Parks" Col.
Richard Ueber, Chairman of the
Board, National Conference on State
Parks, Indianapolis, Ind.

Address: Hon. Barney Thompson,
Publisher of the Rockford Star and
Register, Rockford, III.

1 1 :3O A.M. Annual Business Meeting of

Members.
Report of Executive Secretary Miss

Harlean James, Washington, D. C.

Noon

12:00. Luncheon session.
Presiding: Major William A. Welch,
Consultant, Palisades Interstate Park
Commission, Bear Mountain, N. Y.

Speakers: "Women's Clubs and State
Parks" Mrs. E. E. Byerram, State
Conservation Chairman, Illinois Fed-
eration of Women's Clubs.

"Camping" Dr. L. B. Sharp, Execu-
tive Director, Life Camps, Inc.,
New York City.

Afternoon

2:30 P.M. Hiking, general inspection of
park, and boat trip through Starved
Rock Locks and scenic canyons.

Nigbt

6:30 P.M. Dinner session at Starved
Rock Lodge Program:

Presiding: Col. Richard Lieber, Chair-
man of the Board of Directors, Na-
tional Conference on State Parks,
Indianapolis, Ind.

Introduction of prominent visitors.

Address: Hon. Henry Homer, Governor
of Illinois.

8:00 P.M. Moving pictures, Illinois
State Parks.

Speakers: Dr. Ries, Park Naturalist,
Starved Rock State Park, III.;
Father Link, Park Naturalist, Pere
Marquette State Park, III.; Eugene
Boeker, Park Guide, New Salem
State Park, III.

9 145 P.M. Local entertainment arranged
by George H. Luker, Superintendent
of Illinois Parks and Memorials,
Springfield, III.

Informal discussions.

TUESDAY, MAY 14

Morning

6 to 8 A.M. Breakfast served.

8:30 A.M. Motor cavalcade leaves
Starved Rock State Park promptly,
escorted by Illinois State Police, for
New Salem State Park. Distance
approximately 168 miles. Transporta-
tion will be available for members not
having cars. Members desiring same
must register with Conference Clerks.

Planning and Civic Comment

Noon

12:15. Arrive at New Salem State Park.
Inspection of the Village with mem-
bers of Old Salem Lincoln League, in

costume, as reception committee,
Address: "Abraham Lincoln's

For-

mative Years" Hon. Henry Horner,
Governor of Illinois.

Afternoon

1:15 P.M. Box luncheon at Wagon
Wheel Inn, New Salem State Park.

2:00 P.M. Cavalcade leaves New Salem
State Park, under Illinois State
Police Escort, en route for Spring-
field, Illinois, visiting Lincoln Tomb,
Oak Ridge Cemetery; driving past
new Capitol Building, old Capitol
Building and the Lincoln Home.
Distance from new Salem to Spring-
field 20 miles; driving in Springfield
about six miles.

3:00 P.M. Leave Springfield, Illinois,
for Turkey Run State Park near
Rockville, Indiana. Distance from
Springfield to Turkey Run, approx-
imately 140 miles. Highway Police
Escort will be dismissed at easterly
city limits of Springfield. Drivers
will observe own rate of travel, follow-
ing map provided on program back.

Night

6 to 8:30 P.M. Informal dinner served
at Turkey Run State Park Inn.

Informal discussions.

8:30 P.M. Meeting of the New Board
of Directors.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15
Morning

6 to 9:00 A.M. Breakfast served.

7 to 1 0:00 A.M. Inspection of Turkey
Run State Park.

1 0:00 A.M. Cavalcade leaves Turkey
Run State Park, escorted by Indiana
State Police, for McCormick's Creek
State Park, distance 67 miles; ar-
riving approximately noon.

Noon

12:00. Picnic luncheon at Beechwood
Shelter, McCormick's Creek State
Park. Indiana police escort will be
dismissed after luncheon.

Afternoon

1:30 to 2:30 P.M. Inspection of Mc-
Cormick's Creek State Park.

3:00 P.M. Conference members proceed
individually to Spring Mill State
Park, using route map on back of

program. Distance, 52 miles. A side
trip to Brown County State Park may
be made en route to Spring Mill,
adding 50 miles driving distance.

Night

6:30 P.M. Dinner session Program:

Presiding: Dr. Stanley Coulter, Dean
Emeritus of Purdue University,
Indianapolis, Ind.

Address of Welcome: Hon. M. Clifford
Townsend, Governor of Indiana.

Response: Hon. H. S. Wagner, Presi-
dent, National Conference on State
Parks.

Addresses: "Indiana State Park
System" Hon. Virgil M. Simmons,
Commissioner, Indiana Department
of Conservation, Indianapolis, Ind.

"Right Use of Lands and Waters" Tom
Wallace, Editor, Louisville Times,
Louisville, Ky.

Informal discussions.

THURSDAY, MAY 16
Morning

6 to 9:00 A.M. Breakfast served.

9:00 A.M. Morning session Program:

Presiding: Conrad L. Wirth, Supervisor,
Branch of Recreation, Land Planning
and State Cooperation, National
Park Service, Washington, D. C.

Panel Discussions.

Land Acquisition: Led by Mr. Wirth,
assisted by Charles N. Elliott,
Director, Division of Wildlife, De-
partment of Natural Resources, At-
lanta, Georgia; and Newton B. Drury,
Secretary, Save the Redwoods
League, Berkeley, Calif.

Use Areas: Led by Dr. Laurie D. Cox,
Department of Landscape and Recre-
ational Management, New York
State College of Forestry, Syracuse
University, Syracuse, New York, as-
sisted by Kenneth Morgan, Chief
Engineer and General Manager, Pal-
isades Interstate Park, Bear Moun-
tain, New York, and by V. W.
Flickinger of the Iowa State Conser-
vation Commission, Des Moines,
Iowa.

Organized Camping: Led by Sam F.
Brewster, College Landscape Archi-
tect, Alabama Polytechnic Institute,
Auburn, Alabama, assisted by Julian
H. Salomon, Field Coordinator, Na-
tional Park Service, Washington,
D. C., and Dr. Hedley S. Dimock,
George William College, Chicago, III.

Planning and Civic Comment

Noon

1 2:30 P.M. Luncheon session Program:

Presiding: President, National Con-
ference on State Parks.

Address: "Women and Conservation"
Mrs. George Jaqua, President,
Indiana Federation of Women's
Clubs, Winchester, Ind.

Address: "State Park Leadership"
Garrett G. Eppley, Associate Regional
Planner, Region II, National Park
Service, Omaha, Nebraska.

Address: "The CCC and State Parks"
Honorable James J. McEntee, Direc-
tor of Civilian Conservation Corps,
Federal Security Agency, Washing-
ton, D. C.

Afternoon

3 to 5 :3<> P.M. Inspection of Spring Mill
State Park.

JVtgfif

7:00 P.M. Conference Banquet.
Presiding: Hon. Howard B. Bloomer,

Board of Directors, Detroit, Mich.
Address: Speaker to be announced.
Conference Members may remain at
Spring Mill State Park overnight,
leaving Friday morning.
Reservations should be made with
Carter Jenkins, Chief Engineer, Division
of Waterways, Department of Public
Works and Buildings, 201 W. Monroe
Street, Springfield, Illinois.

SCENIC AND HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE OF STATE
PARKS TO BE VISITED

The five State Parks to be visited by the National Conference on State
Parks have unusual scenic and historic significance in the history of the
territory which afterward became Illinois and Indiana.

ILLINOIS PARKS*

STARVED ROCK

Starved Rock State Park is an
i , 1 48-acre tract of rough and wooded
bluff land lying along the south bank
of the Illinois River. The park and
surrounding region have important
historical associations. Here was
the center of French influence in
Illinois; here was the principal
village of Illinois Indians; here was
the scene of savage warfare. The
first white men to enter the area
were Joliet and Marquette, who,
returning from their exploration of
the Mississippi River, stopped at
the Great Indian village on the
north bank of the Illinois River just
above Starved Rock. That was in
1673. Nearly two years later Mar-
quette founded a mission in the
same village the first within the
present bounds of Illinois. It was the
scene of his last missionary effort.

^Summarized from Official publications of the Division of State Parks.

At Starved Rock, Rene Robert
Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, made his
first base of operations in his scheme
of developing the fur trade. In
1680, his men built a fort upon the
rock itself, congregating Indians to
the number of 10,000 about the
fort. There he granted tracts of
land on a feudal basis to his fol-
lowers. Fort St. Louis on Starved
Rock was the base of La Salle's
activities in the west. It was the
farthermost of the chain of forts
that was expected to confine the
English colonists east of the Alle-
gheny Mountains. It was the base
of his expedition down the Missis-
sippi in 1682 when he followed the
great river to the Gulf and claimed
its valley for his King.

After the French abandoned the
Rock it does not figure in recorded
history. The American settler

Planning and Civic Comment

reached the area from both ends of
the Illinois River. The area is espe-
cially rich in Indian remains. At
least two Indian village sites have
been found on the park property.

Starved Rock Lodge and cabins
provide comfortable accommoda-
tions.

NEW SALEM

New Salem has been re-created
as the village where young Abraham
Lincoln clerked in a store, chopped
wood, enlisted in the Black Hawk
War, served as postmaster, deputy
surveyor and legislator, failed in
business and courted Ann Rutledge.
(See also State Park Notes, Plan-
ning and Civic Comment, April-
June, 1939.) The park, situated on
a hill a hundred feet high, overlooks
the Sangamon River. It was upon
this bluff in 1828 that James Rut-

ledge and John Camron erected
their homes, and the following year,
after building their grist and saw
mill on the river below, laid out the
town of New Salem and started
selling lots. Strangely, the six years
that Lincoln spent in New Salem
almost completely encompass the
town's brief history. The com-
munity was growing and thriving
when Lincoln reached there in 1831,
but in 1839, just two years after he
had left for Springfield to practice
law and advance himself in the
fascinating maze of politics, the
county seat was established at
nearby Petersburg. Thereafter New
Salem declined rapidly. But it now
exists again, as a tribute to Abraham
Lincoln, a part of the State Park
system maintained by the State of
Illinois.

INDIANA STATE PARKS*

TURKEY RUN

Turkey Run State Park, well
known to members of the National
Conference on State Parks, is a
i,3OO-acre tract of virgin forest,
rocky gorges and twisting canyons
hedged in by high stone walls. It
was named for the great flocks of
wild turkey which once were found
in this region. Most of the park
territory was once owned by Cap-
tain Salmon Lusk, who acquired it
in 1821 as a reward for military
services. Both he and his son,
John Lusk, appreciated its natural
beauty and refused to permit the
removal of the forest which is today
one of the park's chief charms.
Visitors may find comfortable ac-
commodations at Turkey Run Inn.

MCCORMICK'S CREEK
McCormick's Creek State Park,
where the Conference will lunch
at Canyon Inn on Wednesday, May
15, is a 662-acre tract through which
flows McCormick's Creek on its
way to unite with the White River,
which borders the park. The Beech
Woods, the Pine Forest, the aban-
doned quarry from which the foun-
dation stone was taken for the
present State Capitol building, and
the Natural History Museum invite
exploration by the visitor.

SPRING MILL

Spring Mill is one of the most in-
teresting re-created villages in the
Middle West. In 1815 Cuthbert and
Thomas BuIIit bought the land and

*Summarized from the publications of the Indiana Department of Conservation, Division of State
Parks, Lands and Waters.

Planning and Civic Comment

erected the three-story stone mill
building which stands today. One
may revisit the homes of the sturdy
pioneers who lived in this self-con-
tained village more than a hundred
years ago. The school, the apothe-
cary's shop, the hattery, and build-
ings for all the operations of frontier
living are there. A place was set

aside for what we now know as the
pre-school child, where the little tots
of the town might be kept out of
mischief while their parents went
about many appointed tasks. The
new Spring Mill Inn, erected a
little apart from the old village,
offers modern accommodations for
visitors.

What About Pennsylvania?'

A RECENT press release by
the State Department of
Commerce stated: "Because
it is almost impossible for South-
erners and Westerners to get to the
vacation resorts of New England,
New York and New Jersey without
crossing Pennsylvania, more tour-
ists pass through Pennsylvania than
through any other state."

''MORE TOURISTS PASS
THROUGH!" Why aren't they on
their way to Pennsylvania which
"HAS EVERYTHING"?

Through the latter slogan, as the
feature of its $400,000 biennial
publicity program, the State is
trying to attract tourists and va-
cationists. One of the things that
motorists increasingly look for is
state parks. What do they find in
the State that boasts it HAS
EVERYTHING? Not ONE state park
worthy of the name; the Bureau of
Parks frankly admits that. Only
half a dozen areas in the State, now
owned, are even suitable for develop-
ment as state parks; the Bureau
admits that, too. Not a single CCC
State Park Camp is now working in
the Commonwealth, which is en-

titled to 15 camps. The labor of a
camp is estimated conservatively
to be worth $200,000 per year, so
that makes a $3,000,000 annual
grant which Pennsylvania turns
down. The catch is that it would
cost Pennsylvania from $6,000 to
$10,000 for each $200,000 received,
and the State can't afford to put
that much into permanent assets.
It can't afford to invest $i for every
$20 received.

Some States have thought that
sounded like a good investment. In
1 934 the Governor of West Virginia
called a special session of the Legis-
lature to appropriate $70,000 for
purchase of lands for four state
parks which are now realities.
Last July 4, New Jersey's Parvin
State Park, 35 miles from Phila-
delphia, had 10,000 visitors, over
30 percent of whom (according to
car licenses) were from Pennsyl-
vania. It was estimated that each
person spent an average of a dollar
there: $3,000 contributed in one day
to one New Jersey State Park by
citizens of a State which really has
none. $3,000 would be a 5 percent
return on $60,000 nearly as much

Planning and Civic Comment

as the land cost for West Virginia's
State Parks.

PENNSYLVANIA HAS EVERY-
THING, yet officially it has done but
little to make driving pleasanter and
more memorable for the visiting or
native motorist. Michigan, Con-
necticut, Texas, and many other
States are providing hundreds of
simple, inexpensive wayside picnic
grounds and resting places to add to
the convenience and safety of their
highways. Michigan receives nu-
merous letters offering congratu-
lations on this practical evidence of
hospitality. In all Pennsylvania
there are 35 roadside public picnic
areas, only half a dozen of them on
tourist highways. Not one is main-
tained by the State Highway De-
partment.

PENNSYLVANIA HAS EVERY-
THING, including magnificent views,
but without wayside overlooks
where they may be adequately and
leisurely inspected. Mile after mile
of scenic panorama lie along the
motorways but the Highway De-
partment dare not spend a nickel
outside the right-of-way to cut
vistas, even if owners permit. And
so MORE MOTORISTS PASS
THROUGH. . . and fail to see to the
fullest extent the beauty that Penn-
sylvania unquestionably has.

PENNSYLVANIA HAS EVERYTHING,
including fine fishing. But the Fish
Commission eyes out-of-state fisher-
men askance, wondering how it can
stretch out existing streams to make
them serve the demands of Penn-
sylvanians alone. Streams could be
dammed by CCC park camp boys

to make big fishing lakes as the
focal points of state parks. 9,500
Pennsylvania youths (55 percent of
the State's quota) are developing
parks for other States because
Pennsylvania can't find money to
let them make lakes in their own
State. Why not put Fish Commis-
sion funds (for land) and CCC boys
(for lakes) to work together?

These are a few of the more im-
portant items that need both in-
dividual and correlated study in
relation to the Tourist Industry,
which in 1937 brought to Penn-
sylvania a gross income of $327,850,
ooo. That sum tops either of the
coal industries, and exceeds by
$50,000,000 the State's entire in-
come from agriculture. In relation
to this vast Tourist Industry the
State is spending $400,000 for
ballyhoo, but not a thin dime to
learn what it's all about; to analyze
possible deficiencies in public and
commercial provision for this Pass-
ing Parade.

Wouldn't it be a wise move to
spend a fraction of the $400,000
to permit the State Planning Board
to look into this newly discovered
but potent industry, and its ram-
ifications in the Commonwealth?
Tourism and Recreation, hand in
hand, bring in $500,000,000 an-
nually in New England a region
which because of past and present
analyzing, planning, and acting,
as well as advertising, expects the
figure to jump to a billion dollars
not many years hence.

PENNSYLVANIA HAS EVERYTHING
but is she making the most of it?

"This article, which appears in the February issue of Pennsylvania Park News, is reprinted here.
It is an eloquent plea for planning as an instrument to produce wealth and prevent waste. Other States
please note!

Planning and Civic Comment

Georgia Classifies Her Parks

Under an Executive Order by
Governor E. D. Rivers, Georgia has
become the first State to classify
parks and recreational areas in
accordance with the recommenda-
tions of its Park, Parkway and
Recreational-Area Study report.

The order lists four State Parks
and provides for the classification
of other areas as "State Recreation
Areas," "State Memorial Parks"
and "Natural Resource Reserva-
tions." Designated as State Parks
are Vogel, including Brasstown Bald;
Fort Mountain, Pine Mountain,
and Sitton's Gulch.

"No further areas are to be
acquired, administered, or developed
as State Parks," the order says,
"without the designation of the
area as such by the Commissioner
of the Department of Natural
Resources, the Director of the
Division of State Parks, the Chair-
man of the State Planning Board,
the Director of the State Board of
Health, and the Governor. Joint
written concurrence of all five listed
is required to designate an area as a
State Park, which is hereby defined
as an area selected because of its
outstanding scenic, scientific or

educational recreational value, suit-
able for the use and benefit of the
public of the State as a whole, such
areas to be located throughout the
State in the principal physiographic
divisions, to be developed as va-
cation or day use areas for the
citizens of the State, in so far as
such development is compatible with
the primary aim of protection and
conservation of the scenic, scientific
and aesthetic values of the State."

In a letter to Governor Rivers
congratulating the State on a dis-
tinctly forward step in planning,
Arno B. Cammerer, director of the
National Park Service, expressed
the hope that the rest of the States
would act promptly on the recom-
mendations of their respective Rec-
reation Study reports to place areas
under definite classification as an
important move toward evolving
state master plans for parks and
recreation.

The Park, Parkway and Rec-
reational-Area Study was conducted
in Georgia by the State Planning
Board and the Division of State
Parks, Historic Sites and Monu-
ments, in collaboration with the
National Park Service.

AS WE go to press word comes from England an-
** nouncing the death of Dr. Thomas Adams on
March 24, in Sussex, after a short illness. Dr. Adams
was a pioneer in the profession of city planning. He
was director of the Regional Plan for New York;
taught community planning at Harvard University and
lectured on civic design at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. Dr. Adams served in years past as a
member of the Board of Directors of the American
Civic Association, and as a member of the Advisory
Council of the American Planning and Civic Associa-
tion. He was 68 years old.

State Park

ALABAMA.

P. J. Fitzgerald, custodian, John
Getts, caretaker, and Mrs. Getts of
Cheaha State Park had the rare
experience in Alabama of being
snowbound for several days early
in February, according to an item
in the March issue of the Alabama
Game and Fish News.

It is reported that they took full
advantage of the opportunity thus
presented to obtain pictures of a
snow and ice-covered Cheaha.

CALIFORNIA.

In December the California State
Park Commission purchased a 6,772-
acre tract of redwoods adjoining
the Hiouchi State Park near Cres-
cent City in Del Norte County, and
the combined areas will be known
as the Mill Creek Redwoods State
Park.

The purchase price of $80,000
was obtained by the Save-the-
Redwoods League and included
contributions from persons in all
sections of the country. An addi-
tional 2,518 acres to round out the
area will be purchased in instal-
ments over a period of ten years,
under an agreement between the
State Park Commission and the
owners.

The area, which has a dense
cover of ferns and undergrowth,
will be maintained in its wild state
with a minimum of camping fa-
cilities as the only development
contemplated at this time.

MISSISSIPPI.

A bill to create a department of
conservation has been introduced
in the Mississippi legislature. If
enacted, it will place responsibility
for the administration of all natural
resources, including state parks, in
a single agency.

A general trend throughout the
country toward central adminis-
tration of natural resources is in-
dicated by the fact that 22 of the
48 States now have organizations
designed to effect such centraliza-
tion of activity, although the names
of these agencies are as diverse as
the laws establishing them.

NEW JERSEY.

The New Jersey Department of
Conservation and Development has
acquired an 8oo-acre tract of land
near Alair, Monmouth County,
which will be called Brisbane State
Park.

Planning and Civic Comment

OHIO.

A plan for a more comprehensive
conservation program for the State
was submitted to the Ohio Con-
servation and Natural Resources
Commission at its January meeting
by Conservation Commissioner Don
Waters, and enthusiastically ap-
proved by the Commission.

Of particular interest is the pro-
posal that, with the cooperation of
other state departments, a survey
of the State of Ohio for park and
recreational purposes be undertaken
to establish a long-time park and
recreational program. In connec-
tion with this phase of the plan, it
will be the policy of the Division of
Conservation and Natural Resources
to provide, as rapidly as general
revenue funds become available
and development programs permit,
a complete group of standard rec-
reational conveniences in both old
and new state park areas.

The program as adopted by the
Commission also calls for decen-
tralization of the Columbus office
of the Division of Conservation and
Natural Resources through estab-
lishment of conservation headquar-
ters in each of the seven con-
servation districts of the State;

protection of the farmer from abuses
of the thoughtless hunter, in rec-
ognition of his contribution to the
rearing of Ohio's wildlife; a more
satisfactory production and dis-
tribution of game and fish; solicita-
tion of cooperation of all sports-
men, conservation and farm groups;
planting of food-bearing shrubs in
eroded spots throughout the State;
and cooperation with the Depart-
ment of Health in the correction of
stream pollution.

OREGON.

An attractive, illustrated folder
entitled "Oregon's State Parks"
has recently been issued by the
Travel Department of the Oregon
State Highway Commission.

TEXAS.

"S- Parks," which the Texas
State Parks Board proposes to
publish once a month, made its
initial bow in January. Mimeo-
graphed, and containing 18 pages,
this first issue includes a brief
history of the state park movement
in Texas, and biographical data on
the staff of the State Parks Board.

IRMINE B. KENNEDY, Washington, D. C.

Sanctuaries and Nature Trail Survey

A survey of Sanctuaries and
Nature Trails has just been pub-
lished by the Conservation Com-
mittee of the Garden Club of
America. The Survey was con-
ducted under the direction of Mrs.
Luis J. Francke, vice-chairman for
Preservation. Questionnaires were
sent to all member clubs of the
Garden Club of America and of

the 127 Sanctuaries and Nature
Trails listed, 35 were established
and are wholly or partially sup-
ported by Garden Clubs. While less
than one-quarter of the total
number were established through
the Clubs, many were inspired by
individual members.

Twenty-eight States are listed
with these areas.

Planning Groups to Meet in San Francisco

This year the Joint Planning Con-
ference will meet in California. The
American Institute of Planners will
meet, as is the custom, on Sunday,
July 7. The Joint Conference, con-
sisting of the American Institute of
Planners, the American Planning
and Civic Association, the American
Society of Planning Officials, and
the National Economic and Social
Planning Association, will convene
at the Fairmount Hotel on Monday,
July 8, and will continue through
July ii. Arrangements are being
made to spend Saturday, July 13
in Los Angeles.

The theme of the Conference is to
be: "Planning for America at
Peace." Three sessions will be run
simultaneously to meet the interests
of as many of the delegates as
possible. Among the subjects to be
covered are: Architectural and
Roadside Control; Public Educa-

tion for Planning; County Planning;
Migration and Resettlement of the
People; Highways and Transporta-
tion Must be Considered in Re-
lationship to Each Other; Zoning:
How Far Have We Come, How
Far Can We Go?; National and In-
dustrial Development; What is Hap-
pening to Our Central Business
Districts?; What Have We Learned
About Our National Resources?;
A Program for the Use of Tax-
Abandoned Lands; City and Neigh-
borhood Planning for Successful
Housing; How Democratic Should
the Planning Process Be? There will
be After-Breakfast Round Tables on
Zoning, conducted by Edward M.
Bassett, as of old, and on Small and
Large Cities. There will be a Civic
Luncheon and an Annual Banquet.
Otherwise the evenings will be free
for those who wish to visit the Fair
or make personal plans.

Ben H. Kizer to Address Civic Association

Mr. Ben H. Kizer, Chairman of
the Spokane City Planning Com-
mission, will be the speaker at the
Annual Business Meeting of the
American Planning and Civic As-
sociation, to be held in San Fran-
cisco, at the Fairmount Hotel, on
Monday, July 13, at a 12:30
luncheon. Mr. Kizer will take as his
subject: Popularizing City Plan-
ning.

A brief report on the state of the
Association, the election of five
Directors, and the ratification of a
slight change in the Constitution,
adopted at the annual business
meeting of the Board of Directors,

which met in Washington, D. C., on
January 31, 1940, will be the order
of business.

Under the proposed change,
Article II of the Constitution would
read:

PURPOSE. The exclusive purpose of the
Association shall be the education of the
American people to an understanding and
appreciation of: local, state, regional and
national planning for the best use of urban
and rural land, and of water and other
natural resources; the safeguarding and
planned use of local and national parks;
the conservation of natural scenery; the
advancement of higher ideals of civic
life and beauty in America; the improve-
ment of living conditions and the fostering
of wider educational facilities in schools
and colleges along these lines.

Attention Planners !

Many of the delegates who plan
to attend the National Planning
Conference in San Francisco in
July, whether they travel by rail,
by air, or by automobile, will have
excellent opportunities to visit one
or more of the National Parks en
route. Directly in line along the
Rocky Mountain Range from north
to south, according to the line of
travel, may be found picturesque
Glacier National Park lying just
under the Canadian border; Yellow-
stone, famed as the first National
Park; Grand Tetons, jagged senti-
nels of the West; Rocky Mountain
National Park in Colorado, with its
Circle Tour and its high Trail Ridge
Road; and Mesa Verde National
Park in the southwestern corner of
Colorado, where the remains of the
ancient cliff dwellings may be seen.
On the Pacific Coast, in the ex-

treme northwest corner of the
United States there is the newly
created Olympic National Park;
the incomparable Mount Rainier
National Park; Crater Lake, Lassen
Volcanic National Park and those
three marvelously beautiful parks
along the crest of the Sierra Nevada
Yosemite, Kings Canyon and
Sequoia. For thosl who go or return
by way of the Southwest there are
Grand Canyon and a score or more
of monuments of archeological in-
terest, and the famous Carlsbad
Caverns.

The American Planning and Civic
Association will be glad to secure
booklets and maps for those who
request information concerning how
they may visit the National Parks
en route to or from the Planning
Conference in California.

Detroit-Huron-Clinton-Parkway Project

Word comes from Michigan that
Southeastern Michigan is promoting
a chain of parks, parkways and
scenic drives, bathing beaches and
scenic wildlife preserves, to encircle
Detroit, up the Huron River across
north of Pontiac and down the
Clinton River to Lake St. Clair,
down the shore of the lake, along
the Detroit River and the Bay of
Lake Erie to the mouth of the
Huron River. The total length of
the system would be nearly 200
miles and it would serve a popula-

tion of nearly 3,000,000 people in
the five counties and adjacent
territory. The Legislature empow-
ered the five counties or any two of
them to establish by vote in No-
vember of 1940 a metropolitan park
authority which may raise funds by
tax, not to exceed % of a mill per
dollar valuation, or, approximately
32 cents per capita per annum. The
promotional campaign is under-
taken by the Detroit-Huron-Clinton-
Parkway Committee, which is rais-
ing $30,000 for campaign funds.

Notes on National Resources Planning Board

ON FEBRUARY 5 the Board
launched a new survey of
local planning to bring up to
date the data contained in Circular
X entitled "Status of City and
County Planning in the United
States," issued on May 15, 1937.

Field Offices of the Board and
State Planning Boards are co-
operating in order to secure the
maximum number of questionnaire
returns. In many cases, field em-
ployees of certain other Federal
agencies are assisting in obtaining
the cooperation of local officials in
filling out the form being used in
the survey.

Circular X was restricted to data
concerning general local planning
agencies. The revised edition, how-
ever, will be expanded to include
county agricultural land-use com-
mittees, soil conservation districts,
and local housing authorities.

In Southeastern Florida a new
study of land and water resources
is under way. Stanley H. Wright
has been assigned by the National
Resources Planning Board and the
Florida State Planning Board as
Coordinator of the study which is
being undertaken cooperatively by
several Federal, state and local
official agencies. This joint enter-
prise deals with problems of con-
serving underground water supplies
for the Southeastern Florida munici-
palities, and utilizing the lands of
the area in the interest of soil con-
servation, wildlife conservation, and
maintenance of water supplies. Some

of the problems that led to the study
are the dwindling well water sup-
plies for Miami, the peat fires, and
speculative drainage developments.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

Directing attention to the 43;
State Planning Boards and hundreds
of city and county planning groups
now active, President Roosevelt, in
transmitting to Congress in January
the Progress Report of the National
Resources Committee, said that the
continuance "of these democratic
planning activities demonstrates the
desire of our people for the utiliza-
tion of long-range planning to con-
serve and develop our resources."

The Progress Report, referred to
by the President, states that since
its organization the National Re-
sources Committee, now the Na-
tional Resources Planning Board,
has been engaged in three major
fields of activity:

Preparation of plans and reports for
consideration by Congress and the Presi-
dent relating to conservation of national
resources and coordinated action in their
development.

Promotion of cooperation for planning
among local, state and Federal agencies
through its regional offices.

Long-range studies requested by the
President.

Describing the past year as "a
testing period" for State Planning
Boards the report shows that, in
spite of various adverse conditions,
official state planning agencies are
operating in 42 States (on July i,
J 939) an d in Alaska and Hawaii.
Thirty-seven of these agencies exist
by statutory enactment, the re-

Planning and Civic Comment

mainder by executive order of the
governors.

The report states that "The many
changes of administrations have re-
quired many boards to pass such
additional practical political tests as
(i) re-orientation of governmental
objectives and programs, (2) legis-
latures and governors unacquainted
with planning board work and op-
posed to boards established in
previous administrations, and (3)
the economy wave.

"In the face of these conditions,
many planning boards have had a
hard fight to maintain their exis-
tence. The results indicate how
firmly the planning movement is
rooted in various States where it has
been rigorously tested, how fully its
usefulness has been demonstrated
to citizens and official groups, and
some of the obstacles which stand
in its way. They also point to the
probable effectiveness of State plan-
ning in the immediate future."
^

Of particular interest to local
planning officials is the Board's
Circular XIV: "Federal Relations
to Local Planning," issued De-
cember 15, 1939. The activities of
46 Federal agencies which are most
directly related to local government
and planning are described in detail.
The usefulness of the publication is
attested to by heavy demands for
copies by Federal and other public
agencies and individuals.

REGIONAL PLANNING PERSONNEL

Judge Clifford H. Stone of Gun-
nison, Colorado, has been appointed
Chairman of Region No. 7, with
headquarters at Denver. The Region
includes Colorado, New Mexico,

Wyoming, and parts of the adjoining
States.

B. H. Kizer, Chairman of the
Washington State Planning Council,
has been appointed Chairman of
Region No. 9, succeeding George
F. Yantis, now a board member of
NRPB. The States of Idaho, Mon-
tana, Oregon and Washington
comprise the region.

David Eccles, Executive Secre-
tary to the Governor of Oregon, has
been appointed a .member of the
Pacific Northwest Regional Plan-
ning Commission.

STATE PLANNING PERSONNEL

Arkansas John D. Trimble, El
Dorado, has been appointed to the
vacancy on the Board.

California John R. Richards,
State Director of Finance, has been
appointed to the vacancy on the
Board.

Georgia J. M. Mallory, East
Savannah, has been appointed a
member of the Board.

Kentucky Hon. Keen Johnson
has succeeded Hon. A. B. Chandler
as Governor and Chairman of the
Board, which has been reconstituted.

Massachusetts L awrence K.
Miller, Pittsfield, has succeeded
Clarence J. Biladeau as member of
the Board.

New Mexico On January 15,
Governor John E. Miles appointed a
new Board, designating Lyle Brush
as Chairman.

Oregon On December 15, 1939,
the Governor appointed a new
Oregon Economic Council.

Wisconsin C. D. Miller has suc-
ceeded Harry R. McLogan as In-
dustrial Commissioner and member
of the Board.

Recent Court Decisions

Compiled by FLAVEL SHURTLEFF with the cooperation of Edward M. Bassett

Variance Garden Apartments in

Single Family Zones.

On recommendation of the zoning
board of adjustment petitioning
property owners were granted a
variance by the governing board of
commissioners of the Town of
Montclair, N. J., for the construc-
tion of a garden apartment in a
zone restricted to single family
houses. The case has special in-
terest because of the growing popu-
larity in suburban New Jersey of
this new type of multi-family house.
The plan which was before the
board of adjustment called for
buildings two and a half to three
stories in height, of attractive design
and with greater set-backs from the
building line than the single family
houses in the neighborhood.

In his finding that the board of
adjustment and the governing
commission acted legally, the
Supreme Court justice who first
heard the case made the point that
the procedure followed in Montclair
was preferable to legislative estab-
lishment of a new zone because the
granting of a variance could be
made subject to conditions pecu-
liarly suited to each situation. In
other words, the procedure was
more flexible and should produce
better results.

The Supreme Court was of a
different opinion. "Both municipal
bodies overlooked the essential dis-
tinction between local legislative
zoning power and the authority to
make individual alterations from
regulations generally reasonable, or
having made the distinction, dis-

regarded it. A finding of unneces-
sary hardship to the individual
owner due to special conditions is a
sine qua non to the exercise of the
board of adjustment's authority to
grant a variance from the terms of
the ordinance. And the super-
intendency vested in the governing
body (the commission) is not es-
sentially legislative but likewise
discretionary, controlled by the
same criterion and rule of conduct."
Thus the Supreme Court ruled
against the claim of the defendant
commissioners that it was unneces-
sary to base a variance on a finding
of unnecessary hardship and since the
return to the Supreme Court did not
show the reason for the variance the
case was sent back for re-hearing.

John R. Brandon et al. vs. Board of
Commissioners of Montclair et al. New
Jersey Supreme Court. Decided February
15, 1940. Decision not yet published.

Accessory Use What Is a Lot?

The plaintiff bank owned an
island and a mainland lot, separated
by water except at low tide when
connection was made by stepping
stones. One of the buildings on the
island was used as a night club and
the mainland lot served as a park-
ing place. On complaint of neigh-
boring owners the use of the lot as
a parking place was ordered dis-
continued by the building inspector.
Petition for a variance was rejected
by the board of appeals and the
plaintiff then appealed to the court
claiming that the land on the main-
land and the island were part of the
same lot and that parking should
be allowed as an accessory use.

Planning and Civic Comment

The trial court found that even
though the plaintiff owned the land
connecting the mainland and the
island, the plaintiff's holdings did
not constitute one lot. In upholding
this ruling of the trial court, the
Supreme Court of Connecticut held
that lands in the same ownership on
opposite sides of navigable water
could no more be parts of the same
lot than lands on opposite sides of a
public highway.

First National Bank and Trust Com-
pany of Greenwich et al. vs. Zoning Board
of Greenwich et al., 126 Connecticut 228.
Decided January, 1940.

Dog Hospitals in Residence Districts.

The permit for a dog hospital in a
residence zone was held rightly
issued where the ordinance per-
mitted hospitals and sanitaria in
residence zones. The action of the
board of adjustment which had
cancelled the permit on the ground
that hospitals did not include
hospitals for animals was held il-
legal by the Supreme Court of
Iowa.

Crow vs. Board of Adjustment of Iowa
City, 288 N. W. 145. Decided October,
I939-

Discussion Groups on City Planning in Portland, Maine
January and February, 1940

sultant assist the planning board
with preparation of a master plan,
who would stay right on as a perma-
nent consultant to work out the plan
under the direction of the board;

2. The danger that the existing
zoning law may work more and more
hardship, and even become a curse
instead of a blessing, if some perma-
nent advisory body is not set up to
keep the zoning allocation abreast
of developments;

3. The good fortune of the city
in that it now enjoys a number of
features of city planning due to the
good judgment of those in charge of
activities;

4. The field of opportunity for
orderly and desirable development
along many lines with increased
economy and efficiency by the
simple expedient of cooperation and
coordination achieved by master
planning.

An address by Flavel Shurtleff,
Counsel for the American Planning
and Civic Association, followed by a
discussion period, at the initial con-
ference of four consecutive weekly
conferences on city planning, was
the spark which started gratifying
an unexpected interest in this sub-
ject an interest which grew
throughout the course with its
average attendance of thirty, to such
an extent as to culminate in the ap-
pointment of a committee, headed
by Mrs. Mary J. Woods, of Port-
land, to lay plans for further
progress and present them at a
later date to those interested.

The outstanding points which
made an impression on those at-
tending were:

i. The ease with which Portland
can set in motion a planning author-
ity, and the attractive possible
program of having a planning con-

An article "To Welcome Planning into the Family Circle" by Flavel Shurtleff, in
The American City for March, 1940, describes further the activity of the American
Planning and Civic Association in stimulating discussion groups.

The Haynes Foundation's Program
for Los Angeles

In the last issue of PLANNING AND
Civic COMMENT we announced that
L. Deming Tilton has assumed the
position of Counselor on Planning
with the Haynes Foundation of
California. Under Mr. Tilton's di-
rection, the Foundation will de-
velop a program concerned largely
with research and education related
to planning. Its objectives in brief
are: (i) to support, supplement and
vitalize all phases of planning in the
region; (2) to aid wherever possible
in the development of an adequate
master plan for the metropolitan
area; (3) to cooperate with official
and citizen groups in efforts to make
community, city and regional plan-
ning more effective, and (4) to
stimulate larger public interest in
widely planned, coordinated civic
improvements.

The Founders Dr. John Ran-
dolph Haynes and his wife, Dora
Haynes had a vision of a greater
Los Angeles and knew the value of
foresight and planning. Their de-

votion to this community is per-
petuated by the activities of the
Foundation in support of regional
planning. Nine Trustees have the
responsibility of carrying out the
interests of the Founders "in every-
thing tending to promote civic and
economic progress; in assisting to
improve the physical and educa-
tional standards of our people; and
in helping in matters designed to
better the conditions under which
working people live and labor."

The Foundation is concerned
with the Los Angeles of the future.
The desire is to assist in making this
great city a safer, more healthful
place in which to live and work; to
secure a plan for a metropolitan
region offering larger opportunities
for human development.

Our best wishes are extended
to Mr. Tilton under whose direction
the Foundation will develop a pro-
gram concerned largely with re-
search and education related to
planning.

Homes, presented by the Survey Graphic

In the third of its "Calling
America" Series, the Survey Graphic
has presented a most eloquent ap-
peal in the February, 1940, issue on
"Homes, Front Line of Defense for
American Life." Among the dis-
tinguished contributors are Albert
Mayer, Catherine Bauer, Jacob
Crane, Raymond V. Parsons, John
H. Crider, Clarence S. Stein, Irving
Brant, Edith Elmer Wood, Dorothy
Canfield, Charles Abrams, Harold
S. Buttenheim, Ira S. Robbins,

Carl Feiss, Benton MacKaye, Henry
A. Wallace, David Cushman Coyle,
Lewis Mumford, John Palmer
Gavit, and Leon Whipple, pre-
sented, not in the order of their
importance but in the order of their
appearance. The illustrations, pic-
torial statistics, and cartoons tell the
"graphic" part of the story. The
text provides the "survey" part.
Everyone interested in homes and
Americans will want to read this
interesting issue.

Book Reviews

THE CITY Stuart Alfred Queen, Pro-
fessor of Sociology, Washington Uni-
versity and Lewis Francis Thomas,
Associate Professor of Geography,
Washington University. McGraw-Hill
Book Company, Inc., New York and
London. 1939. 500 pp. Price $4.00.

Here is provided a comprehensive
yet compact and closely documented
analysis of the nature, origin and
problems of urbanism as contrasted
with ruralism. In their approach
the authors are at all times careful
to avoid the uncritical acceptance
of heretofore generally accepted
theories. They are particularly skep-
tical of one all-explanatory thesis
as to the why and wherefore of
cities. Instead they content them-
selves with uncovering and pre-
senting the facts, letting these for
the most part speak for themselves.

The text is commendable and
important not only for its widely
varied content collected with great
labor and classified with great care
but also for its deliberate adherence
to a rigorously realistic method.
Yet so pertinent and human are the
bare statistical facts presented that
they effectually capture and hold
the casual no less than the pro-
fessional reader's unbroken atten-
tion.

The rise of cities surprisingly
recent in our racial development
is traced to its natural causes,
defense, transportation, trade etc.
and the effects of changing tech-
nology upon human behavior singly
and in aggregates is statistically
traced; seaports and river harbors
to railroad centers and automotive
highway junctions. Growth is dis-

cussed in terms of economic habits,
new stimuli, and the stabilizing
force of environmental limitations
or of lost opportunity.

The pattern of cities, it is pointed
out, while only occasionally ex-
hibiting deliberate selective plan-
ning does, in all instances, reflect
from behind its seeming confusion
some natural selective control and
direction.

These evidences of orderly pat-
terns of succession are seen by the
authors as being not the conse-
quence of any inherent forces of
"urbanism," but the product of
the interplay between people and
their environments. "Urbanism is a
reality, but its differences from that
which we call rural are relative, i.e.,
matters of degree/*

The text is not content to blindly
accept a fatalistic attitude. Even
if inexorable forces of nature must
work out their destinies, foreknowl-
edge may serve useful purposes.
So the authors, appropriately
enough, close their work with a
final section on "Prediction and
Control." Prediction for prepared-
ness; control for resolving crises
before they materialize.

F. A. PITKIN, Harrisburg, Pa.

SOIL CONSERVATION by Hugh Hammond
Bennett. McGraw-Hill Book Company,
New York City, 1939. 993 PP- Illus-
trated. Price $6.00.

This monumental work by Dr.
Bennett, who is well known as the
Chief of the Soil Conservation
Service of the Department of Agri-
culture, covers every phase of the
subject of soil conservation crop

Planning and Civic Comment

rotation, strip cropping, field con-
touring, terracing, grass planting,
the construction of run-off channels,
the growing of trees for windbreaks,
the building of small dams and
checks to conserve rainfall and
prevent gullying, the building of
levees and the lining of river banks
and the construction of huge dams
and flood control projects involving
the expenditure of millions of dollars.

Dr. Bennett tells the public just
what to do to get the best results
what the farmer can do for himself,
what the county and State can do
for citizens, and what the Nation
is doing for all. Referring speci-
fically to the accomplishments of
past decades, the author sounds
the note of warning to the United
States that it must go ahead
speedily, vigorously and persistently
to defend and conserve the soil.

This volume is more than a text-
book, more than a handbook, more
than a history of erosion; it is an
encyclopedia of the whole problem
of protecting the soil.

ZONING The Laws, Administration, and
Court Decisions during the First
Twenty Years. By Edward M. Bassett,
member of the N. Y. Bar. Russell
Sage Foundation, New York. Second
Printing, with additions, 1940. 275 pp.
$3-oo.

In bringing up to date his book
on Zoning, first published in 1936,
by the Russell Sage Foundation,
Edward M. Bassett has rendered an
indispensable service. Mr. Bassett
is not only a pioneer in the law of
zoning, for a quarter of a century he
has collected and digested cases
and has followed the processes of
administration of zoning. In this
volume may be found the history

and the present legal status of al-
most all detailed situations with
which Zoning and Planning authori-
ties may be confronted. The first
edition owned by the American
Planning and Civic Association is
by this time a well-worn volume,
used repeatedly in preparing answers
to the numerous inquiries which
come in from harassed citizens and
puzzled commissioners from towns
and cities in all parts of the United
States. In the Introduction, Mr.
Bassett's comments on billboards
will be of special interest to readers
of PLANNING AND Civic COMMENT:

For at least fifteen years there has been
constant pressure for roadside zoning to
prevent billboards, filling stations, and
eating stands. It is not strange that many
consider that such regulation is a field for
zoning. People know that the usual
zoning for height, area, and use, in resi-
dence districts, prevents billboard and
other objectionable uses along the road-
sides and that residence districts in zoned
towns comprise more than nineteen-
twentieths of the entire roadsides. They
know, too, that many towns, especially
those made up of farms, are not zoned,
and they jump to the conclusion that there
is no need of waiting for the entire town
to adopt an ordinance; but, since they are
interested in roadsides only, they advocate
the establishment of zoned strips along
the edges of roads which will prevent
objectionable structures.

State legislatures seem to give almost
no attention to roadside zoning. Plainly
there must be some good reason. Many
agricultural towns do not like zoning.
Farmers are afraid that an effort will be
made to regulate their crops. Failing to
interest the towns, advocates of roadside
zoning urge state legislatures to enact
strip zoning regulations covering all
roadsides in the state, forgetting that the
state legislators come from towns that
are largely against roadside zoning, and
that the last thing such legislators care to
do is to take the local decision away from
the towns.

Zoning for height, area, and use has
been upheld by the courts because it is
comprehensive and not piecemeal. Legis-
lators are likely at once to ask why the

Planning and Civic Comment

whole of a town should not be zoned in-
stead of narrow strips along roads.

Then, too, it is well settled that a
zoning plan consists in applying different
regulations to oUfferent districts. Regula-
tion without different kinds of districts
may be within the police power, but it is
not zoning. Accordingly we should speak
of roadside regulation and not roadside
zoning. States will undoubtedly find
methods of regulating roadsides, partly
for safety of traffic and partly for amenity.
At present nearly all courts say no to
esthetics. Massachusetts has made prog-
ress by charging license fees on billboards
and signs. Billboards and signs along a
roadside are an injury. The method of
complete prevention is not clear at

E resent. In the meantime the old-
ishioned way of zoning an entire town,
which is supported by the courts in all
States, should be more and more employed.
Comprehensive zoning ordinances should
be adopted. In residence districts shown
on the maps of such ordinances, billboards
and signs are strictly excluded.

REORGANIZATION OF THE NATIONAL GOV-
ERNMENT What Does It Involve?
By Lewis Meriam and Laurence F.
Schmeckebier. The Brookings In-
stitution, Washington, D. C, 1939.
272 pp. Price $2.00.

The Brookings Institution issued
in 1939 a book on "Reorganization
of the National Government What
Does It Involve?" by Lewis Meriam
and Laurence F. Schmeckebier.
Even though recent reorganization
of the functions of the Federal
Government may be said to be
fairly complete, Mr. Meriam, in
presenting his analysis of concepts,
factual background and structural
reorganization, has made a contribu-
tion to the literature of the subject
which should be useful to all those
who in the future may be concerned
with further reorganization. This is
true also of the history of reorganiza-
tion efforts presented by Mr.
Schmeckebier. Mr. Meriam points
out the small percentage of the
national expenses in 1938 (or indeed

in any recent year) which could be
very greatly reduced by any sort of
administrative organization of the
regular government establishments.
In 1938 only 17.65 percent of the
total expenditures of the Federal
Government was available for opera-
tion of the administrative agencies,
less than the 20.77 percent which
went into work relief projects,
WPA, and CCC, exclusive of costs
of administration! Mr. Meriam
arrives at the conclusion that "if
reductions in actual expenditures
are to be made large enough to play
a dominant part in balancing the
budget, they must be effected in the
main through elimination or reduc-
tion of certain functions and activi-
ties of the government." He offers
as more promising for attaining
economy and efficiency than struc-
tural reorganization an honestly and
efficiently administered competitive
merit system, a Budget Bureau,
under the President, adequately
staffed with career employees, and
a competent research and investigat-
ing staff under the independent
control of Congress.

HOUSING THE MASSES. By Carol Arono-
vici, Ph.D. John Wiley and Sons, Inc.,
New York, 1939. 291 pp. Price $3.50.

Carol Aronovici's book, "Housing
the Masses," is not only an excellent
book on housing, but the author has
a sympathetic understanding of
planning and zoning and what they
mean to housing projects. The dis-
cussions include: land, people,
money, earning capacity and the
housing market, home ownership,
the law and housing, urbanism and
housing, architecture and housing,
housing education, the housing sur-

Planning and Civic Comment

vey and housing research. Mr.
Aronovici declares:

We need more than a mere housing
meliorism which will help a minor portion
of the population to live in better houses;
we need to create favorable conditions
which will raise the standard of all housing
without adding to the economic burdens
of the occupants. It is not just the slum
dweller who is in need of improved con-
ditions, badly though he may need them,
but the millions of other families which
live in respectable but cramped and un-
satisfactory quarters, which although
provided with the essentials of sanitation
and with the outward trappings of
respectability, are nevertheless badly
planned for normal family life and are
lacking in the individuality and the fitness
which help to make home life a spiritual
force.

That housing is not an isolated building
or set of buildings, but only a component
part of a larger neighborhood and com-
munity pattern, should be evident to every-
one. This means not only the revamping
of the economy and technique of planning
and building, but also a readjustment of
housing to the functions of the community,
and the reorganization of the pattern of
the neighborhood and the community to
the needs of housing. In this connection,
it must be admitted that partial slum
clearance, which leaves the old confusion
with all its evils and obsolete services,
can hardly be accepted as a thorough-
going improvement of living conditions.
Slum clearance, therefore, means not alone
the clearing away of obsolete buildings,
but also the discarding of everything that
may render improved housing ineffectual
in promoting community life.

CAROLINA GARDENS by E. T. H. Shaffer.
Foreword by DuBose Heyward. Uni-
versity of North Carolina Press, 1939.
Chapel Hill, N. C. 326 pp. illustrated.
$3-50.

^This Garden Club edition of
Carolina Gardens is a charming
volume, beautifully illustrated,
which presents much new material.
The history and traditions of the
two Carolinas are reflected in the
accounts of the outstanding gardens
and showplaces of both States.
This volume should have great in-

terest for all lovers of gardens and
for everyone who reveres the historic
gardens, groves and dwellings of the
old South which exert so strong a
cultural influence on the present
generation.

REVOLUTION IN LAND by Charles Abrams.
Harper & Brothers, New York, 1939.
xiv + 320 pp. Price $3.00.

This book belongs in the library
of everyone interested in the prob-
lem of land in our national economy.
Mr. Abrams reviews and analyzes
the problems which beset land econ-
omists today and devotes his
closing chapter to the subject of
solution. He states that the land
problem is a national problem in the
fullest sense of the word and advises
a planned and orderly, rather than
a random, nationalization, leaving
in private hands only that portion
of the land which can consistently
and logically be left in private hands.
He advocates a central land com-
mission to harmonize land activities
and study each phase of the land
problem as part of an integrated
whole. Whether one agrees with the
author's school of thought or not,
the book is provocative of deep
thinking on this fundamental
problem.

CONSERVATION IN THE UNITED STATES.
By members of the faculty of Cornell
University: A. F. Gustafson, H. Ries,
C. H. Guise and W. J. Hamilton, Jr.
The Comstock Publishing Co., Inc.
Cornell Heights, Ithaca, N. Y. 1939.
445 PP. Price $3.00.

The soils, waters, forests, parks,
grass lands, animals and minerals
constitute the country's principal
natural resources. This text book
presents the basic principles of

Planning and Civic Comment

conservation, and gives an idea of
tomorrow's problems. The authors
state: "In the past, too often men
and women have regarded all of our
resources as being wholly unlimited.
A realization that the opposite is
true must be brought about by
education." An interesting bibliog-
raphy of supplementary reading is
included, divided in four sections:
conservation of soil and water re-
sources, conservation of forests,
parks and grazing lands, conserva-
tion of wildlife and conservation of
mineral resources.

To HOLD THIS SOIL Miscellaneous Pub-
lication No. 321, U. S. Department of
Agriculture. By Russell Lord, Soil
Conservation Service. 1939. 122 pp.
Price 45 cents.

Russell Lord, as the author of the
impressive publication, "To Hold
This Soil," issued by the Soil Con-
servation Service of the Department
of Agriculture, has set forth a
dramatic story of the tragedy that
results from soil abuse. Under the
captions of chapters, the story
develops. Here they are: The Film
of Life; New Land; First Wests;
Two Hundred Years Later; The
Midland is Taken; The High Plains
are Taken; Last Wests; and "Back
of Yonder." The major conclusion
is this:

The soil must be governed, and so far
as possible, it should be self-governed.
We must change our ways of land use,
individually; and where that does not
work, enforce change, if the people of
localities concerned see the need and
recognize the necessity for meeting it,
through democratic decision and action.
Surely land is vested with a public interest.
But that does not mean, necessarily, that
we must abolish private ownership to
have the land better treated. France has
not. Nor has Sweden. Nor the Nether-
lands.

"Change the system!" is the easy
answer to everything. But it does not
follow that to change the system settles
anything. It does not make the spend-
thrift suddenly thrifty, the careless
careful, the sloppy and greedy neat and
public spirited. It does not make husband-
men of pioneers or promoters. The
essential change comes slowly in the
accumulated experiences of men and
women. Generally it comes under pinch,
or under conditions which impose a
reasonable thrift and care.

MIGRATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE An
approach to the problem of the non-
settled person in the community. By
Philip E. Ryan. The Russell Sage
Foundation, New York, 1940. 114 pp.
Price 50 cents.

Philip E. Ryan, in his pamphlet
on "Migration and Social Welfare,"
published by the Russell Sage Foun-
dation, makes a well-buhvarked
plea for a national policy to deal
with the problems of migration.
Tending toward this end are men-
tioned the publications of the Na-
tional Resources Planning Board
and the participation of its North-
west Regional organization in a
comprehensive study of migration
in that region. The author believes
that:

With the establishment of federal
responsibility for coordinated, long-range
planning toward a national policy for
migration, an imperative first step will
have been taken. To assist in these
developments, the focusing of private
interest through some such organization
of the former Council on Interstate
Migration is also necessary. Bringing the
public and private agency groups to-
gether for joint planning would eventually
result in benefit to all concerned the
migrant, the community, and the nation
as a whole.

THE TENNESSEE PLANNER Jan.-Feb.,
1940, Vol. i, No. i. Tennessee State
Planning Commission, Nashville, Tenn.

The Tennessee State Planner
makes its public bow with a new

Planning and Civic Comment

bi-monthly periodical in a 5^ X
8 % format, with a neat binding,
designed, as stated in the announce-
ment to reach lay readers. Its
primary purpose will be to inform
the citizens of Tennessee of some of
the activities of the State Planning
Commission and to bring to them
brief discussions of various planning
topics and related subjects. The first
issue for January- February, 1940,
includes articles on Tennessee's
Industries, Public Works Program-
ming and Local Planning in Tennes-
see, together with clippings and
some excellent book reviews. Con-
gratulations are extended to the
Tennessee State Planning Com-
mission on the appearance, contents
and outlined purpose of "The
Tennessee Planner."

PUBLIC HOUSING IN AMERICA. Compiled
by M. B. Schnapper. The Reference
Shelf, Vol. 13, No. 5. The H. W.
Wilson Company, New York, 1939.
369 pp. $1.25.

This volume presents statements
96 authorities are quoted, many
at length that have been written
on the many phases of the housing
problem. Approximately one-half
of the book's pages are devoted to
a general discussion. The remaining
pages are divided between the
proponents of the thesis that hous-
ing is a responsibility of the govern-
ment and those who deny that
housing is a proper Federal function.
Many distinguished authorities are
quoted.

Mr. Schnapper, the compiler,
maintains a strict neutrality through-
out the book.

International Publications

The International Federation for
Housing and Town Planning ad-
vises that it has a number of publica-
tions available for sale. In addition
to certain publications brought out
in 1931 and 1935 it has the following:

1937

Rents for the Working Classes. 290 p.,

Belgas 20.

Financing. 91 p., Belgas 4.
National and Regional Planning. 1 10 p.,

Belgas 4.
Horizontal and/or Vertical Building.

105 p. illus., Belgas 4.
Final Report on Paris Congress.

Belgas 4.

,938

Underground Planning.
Belgas 5.

52 p. illus.,

Housing in Tropical and Subtropical
Countries. 87 p. illus., Belgas 5.

Planning Recreation. 63 p. illus.,
Belgas 5.

1939

Housing for Special Groups. 158 p.

illus., Belgas 9.

Town Planning and Local Traffic. 191 p.
Administrative Basis of National and

Regional Planning. 65 p. illus.,

Belgas 5.

All prices are postpaid. Prices in
Belgas payable by check of inter-
national money order to Inter-
national Federation for Housing
and Town Planning, 5, rue de la
Regence, Brussels, Belgium.

Recent Publications*

Compiled by {Catherine McNamara, Librarian of the Departments of
Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Harvard University

BUILDING AMERICA, a photographic maga-
zine of modern problems, vol. 5:2.
Community planning, New York, [1939].
63 pages. IIIus., maps, plan, charts.
Price 30 cents.

CROWTHER, SAMUEL. What we earn;
what we owe; a report to the Com-
mission for the Promotion of the Wealth
and Income of the People of New
Hampshire. Concord, N. H., The
Commission, [1937?]. 64 pages. Tables.

DRELLICH, EDITH BERGER, and ANDREE
EMERY. Rent control in war and peace;
a study prepared under the auspices of
the Laws and Administration Com-
mittee of the Citizens' Housing Council
of New York. New York, National
Municipal League, 1939. 124 pages.
Tables, charts. Price 50 cents.

FULLER, GRACE HADLEY, comp. A list of
recent references on community centers,
comp. by Grace Hadley Fuller, under
the direction of Florence S. Hellman.
[Washington], Library of Congress,
Division of Bibliography, 1939. 19
pages. Mimeographed.

HEYDECKFR, WAYNE D. Draft of a pro-
posal for a combined county planning,
platting and zoning enabling act,
including some provisions heretofore
contained in the proposal to establish
soil conservation districts. Albany,
New York Division of State Planning,
Sept. 15, 1938. 48 pages. Mimeo-
graphed.

HUNTER, JOHN M. Survey of state airport
zoning legislation. Washington, U. S.
Civil Aeronautics Authority, Technical
Development Division, June 1939.
28 pages. Mimeographed. Table. (Re-
port, no. 6.)

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR HOUS-
ING AND TOWN PLANNING. XVII

International Housing and Town Plan-
ning Congress, Stockholm, 1939. Brux-
elles, The Federation, 1939. 3 vols.
IIIus., maps, plans, cross sections, tables,
charts. Price 155.

Contents: Administrative basis of
national and regional planning; Housing
for special groups; Town planning and
*These publications are only available direct from

local traffic. Text in French, English,
and German.

LEWIS, HAROLD M. Local planning and
zoning powers and procedures in the
state of New York. . . Albany, New
York Division of State Planning, 1939.
91 pages.

LOHMANN, KARL B. A question guide for
the study of regional-planning. Cham-
paign, III., Daniels Press, 1940. 54 pages.
Mimeographed.

ip.

ning marches on : the record of planning
in New England, 1934-1939. Boston,
New England Regional Planning Com-
mission, June 1939. 36 pages. Mimeo-
graphed. Maps, table. (Publication
no. 59.)

MILWAUKEE, Wis. BOARD OF PUBLIC
LAND COMMISSIONERS. Summary of an
auto parking census taken in 16 out-
lying business districts and the central
business district, Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
1939. Milwaukee, The Board, 1939.
55 pages. Mimeographed. Map, tables.

MONCHOW, HELEN CORBIN. Seventy
years of real estate subdividing in the
region of Chicago. Evanston, North-
western University, 1939. 200 pages.
Maps, tables, charts. (Northwestern
University Studies in the Social Sciences
no. 3.) Price $2.25.

MUMFORD, LEWIS. Whither Honolulu?
[A memorandum report on park and
city planning for the city and county of
Honolulu Park Board.] [Amenia, N. Y.,
The Author, Sept. 25, 1938.] 67 pages.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOUSING OF-
FICIALS. Managing low-rent housing; a
record of current experience and prac-
tice in public housing, based on lectures
and discussions at the Management
Training Institute, Washington, D. C.,
June 13-24, 1938. Chicago, The Asso-
ciation, Mar. 1939. 289 pages. Mimeo-
graphed. (Publication no. N 100.)
Price $2.00.

NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL PLANNING
COMMISSION. Too many cars, too little
space. Boston, The Commission, Nov.

individual publishers.

Planning and Civic Comment

1939- 34 pages. Mimeographed. IIIus.,
maps. (Publication no. 58.)

NEW YORK, N. Y. DEFT. OF PARKS. Six
years of park progress. N. Y., The
Dept., [1940]. 56 pages. Maps, charts.

PUBLIC HOUSING; WEEKLY NEWS, vol.
1 12 to date. Washington, U. S. Housing
Authority; Aug. 18, 1939 to date.
IIIus. Price $1.00 a year.

RATCLIFF, RICHARD U. The Detroit
housing market: an analysis of current
conditions. Ann Arbor, School of
Business Administration, University of
Michigan, 1939. 54 pages. Lithoprinted
Map, tables, charts. (Bureau of Busi-
ness Research. Report no. 4.) Price
$1.00.

SHORT, C. W., and R. STANLEY-BROWN.
Public buildings: a survey of architec-
ture of projects constructed by federal
and other governmental bodies be-
tween the years 1933 and 1939, with the
assistance of the Public Works Admin-
istration. [Washington, Govt. Printing
Office], 1939. 697 pages. IIIus., maps,
plans, tables. Price $2.50.

SLOAN, W. F. The parking problem in
Chicago. Chicago, Union League Club
of Chicago, June 1939. 14 pages. Tables.

TOWN PLANNING INSTITUTE. The In-
stitute's report on planning for air raid
protection. London, The Institute,
Aug. 1939. 5 pages.

U. S. BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS. High-
ways of history. [Washington, Govt.
Printing Office, 1939.] Unpaged. IIIus.,
map.

U. S. CONGRESS. 75. 30 SESSION. An
act to create a Civil Aeronautics
Authority, and to promote the develop-
ment and safety and to provide for the
regulation of civil aeronautics. [Wash-
ington, 1938.] 64 pages. (S. 3845.)
Accompanied by review of first year's
work.

U. S. FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY. WORK
PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION FOR THE
CITY OF NEW YORK. DIVISION OF
FOREIGN HOUSING STUDIES. Housing
laws of the Netherlands . . . the
original housing law with amendments
and supplemental provisions. . . N. Y.,
New York City Housing Authority,
1939- 138 pages. Mimeographed. (Leg-
islative series II, issue no. i.)

U. S. FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION.
The structure and growth of residential
neighborhoods in American cities. Wash-
ington, [Govt. Printing Office, 1939.]
178 pages. Maps, plans, tables, charts.
Study made by Homer Hoyt.

U. S. HOUSING AUTHORITY. Planning for
recreation in housing. [Washington,
Govt. Printing Office], Nov. 1939.
40 pages. IIIus., plans, cross sections.

U. S. NATIONAL COMMISSION OF FINE
ARTS, and NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK
AND PLANNING COMMISSION. The plan
of Washington; exhibition. . . [Wash-
ington], The Commissions, [1939]. 6
pages. Mimeographed.

U. S. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. Fees and
charges for public recreation: a study of
policies and practices. . . Washington,
Govt. Printing Office, 1939. 56 pages.
IIIus., tables, charts.

[U. S. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.] Na-
tional Capital Parks, Washington.
[Washington, The Service, 1940?]. 27
pages. Lithoprinted. IIIus., map.

U. S. NATIONAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE.
Consumer expenditures in the United
States: estimates for 1935-36. Wash-
ington, Govt. Printing Office,

tables,

1939-
charts.

195 pages. Maps,
Price 50 cents.

. The consumer spends his

income; [a digest]. Washington, Govt.
Printing Office, 1939. 47P-, charts.
Price 10 cents.

. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. Prog-
ress report, 1939. Statement of the
Advisory Committee. Issued by the
National Resources Planning Board. . .
Washington, Govt. Printing Office.
I 939- I 73 pages. Maps, tables, charts.
Price 35 cents.

VARGA, H. E., ed. Public recreation in the
city of Cleveland. [Cleveland, O.,
Cleveland Dept. of Parks and Public
Property, 1940.] 3 vols. Mimeo., maps
(part folded), plans, sketch, tables,
charts.

WELLS, RALPH G., and JOHN S. PERKINS,
cpmps. New England community sta-
tistical abstracts: social and economic
data for 175 New England cities and
towns, prepared for the Industrial
Development Committee of the New
England Council. Boston, Bureau of
Business Research, Boston University
College of Business Administration,
Oct. 1939. 15?. + tables. Price $3.50.

Planning and
Civic Comment

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

A FEDERAL CITY
PROGRAM

Adopted by the

Executive Committee of the Committee of 100

on the Federal City
American Planning and Civic Association

Presented to the Committee oj 100 on the Federal City

and members of the

American Planning and Civic Association

at a Dinner in Washington, D. C.

January 31, 1940

JANUARY - MARCH 194 O

PART II

PLANNING AND
CIVIC COMMENT

Published Quarterly

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

Official Organ of: American Planning and Civic Association,
National Conference on State Parks

SCOPE: National, State, Regional and City Planning; Land and Water Uses;

Conservation oj National Resources; National, State and Local Parks,

Highways and Roadsides.
AIM: To create a better physical environment which will conserve and develop

the health, happiness and culture of the American people.

EDITORIAL BOARD

HARLEAN JAMES FLAVEL SHURTLEFF CHARLES G. SAUERS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

FREDERICK J. ADAMS P. J. HOFFMASTER

HORACE M. ALBRIGHT HENRY V. HUBBARD

HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW JOHN IHLDER

EDWARD M. BASSETT RAYMOND F. LEONARD

RUSSELL V. BLACK RICHARD LIEBER

PAUL V. BROWN THOMAS H. MACDONALD

STRUTHERS BURT J. HORACE MCFARLAND

HAROLD S. BUTTENHEIM HENRY T. MC!NTOSH

ARNO B. CAMMERER KATHERINE MCNAMARA

DAVID C. CHAPMAN HAROLD MERRILL

MARSHALL N. DANA MARVIN C. NICHOLS

S. R. DEBOER JOHN NOLEN, JR.

EARLE S. DRAPER F. A. PITKIN

CHARLES W. ELIOT 2o ISABELLE F. STORY

L. C. GRAY L. DEMING TILTON

S. HERBERT HARE TOM WALLACE

ELISABETH M. HERLIHY CONRAD L. WIRTH

MANAGING EDITOR

DORA A. PADGETT

$3.00 a Year

Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Washington, D. C., under
the Act ol March 3, 1879. Additional entry at Harrisburg, Pa.

EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATION OFFICE: 901 Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C.

Printed by the Mount Pleasant Press, J. Horace McFarland Company. Harris-
burg. Pa.

A FEDERAL CITY
; PROGRAM

HPHE National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which is ac-

* cepted as a matter of administrative routine today, did not exist in

1924, when the Committee of 100 on the Federal City made its first report.

At a dinner given by the Board of Directors and the Committee of 100
on the Federal City of the American Planning and Civic Association in
honor of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, held in
Washington on January 31, 1940, a Comparison of Conditions Then and
Now was made and a new set of Recommendations, adopted by the Execu-
tive Committee of the Committee of 100, was presented to the full com-
mittee and to the members of the Association.

On that occasion, the first lady, Mrs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
honored the Association and the Commission by her presence and her
remarks. Other honor guests and speakers were Hon. William H. King,
Chairman of the Senate Committee and Hon. Jennings Randolph, Chair-
man of the House Committee on the District of Columbia; Hon. Arthur
Capper, Chairman of the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia
when the Committee made its Report 16 years ago and member of the
Committee for 21 years; Hon. Louis C. Cramton, now Circuit Judge in
Michigan, former Member of Congress, and sponsor of the Park-Purchase
Act of 1930; Colonel U. S. Grant, 3rd, ex officio a member of the original
National Capital Park and Planning Commission and from 1926 to 1933
Director of Public Buildings and Public Parks in Washington, during his
tour of duty in charge of the construction of the Arlington Memorial
Bridge; Hon. Gilmore D. Clarke, Chairman of the national Commission of
Fine Arts; and A. D. Taylor, President of the American Society of Land-
scape Architects.

There were present, representing the National Capital Park and Plan-
ning Commission, the chairman, Hon. Frederic A. Delano, Senator William
H. King, Representative Jennings Randolph, Henry V. Hubbard, Arno B.
Cammerer, Lieut. Colonel George Mayo, for Major General Julian L.
Schley, the Chief of Engineers, U. S. A., Captain John L. Person for the
Engineer Commissioner, Colonel David McCoach, Jr.; John Nolen, Jr.,
Director of Planning, and T. S. Settle, Secretary of the Commission.

2 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

INTRODUCTION

By HORACE M. ALBRIGHT
President, American Planning and Civic Association

IT GIVES me great pleasure to welcome you all here at this dinner on the
Federal City, a city planned from the beginning to be the Nation's
Capital, to be free from the complications of ordinary commercial or in-
dustrial cities. Naturally, Washington inherits some limitations due to the
inability of human beings to see clearly 150 or more years into the future.
But, whatever one may think of the present-day estimation of the L' Enfant
Plan, the neglects of the middle years of the ipth Century, or of the ideas
of the contemporary planners, we can rest assured that the United States of
America has a more adequate capital city than if the capital had been
located in a metropolis already established for other purposes.

To the prejudiced eyes of New Yorkers, the buildings may seem "sawed
off" and in comparison with the modernistic monstrosities of many another
city, the public buildings may seem to be "slavish copies of a dead past."
But, better copy design of buildings on models which have lived for two or
three thousand years than to make the Capital a museum of short-lived
designs which may be as funny in the year 2000 as the atrocities of the
seventies and eighties are today. At least the comparatively low buildings
have not yet overshadowed the Washington Monument and the Capitol
Dome.

Many leaders and technicians have contributed to the building and
rebuilding of Washington. Much remains to be done and always will
remain to be done, but if we examine the record we shall find that for the
last quarter of a century the name of Frederic A. Delano has been closely
associated with the development of the Federal City.

Though you all know him well, I doubt if you are acquainted with his
distinguished record. Mr. Delano, a graduate of Harvard University, has
achieved an eminent position as an engineer and railroad executive and as a
citizen member of scientific, educational and planning boards. Few men
have had such sound technical training and such practical experience.

Mr. Delano learned the railroad business from the ground up. In 1885
he joined an engineering party of the C B & Q Railroad in Colorado and
later entered the shops at Aurora, Illinois, as apprentice machinist. He
was promoted from one position to another until he became General
Manager of the C B & Q in 1901. After that he served successively as
President of the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad, the Wabash- Pittsburgh
Terminal Railway Company and President of the Wabash Railroad.

Mr. Delano was appointed by President Wilson as a member of the
Federal Reserve Board. He served two years as Vice-Governor and later
resigned to enter the World War, where he was assigned to the staff of
General Atterbury, Director General of Transportation at Tours. Mr.
Delano received the D. S. M. for his war service and is now a Colonel in
the Engineers, Reserve Corps.

A FEDERAL CITY PROGRAM 3

In the thirties, Mr. Delano served as Chairman of the Board and
Federal Reserve agent of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank. He is a
regent of the Smithsonian Institution and on the Boards of many educa-
tional and scientific organizations.

But perhaps Mr. Delano's most unique service has been in the field of
planning. He was a member of the group in Chicago which sponsored the
pioneer Plan of Chicago. He became chairman of the New York Regional
Planning Committee, set up by the Russell Sage Foundation. He is now
Chairman of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission and of
the National Resources Planning Board. Mr. Delano has thus served on
the planning bodies of three important cities Chicago, New York and
Washington, and he has headed up National Planning in the United States.

But we like to think of Mr. Delano, first as Chairman oft the Committee
of i oo on the Federal City of the American Civic Association a position
which he consented to assume in 1922 as past president of the American
Civic Association and of its successor the American Planning and Civic
Association a position which he held for twelve years and as Chairman
of the Board of Directors of the American Planning and Civic Association
a position which he holds today.

4 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

HISTORY

of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City of the
American Planning and Civic Association

By HON. FREDERIC A. DELANO

Chairman of the Board of the American Planning and Civic Association, Chairman of the
Committee of 100 on the Federal City, and Chairman of the National Capital Park and

Planning Commission

EVERY citizen of the United States has a vital interest in Washington,
the Nation's Capital. From the time of its organization in Saint Louis
in 1904, the American Civic Association participated in occasional cam-
paigns to protect the city from threatened harm. But in 1922, Dr. J.
Horace McFarland, then President of the Association, invited me to be-
come Chairman and form a Committee of i oo on the Federal City. This I
was glad to do, because we all realized that comprehensive positive planning
would be more constructive than sporadic resistance to a constant suc-
cession of proposals unrelated to any general plan.

At that time, 131 years after the making of the L' Enfant Plan, 121
years after the occupation of the city by the Federal Government and 21
years after the McMillan Report, it seemed to some of us that Washington
was slipping. The City had long since outgrown the area covered by the
L' Enfant Plan and even within the plan locations of public buildings were
more honored in the breach than in the observance. The appearance of
the city generally hardly realized L'Enf ant's vision or even approximated
the proposals of that eminent group of artists who participated in the
making of the McMillan Plan. Daniel H. Burnham, Charles F. McKim,
Augustus St. Gaudens and Frederick Law Olmsted, building on the for-
gotten L' Enfant Plan, had adapted it to conditions at the change of the
century. But of the 54 areas recommended for purchase as parks, in 1922
only 6 had been acquired and some were already forfeit to extended streets
and graded subdivisions. The housing conditions in the city were de-
plorable. The city was growing rapidly, without guidance, and much of
the really beautiful natural scenery was being destroyed beyond repair or
restoration.

Washington at that time had just put into effect a zoning ordinance
adopted by Congress and the maps which were prepared promised assis-
tance in protecting existing residence neighborhoods and in providing for
new occupancy of land. But like all zoning districts, created in existing
cities, without the benefit of comprehensive planning, the zoning districts
under the new law had a tendency to freeze into the future the mistakes of
the past and to perpetuate non-conforming uses.

In 1910, as an aftermath of the McMillan Report, there was created the
Commission of Fine Arts which since then has exerted a potent influence
on the development of the inner city and revival of the L' Enfant Plan.

I invited to serve with me on the Federal City Committee about 100
leading citizens of the District. On our Honorary and Advisory Committee

A FEDERAL CITY PROGRAM 5

were such distinguished citizens as Miss Mabel T. Boardman, Dr. George F.
Bowerman, Cass Gilbert, James L. Greenleaf, John M. Gries, Thomas
Hastings, Hon. Herbert Hoover, Hon. Charles Evans Hughes, Miss Leila
Mechlin, Charles Moore, Frederick Law Olmsted, George Otis Smith,
William M. Ellicott of Baltimore, and others. From the start Mr. Theodore
Noyes gave us his blessing. Our officers and executive committee included
Fred G. Coldren, Vice-Chairman, since deceased, but leaving behind him a
record of service to the parks of Washington, John DeLaMater, Joshua
Evans, Jr., Horace W. Peaslee, Charles F. Consaul, Evan H. Tucker,
John Ihlder, Harry Blake, Alvin B. Barber, William T. S. Curtis, since
deceased, Frank P. Leetch, Edwin C. Graham, and Claude W. Owen.

We studied the situation and set up ten working committees. It was
evident to us from the outset that Washington, instead of setting an
example to the other cities of the country, was lagging behind many of
them, especially in the all-essential planning field and in the acquisition
and preservation of parks, parkways and playgrounds, and in the char-
acter of the housing for low-income groups.

Collectively we joined in two significant recommendations:

1. Just as the founders looked forward one hundred years in their planning, so we
must look forward. Correcting past errors is expensive. Intelligent planning for the
future is economy. Some machinery adequate for such planning should be set up.

2. This Federal City was set amidst hills and valleys that were notable for their
trees and shrubbery of a remarkable variety. If that condition is to continue in the
future, ample reservations for forests and parks should be made. Other cities in our
country are far in advance of Washington in these respects.

We worked along with an inter-organization committee with represen-
tatives from the American Institute of Architects, the American Society of
Landscape Architects, the National Conference on City Planning (now
merged with the American Civic Association), the American City Planning
Institute (now the American Institute of Planners), and the City Planning
Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

We set up some 75 committees on the Federal City in different parts of
the United States in order that non-resident citizens might know more
about the Nation's Capital and participate in its affairs through their
Members of Congress.

In 1924 the Ball-Gibson Bill, passed by Congress, created the National
Capital Park Commission and authorized appropriations for the purchase of
parks. In 1926 the Capper-Gibson Act of Congress created the National
Capital Park and Planning Commission, composed of seven ex qfficio
officials and four lay citizens, described in the bill as "experienced in city
planning." On the Commission served the Chief of Engineers of the U. S.
Army, then Major General Edgar Jadwin; the Engineer Commissioner of
the District of Columbia, then Lieut. Colonel J. Franklin Bell; Director of
the National Park Service, then Stephen T. Mather; the Chief of the
Forest Service, then W. B. Greeley; the Director of Public Buildings and
Public Parks, then Lieut. Colonel U. S. Grant, $rd, who was also executive

6 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

officer; the Chairman of the District of Columbia Committee of the Senate,
then Senator Arthur Capper; the Chairman of the District of Columbia
Committee of the House, then Hon. Frederick N. Zihlman, and four
laymen, who at first were Frederick Law Olmsted, J. C. Nichols, Milton B.
Medary, and your humble servant. Charles W. Eliot 2d was the first
Director of Planning. Today the Commission consists of Major General
Schley, Colonel David McCoach, Jr., Arno B. Cammerer, Director of
National Park Service, Senator William H. King, Chairman of the Senate
Committee, and Hon. Jennings Randolph, Chairman of the House Com-
mittee on the District of Columbia, Henry V. Hubbard, J. C. Nichols,
William A. Delano and the speaker. There is one vacancy caused by the
untimely death of Mr. F. A. Silcox, Chief of the Forest Service. The present
staff consists of Jonn Nolen, Jr., Director of Planning; T. S. Settle, Secre-
tary; Norman C. Brown, associate land purchasing officer and appraiser;
and T. C. Jeffers, landscape architect.

The new Commission did not start to make a plan from scratch. There
was the old L' Enfant Plan, with its street system fairly intact, but with
many of its other proposals unrealized. You are all familiar with the ar-
bitrary extension of the geometric pattern of the streets, planned in the
L' Enfant territory for comparatively level areas, out over the rim of
forested hills and valleys, with the accompanying cut-and-fill havoc. There
was the official highway plan, adopted in 1898, which perpetuated the
worst of the ipth Century blunders in street systems. We had the
plans of the McMillan Commission for revamping the Mall. Already the
tracks had been removed from the Mall and the Union Station built. We
had the recommendations of the McMillan Commission for parks and
location of public buildings. We had the new zoning regulations.

In 1917 Washington had been a quiet residential city, with few apart-
ment houses and many old-fashioned homes built in rows in the inner
sections or surrounded with yards after the popular American custom.
There were then enough alley dwellers to form a hidden city within a city.
The first Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, at the behest of Mrs. Archibald Hopkins,
worked hard to do away with the alley homes and provide new living
quarters. Congress acted with a bill to accomplish the evacuation of the
alleys over a period of years. Then came the World War and the sudden
influx of population into Washington. All houses which could possibly be
inhabited were put into use. Washington was ill-prepared to care for the
hundred thousand odd war workers who came looking for houses, apart-
ments, rooms and hotel accommodations. Many of you will remember the
stories of those who spent nights riding around in taxis seeking accommoda-
tions or those who slept in Turkish bath establishments. This condition
induced the District Commissioners to rule that for all practical purposes
an alley was only an alley if it was narrower than the inhabited alleys.
This postponed the evacuation.

By 1922 most of the war workers had departed, but there were still in
Washington Federal employees to twice the number in 1917. The inner

A FEDERAL CITY PROGRAM 7

city was spotted with temporary buildings. Some of these have been
demolished; others stand today, after 23 years. The shacks in the alleys
continue to be inhabited. The early twenties saw new subdivisions grow up
in haste, with little guidance and no official control. In this period, prob-
ably more forested hills and pleasant valleys were destroyed than in all the
history of the city previous to that time.

Our committee, therefore, was dedicated to finding ways and means to
put Washington in line for planned development which would make use of
the modern technique in planning. After we had worked for four years we
found that we had difficulty in acquiring park lands rapidly enough to keep
ahead of the game. Park acquisitions had been neglected for so many
years that we had not only the duty of trying to supply the park needs for
a rapidly growing community; but we had long years of arrears to supply.
Hon. Louis C. Cramton, Representative from Michigan, conceived a plan
for park purchases, without which I think that we can all agree, we should
now be much farther behind than we are. This Act, known as the Capper-
Cramton Act, passed in 1930, provided for loans from the Federal Govern-
ment to the District of Columbia and for loans and grants to Maryland,
in order that park land might be secured without too great delay. The bill
provided for treasury advances, without interest, of $16,000,000 to the
District for purchase of parks, parkways and playgrounds, for a grant of
$1,500,000 and treasury advances of $3,000,000 for the extension of Rock
Creek Park into Maryland; for $7,500,000 treasury advances, to be met
by like appropriations by Maryland and Virginia for the George Wash-
ington Memorial Parkway.

In this same year 1930 the Shipstead Act provided that all plans for
structures on designated areas opposite public buildings and public parks,
as scheduled by the National Capital Park and Planning Commission,
should be submitted for approval to the Commission of Fine Arts.

The revision of the Zoning Act in the King-Palmisano bill in 1938,
provided the last principal item of legislation which forms the background
of our administrative progress in planning during the past eighteen years.

8 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

COMPARISON

of the

Recommendations of the Committee of 100 on the Federal
City in 1924 with Accomplishments Between 1924-1940

Presented by CHARLES F. CONSAUL
Vice-Chairman of the Committee of 100

EIGHTEEN years ago I was very glad to accept Col. Delano's invitation
and to enlist under his banner to bring about improvements in the
Federal City. He was a hard taskmaster. He appointed committees and
kept after them until they produced reports. These were laid before the
entire Committee of 100, adopted, and presented in the Report of January,
1924.

Mr. Delano has read to you the two collective recommendations which
we made one suggesting the creation of a planning agency, which was
fully realized in the Capper-Gibson Act of 1926, and the other recom-
mending the conservation of Washington's natural endowment of scenery
and the extension of its forest and park reserves. The machinery to purchase
parks was first set up in the Ball-Gibson Act oj 1924 and later speeded up by
the Capper-Cramton Act of 1930. Some fine scenery has been saved. Un-
fortunately much has been lost. Considering the conditions of 1924, we can
say that the worst of the holocaust has been tempered.

At this point, I think that it is entirely proper that I should explain that
the Committee of 100 on the Federal City makes no claim that it has itself
accomplished anything. The Committee merely brought together the
recommendations of former and existing groups and cast them into a
program. We owe much to Congress Senators King, Capper, Gibson,
Shipstead Representatives Cramton, Bloom, Norton, Randolph and
many others, who have taken the leadership in drafting and sponsoring
legislation to improve the Federal City. The official agencies in the District
the Board of Commissioners, the Board of Education, the Zoning
Commission; and the Federal agencies the Commission of Fine Arts, the
Supervising Architect's office, the Public Roads Administration, the
National Park Service, the Engineering Corps of the U. S. Army, the
Architect of the Capitol, and many others, including the Special Bi-
centennial Commission, have contributed their share.

But the National Capital Park and Planning Commission has occupied
an unique position, in that it is charged with the making of plans for the
District and surrounding territory. In Maryland we have the Maryland-
National Capital Park and Planning Commission, set up by the Legislature
of the State of Maryland, which under its revised law, really has more
specific planning authority than the District Planning Commission. In
Maryland and Virginia we have the State Planning Boards.

Much progress has been secured through the educational programs of

A FEDERAL CITY PROGRAM 9

the Washington Board of Trade, the Citizens' Associations, the local
chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Washington Housing
Association, and many other District organizations.

Whenever crises of national importance have arisen, we could always
count on the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American
Institute of Architects, the American Institute of Planners, the City
Planning Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers and we have
found the officers of the National Association of Real Estate Boards willing
to lend a hand.

When I outline for you the really impressing record of accomplishment in
the Federal City and surrounding region during the past 16 years, it is with
all humility, as we recognize that little could have been achieved without
enlightened public opinion, expressed through national/ and District
organizations, based on accurate knowledge of existing conditions and
trends. We are all too prone to measure our lack of progress by our failures,
which in all conscience are enough, but we should also be permitted to list
our successes. Our detailed recommendations came from our working
committees.

Our Committee on Architecture, with Horace W. Peaslee as Chairman,
recommended better control of location and design of public and private
buildings, higher standards of architecture, employment of trained archi-
tects, adoption of architects' registration law and establishment of a plan-
ning commission. Accomplishments since that date include the Sbipstead
Act of 7930 by which all structures erected on areas facing public buildings and
parks designated by the Planning Commission must be submitted for approval
to the Commission of Fine Arts which also passes upon the designs of all
public and semi-public structures throughout the District; the passage by
Congress of an Architect's registration act and the passage of the Capper-
Gibson Act of 1926. For 10 years the Architects Advisory Council served to
improve design in the District.

The Committee on Forest and Park Reserves, under the Chairmanship of
Charles F. Consaul, recommended a planning agency, and a coordinated
plan for park extension. The Committee listed for acquisition in the Dis-
trict, the Civil War Forts and Fort Boulevard, the Piney Branch Entrance
to Rock Creek Park, the Klingle Ford Valley, the Patterson Tract, Mt.
Hamilton, the Anacostia marshes, to be improved as a water park, many
forested valleys and springs tributary to Rock Creek and appropriate parks
and playgrounds in the suburbs. For the area outside the District, the
Committee recommended the extension of Rock Creek Park, the acquisition
of land on both sides of the Potomac from Mt. Vernon to Great Falls, areas
in the Sligo Valley and at the head of i6th Street, the Civil War Forts on
the Virginia side of the Potomac, the construction of two park boulevards
between Baltimore and Washington and parkway extensions from the
proposed Arlington Memorial Bridge to Arlington Cemetery, and to the
proposed Mt. Vernon Boulevard and Key Bridge. Accomplishments include
the Capper-Gibson Act; the acquisition of about 73 % of the park system out-

10 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

lined by the Planning Commission with the expenditure of about 52 % oj the
funds authorized under the Capper-Cramton Act; the acquisition of the Civil
War Forts in the District but not the development of the boulevard; acquisition
and development of Piney Branch; the development of an all-too-narrow
Klingle Ford entrance to Rock Creek; the acquisition of the Patterson Tract,
the Shaw Lily Gardens and some of the forested valleys tributary to Rock Creek.
In the area outside of the District, Rock Creek Park has been extended to the
East-West Highway and acquisition and development are under way to Garrett
Park, accomplished through funds advanced by the National Capital Park and
Planning Commission to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning
Commission, as authorized by the Capper-Cramton Act. The Mt. Vernon
Memorial Highway, sponsored by the Bi-centennial Commission, is now
complete. Acquisitions include the old C & Canal, 122 acres at Carderock t
40 acres at Great Falls, 168 acres of the Leiter Estate with a mile and a half
of river frontage, and land opposite the D. C. on the Virginia side of the Key
Bridge. Ft. Foote is acquired and Ft. Washington authorized. Sligo Valley
from Prince Georges line to i6th Street has been acquired. The Washington-
Baltimore Parkway, proposed in the Washington-Baltimore-Annapolis Report
of the Maryland Planning Board, now seems assured, with some of the land
already in public ownership. The connections between the Arlington Memorial
Bridge, Arlington Cemetery, the Mt. Vernon Boulevard are accomplished and
with Key Bridge in course of construction.

The Committee on School Sites and Playgrounds, under the Chair-
manship of Evan H. Tucker, recommended sufficient school sites with
ample playground space; acquisition of sites in advance of population
congestion and extension of playgrounds. It supported the program of the
Board of Education to provide assembly-gymnasia for all elementary
schools of 1 6 rooms, abolition of 19 part-time elementary schools, double
shifts in high schools, 57 over-size classes, 71 portables and 58 rented
buildings. General progress has been made in purchase of sites and erection of
school buildings, though provision still lags behind needs. Portables are now
reduced to 13, rented quarters have been abandoned, part-time elementary
and double-shift high schools are practically eliminated. A considerable part
of the proposed playgrounds has been acquired and the entire plan will be
carried out as funds are available.

The Committee on Housing and Reservations for Future Housing,
under the Chairmanship of John Ihlder, recommended the coordination of
zoning, planning and park development with plans for all future housing
and improvements in standards of construction. Since 1924, the Alley
Dwelling Act of 1934, amended in 1938, the creation of the National Capital
Park and Planning Commission, the enactment of the Capper-Cramton Act,
and the recent amendments to the Zoning Act have implemented agencies
whose work should be coordinated with housing. A new building code under
the auspices of the Washington Building Congress is being drafted. The
Committee listed 6 main objects : Adequate supply of dwellings for families
of moderate or small means, the rehousing of alley dwellers, the protection

A FEDERAL CITY PROGRAM 11

of private residence districts from apartment house invasion, the assurance
that apartment houses will be planned so that one will not injure another,
and the making of surveys and estimates to give guidance to the develop-
ment of resident neighborhoods in the District and nearby areas. In the
1 6 years since 1924 there bos been a large volume of private construction, with
recent tendencies to production of a larger proportion of private bouses of lower
costs, the generally beneficial influence of the guidance of the Federal Housing
Administration's insured loans. The Alley Dwelling Authority bos rehoused
some alley dwellers and the 3,000 dwellings on ten sites now authorized under
the U. S. Housing Authority loans to the Alley Dwelling Authority should
contribute to the low-cost dwellings in the District. Other low-rental accommoda-
tions are to be found in the PWA projects and the Federal Government's Green-
belt. Georgetown bos secured an amendment to the zoning regulations to exclude
apartment bouses from row-bouse districts, and there is indication that other
groups will request the same protection. The Planning Commission has given
some guidance but a comprehensive survey remains to be undertaken.

The Committee on Zoning, with Harry Blake as Chairman, commended
the zoning act and administration, then newly adopted and put into effect.
To bring the measure up to date, an amendment to the zoning act the King-
Palmisano bill, was passed by Congress and approved on June 14, 1938.
Under this act, studies are being conducted upon which to base new zoning
maps and regulations which it is expected will articulate with comprehensive
plans for the District being worked out by the National Capital Park and
Planning Commission.

The Committee on Streets, Highways and Transit, under the Chairman-
ship of Col. Alvin B. Barber, commended the location of the steam railways
and Union Station, but recommended that the two street railway systems
be coordinated and integrated with bus lines. This has been accomplished
in the District as the result of the merger act. The committee recommended a
reconsideration of the Highway Plan of 1898, particularly as it applied to
streets not yet opened, to the end of relating streets to topography. This has
been done in part by the Planning Commission. Detailed recommendations
were made to improve Rock Creek Parkway, extend it south to the Lincoln
Memorial; to separate passenger and freight traffic on arterial highways; to
provide two belt lines, one in connection with the Fort Drive. Rock Creek
Drive has been extended south; on many of the arterial approach bigbways t
passenger and freight traffic have been segregated, the Fort Drive is assured.
The final recommendation that Washington's street, highway and transit
facilities be brought to a balanced development through technical studies
continuously carried out by the proper authorities, has been and is being
carried out by the National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The
gas tax has assured rapid highway development, though parkway development
is backward.

The Committee on the Extension of Metropolitan Washington beyond
the District Line, under the Chairmanship of Wm. T. S. Curtis, now de-
ceased, reiterated many of the recommendations made by the Parks and

12 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

Highway Committees. The Committee stressed the need for boulevard
entrances to Washington and for the then proposed Mount Vernon
Memorial Highway. Most oj its recommendations are accomplished or in
process oj being realized.

The Committee on Waterfront Development, under the Chairmanship
of Frank P. Leetch, recommended a careful survey of the entire harbor by
competent engineers, with due consideration for the physical relationship
of the nearby government reservations and of East Potomac Park. Such
careful studies are under way, as authorized by Congress, under the direction
oj the Chief of Engineers of the U. S. Army. Extensive plans for improvement
have been worked out which have met the approval of Congress and funds have
been authorized for channel harbor improvement over a period of seven years.
Of this, $750,000 has been appropriated to date.

The Committee on Industrial Development and Limitations, under the
Chairmanship of Edwin C. Graham, recommended restrictions against
nuisance or heavy industries, with heavy trucking and hauling incident to
major industrial activities; but recommended encouragement of light
manufacturing, to give diversity of employment in the District. These
recommendations were laid before the proper authorities at the time an abattoir
was proposed, to show that the opposition was not a sporadic sentiment, but
the result of a well-considered policy, long since adopted. At that time more
adequate regulations to protect the District from nuisance industries were
promptly adopted.

In conclusion, I may say that the Committee of 100 on the Federal
City will lay before you a new schedule of aims and objectives, because we
know that a city, like a woman's housework, is never done. But, if you will
visualize Washington as it was in 1923, before the Memorial Bridge and
the Mount Vernon Highway were built, before Highway No. I, both north
and south of Washington, was widened and improved, before Rock Creek
Drive was extended south to the Potomac or north into Maryland, before
1976 acres of parks and playgrounds had been acquired (as has been done
since 1926), before there were any serious plans for the city or region as a
whole, before the public buildings program was under way, before the
Alley Dwelling Authority was created, before any public housing programs
were contemplated, before there was any adequate check on subdivision
layout, before there was any architectural control of private structures
facing public buildings and parks in short before there was a National
Capital Park and Planning Commission, I think that you will agree with
us that if Washington undergoes renovations and improvements between
now and 1956 equal to those achieved between 1924 and 1940, we shall
have overtaken many of the acute problems still existing in the Federal
City and be in a fair way to keep even with the annual needs of the Nation's
Capital and its surrounding territory.

A FEDERAL CITY PROGRAM 13

RECOMMENDATIONS

of the Executive Committee of the

Committee of 100 on the Federal City

of the American Planning and Civic Association

Adopted January, 1940

Presented by COL. ALVIN B. BARBER

Chairman of Committee on Streets, Highways and Transit, of the Committee of 100

on the Federal City

THE Executive Committee of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City
of the American Planning and Civic Association, taking into account
the unrealized parts of its 1924 program and the changes in conditions and
public opinion which in 1940 make additional plans and projects possible
of attainment, presents for consideration a new condensed schedule of aims
and objectives suggested for the coming ten or fifteen years.

It was frankly an experiment in the Act of 1926 to combine the planning
and park purchase and development functions. After fourteen years, we
believe that we may say, on the whole the plan has proved decidedly
advantageous. The same combination is being recommended in some other
cities as a more than commonly effective method of putting park and
recreation plans into effect.

New York has set another precedent in its recent charter provision by
which the Planning Commission is charged with the responsibility of
preparing a capital budget of planning projects. This points the way for
the National Capital Park and Planning Commission to act in this field.
It has long been recognized by planners that plans can be carried out only
if estimates are secured and an order of precedence established. This is the
essence of the capital budget. One step toward this procedure would be
to make sure that as a matter of routine all projects of importance in the
plan of the city be submitted to the National Capital Park and Planning
Commission before these projects have advanced too far to be revised or
reconsidered.

No longer should we regard planning as a method of setting up restric-
tions to prevent officials and citizens from free action; but rather as a means
of positive determination of the pattern of the future, under which sound
plans are devised and practical projects outlined on an economic schedule
which will ensure their realization without undue burden on the tax payers.

We commend the increasingly close relations and interlocking personnel
between the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the District
Commissioners, the Zoning Commission, the new Zoning Advisory Council
and Board of Zoning Adjustment, the Board of Education, the Alley
Dwelling Authority, the National Park Service, the Commission of Fine
Arts, the Supervising Architect's Office, the Chief of Engineers of the U. S.
Army, the Public Roads Administration and other official agencies. For a
planning commission is a central service agency which should prove useful

14 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

to all administrative offices dealing with physical elements in the develop-
ment of the city.

Believing that a planning commission is essentially an agency of ultimate
economy and a highly democratic implement of the people, we recommend
that sufficient funds be supplied the Planning Commission to put the current
city and regional plans, as modified by suggested studies, into graphic form,
so that they can be circulated and understood by the American people in
and out of Washington.

To the end of maintaining Washington as a Federal City which will
uplift the spirits of the citizens of the United States and will provide
pleasant, sanitary and safe living and working quarters for its residents and
visitors, we suggest for the 1940 program the following recommendations:

ARCHITECTURE

In order to obtain better standards of design for private buildings,
adequate for a national capital, and to avoid the chaotic appearance caused
by too great a variety of architecture and lack of architectural control, we
recommend the creation of an Architectural Board which will perform for
private buildings what the Commission of Fine Arts achieves for public
buildings. The old Advisory Council, which for ten years was a free gift
of weekly architectural service from the architectural profession, was
finally abandoned as it became too great a burden on the trained architects.
A new board, with funds and authority, should be created. In view of the
fact that in 1938 only 17% of the executed construction was handled
through registered architects, it is evident that the Architects Registration
law should be amended to provide that plans for private buildings in
Washington be prepared by trained registered architects.

We recommend the early realization of the public building program, not
only to provide the Federal City with creditable public buildings, but to
spread traffic flow over a larger area. The new buildings, generally, are
scheduled to stretch from the Anacostia to the Potomac. This should re-
lieve some of the cross streams of traffic which congest the down-town
district. Moreover, when the projected public buildings are erected, many
private buildings in the business section will be released to private occu-
pancy which is usually less dense than governmental use.

We direct attention to Pennsylvania Avenue, which connects the
Capitol and the White House, and to Sixteenth Street, which forms the
north-and-south axis from the White House, in the hope that some means
may be devised to transform these streets into the distinguished thorough-
fares which they should be. Since the Federal Buildings on the south side
of Pennsylvania Avenue bring the private buildings on the north side
within the operation of the Shipstead Act, any new private buildings or
replacements may be brought into architectural line with the public
improvements.

We commend the Annual Architectural Awards of the Board of Trade

A FEDERAL CITY PROGRAM 15

as one means of improving domestic architecture and the practice of the
Architects Advisory Council of designating "certified" buildings as another
excellent method of focusing public attention on good architecture.

We recommend the close inter-relationship of Federal and District
official agencies to bring about better architectural standards in the Federal
City, and we commend the movement to bring the committees on the
Federal City of the various national professional and lay organizations
into a clearing house to foster the principle that our National Capital
should express in its physical planning and development the highest ideals
and accomplishments of American art.

FOREST AND PARK RESERVES

Since nearly 73 % of the areas included in the official Plan for Parks,
Parkways and Recreation, has been acquired, with the expenditure of
approximately 52 % of the authorized funds under the Capper-Cramton
Act, we recommend the continued acquisition of areas in the plan, with
special attention to the needed in-town tracts. At the same time we
recommend concurrent restudy of park, parkway and playground needs, in
view of changing conditions and population shifts, in order to develop the
plans which should be adopted to supplement present plans.

We recommend the development of Washington's parks and recreation
areas, as they are needed, as rapidly as funds can be secured.

We recommend the completion of the Fort Boulevard for which most of
the land has been acquired.

We recommend continued pressure to realize plans for the George
Washington Memorial Parkway for which 2,000 of the planned 7,000 acres
have already been acquired.

We recommend the development of the planned parkways on lands
acquired for the purpose as rapidly as funds can be made available. We
propose the use of the gas tax, under proper authorization or interpretation,
for the building and maintenance of parkways as well as other thoroughfares.
Parkways are part of the circulatory system of the city and should share
in the use of the gas tax. In some States they do.

We recommend that the National Capital Park and Planning Com-
mission make a special study of the rapidly dwindling areas where natural
scenery is as yet unspoiled, to the end of determining its best use in the
city-wide development of Washington. We recommend a study by the
Planning Commission to discover whether plans should be made for other
types of park areas than the ones included in present plans.

SCHOOL SITES AND PLAYGROUNDS

The continued cooperation between the Board of Education and the
Planning Commission is highly desirable, but it is clear that, while ex-
cellent progress has been made in doing away with unsatisfactory con-
ditions since 1924, the school program has not yet caught up with all of
the recommendations of 16 years ago.

16 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

Every school should be provided with assembly-gymnasia facilities;
school sites should be selected in advance of immediate use to ensure
enough land for buildings and suitable play space; school buildings should
be erected in anticipation of obvious needs before real congestion overtakes
a neighborhood; all old, antiquated and unsanitary 8-room buildings should
be replaced by consolidated 16- and 24-room buildings.

Under plans of the Planning Commission, as early as practicable, super-
vised playground sites should be acquired and developed for use, to the
end that people living in Washington may command properly located
recreation facilities for their children, such as are to be found in other
progressive cities, and that schools shall be located in well-planned neighbor-
hoods served by adequate community facilities.

HOUSING

We recommend careful surveys to develop our housing needs and
equally careful surveys to indicate the proper sites for future housing. At
the present time we have no adequate population density controls for
occupation of the land. We should seek to reduce densities in overcrowded
areas and to prevent overcrowding in newly developed districts.

We congratulate the Alley Dwelling Authority on its slum reclamation
accomplishment by which 14 blocks have been cleared five already re-
developed for housing and five for nonresidential use. We commend the
policy of the Alley Dwelling Authority by which its own housing projects
have been operated on a self-sustaining basis and we approve of the Author-
ity's effort to place the housing projects authorized under loans from the
U. S. Housing Authority as nearly as possible on a self-supporting basis,
awarding the grants from the U. S. Housing Authority under the Wagner
Act only to those who are in need of public assistance.

We should look forward to a day when by concerted planning, zoning
and housing programs, all residents of Washington will be housed in sani-
tary dwellings with adequate light, air and sunshine, arranged in neigh-
borhoods, uncrossed by arterial highways and provided with local parks,
playgrounds, schools, libraries and all other desirable facilities.

ZONING

We recognize the benefits of the recent revision of the zoning act, the
closer relationship set up between the Planning Commission and the
Zoning Commission, and the strain which will be relieved by the creation
of a Board of Zoning Adjustment. We earnestly recommend a program to
retire as rapidly as possible all of the non-conforming uses which were
permitted to continue when the first zoning law went into effect twenty
years ago.

We recommend the setting up of lower density possibilities in the new
zoning districts, the studied reduction of business districts to conform to
the present and reasonable future needs to serve the population; the

A FEDERAL CITY PROGRAM 17

further separation of row-house and apartment house districts, the ex-
tension, where feasible, of single-family districts; the requirement for
adequate free space on all future apartment house sites to provide light
and air on the premises, and the provision in connection with apartment
buildings of adequate parking space for automobiles.

STREETS, HIGHWAYS AND TRANSIT

We recommend the development of East Capitol Street, which, connect-
ing with the Anacostia Parkway, will offer a new approach to Washington.
The continued development of the great sports center at the end of East
Capitol Street should serve further to bring this now neglected street into
great future usefulness. We suggest that a continuation of the Mall from
the Capitol to the Anacostia River, between B Street Southeast and B
Street Northeast would transform this part of East Washington and pro-
vide a monumental parkway approach to the Capitol and particularly fine
sites for the proposed public and semi-public buildings.

We recommend careful restudy of all areas where streets have not been
opened, to make sure that such districts will be developed in the light of the
most modern land-use and street-layout systems.

We recommend a closer coordination between proposed parkways and
highway systems, so that the best use of both may be assured.

We recommend a new effort to develop suitable varieties of street trees
for Washington. We recommend a program for replacing all dead and
dying trees and an extension of tree planting on all residence streets not
now supplied with trees. We suggest adequate annual appropriations for
the care and maintenance of all street trees.

We recommend further study of ways and means for providing adequate
parking spaces for day and night parking of automobiles, to the end of
clearing more street space for moving traffic.

We recommend provision for improved traffic control facilities in
Washington to give traffic, including street cars and buses, better and more
uniform dispatch, thus adding to the carrying capacity of the streets. We
recommend on all streets now inadequately lighted, better lighting and
more legible street signs, as aids to safer and faster moving traffic.

We commend the measures taken for improvement of transit service
since the transit merger, the growing unification of street-car and bus
routes and the provision of the new noiseless and smooth-running street
cars.

RAIL

We recommend new studies of the various possibilities of crossing the
Potomac by rail. A combination highway and rail bridge has been proposed.
The location of a rail bridge farther down the River than the present span
has been discussed. It has even been proposed that a tunnel should be
constructed continuing the present tunnel under the Capitol, and running
under the Potomac River to the Virginia side. Without knowing which,

18 PLANNING AND CIVIC COMMENT

if any, of these proposed solutions is most feasible, we recommend that the
Planning Commission canvass the situation to determine upon the best
plan to take care of the future in a manner appropriate for the Nation's

Capital.

WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT

We approve the request of the River and Harbor Committee of the
Board of Trade that the Chief of Engineers of the U. S. Army, in consul-
tation with the National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the
Commissioners of the District of Columbia, be authorized to survey the
entire waterfronts and waters of the District of Columbia and adjacent
metropolitan areas, with a view of preparing comprehensive plans, estimates
of cost of various projects which will attain a full and coordinated develop-
ment and improvement of the shores and waters at and near the National
Capital.

BILLBOARDS AND SIGNS

The District Commissioners are to be commended for their policy of
strict regulation of billboards in the District. It is particularly gratifying
to note that under the Shipstead Act locations opposite designated public
buildings and parks are rapidly being cleared of billboards by allowing the
billboard companies to erect these boards on private property in other
non-residential locations.

We recommend increasingly drastic regulations for overhead signs, wall
signs and blinking lights, not only for the improved appearance of the city,
but also for the increased safety of its residents and visitors.

NEARBY MARYLAND

We commend the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Com-
mission, the Maryland State Planning Commission, and the Maryland
State Legislature, for the progress made in park extension and planning
and zoning control.

We recommend the completion of the Rock Creek, Anacostia and Cabin
John programs and the extension of the Capper-Cramton principle to other
suburban projects.

We commend the Report of the Maryland State Planning Commission
on the Baltimore- Washington-Annapolis Area and recommend particularly
the development of the proposed Baltimore- Washington Parkway; the
acquisition by the Federal and state governments of some 100,000 acres of
Coastal Plain to serve for forest management, recreation and wildlife
adjustment; the acquisition of stream valley strip parks; better planning
and zoning control in nearby Prince Georges County, and continued prog-
ress in planning and zoning for nearby Montgomery County.

NEARBY VIRGINIA

We commend the Alexandria authorities for the zoning and development
of Washington Street as part of the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway and

A FEDERAL CITY PROGRAM 19

the Fairfax County Planning Commission for the formation of a county
zoning ordinance and map providing for agricultural, forestry, recreation
and low-density residence districts.

We recommend some over-all planning agency, such as a Virginia
National Capital Park and Planning Commission, or some agency of the
Virginia State Planning Commission, to undertake continuous regional
planning in nearby Virginia.

We recommend continued acquisition of the necessary land along the
Potomac to provide for the George Washington Memorial Parkway on the
Virginia side of the River, and ultimately for a parkway connection with
the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We recommend studies to determine whether a parkway might not be
developed between Washington and Richmond.

Committee of 100 on the Federal City

HONORARY ADVISERS

DR. FRANK W. BALLOU

Miss MABEL T. BOARDMAN

DR. GEORGE F. BOWERMAN

HON. ARTHUR CAPPER

WM. M. ELLICOTT

RIGHT REVEREND JAMES E. FREEMAN

COL. U. S. GRANT, SRD, U. S. A.

JOHN M. GRIES

HON. HERBERT HOOVER

CHIEF JUSTICE CHARLES EVANS HUGHES

Miss LEILA MECHLIN
HON. CHARLES MOORE
HON. HENRY MORGENTHAU, JR.
FREDERICK V. MURPHY
FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED
HON. WILLIAM TYLER PAGE
MRS. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
HON. GEORGE OTIS SMITH
REVEREND ANSON PHELPS STOKES
ALEXANDER WETMORE

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

FREDERIC A. DELANO, Chairman

CHARLES F. CONSAUL, Vice-Cbairman

JOSHUA EVANS, JR., Treasurer

JOHN DELAMATER, Secretary

ALVIN B. BARBER FRANK P. LEETCH

CHARLES W. ELIOT, 20 CLAUDE W. OWEN

EDWIN C. GRAHAM THEODORE S. PALMER

JOHN IHLDER HORACE W. PEASLEE

EVAN H. TUCKER

CLARENCE A. ASPINWALL
HENRY P. BLAIR
HARRY BLAKE
ROBERT E. BONDY
E. R. BOYLE
EDSON W. BRIGGS
FREDERICK H. BROOKE
OVID BUTLER
FRANK G. CAMPBELL
APPLETON P. CLARK, JR.
EDWARD F. COLLADAY
GEORGE H. COLLINGWOOD
HON. DWIGHT F. DAVIS
A. J. DRISCOLL
T. HOWARD DUCKETT
WILLIAM PHELPS ENO
FRANCIS F. GILLEN
CHARLES C. GLOVER, JR.
Miss ROSE GREELY
JOHN H. HANNA
ARTHUR H ELLEN
MAJOR A. M. HOLCOMBE
WILLIAM D. HOOVER
BEAUDRIC L. HOWELL
Miss BLANCHE C. HOWLETT
JOHN C. HOYT
STEPHEN JAMES
COLEMAN JENNINGS
PYKE JOHNSON
LOUIS JUSTEMENT
COL. J. MILLER KEN YON
Miss BESSIE J. KIBBEY
DR. ROBERT S. LAMB
MAJOR E. BROOKE LEE

FREDERIC P. LEE

M. W. LEWIS

CHARLES P. LIGHT

ARTHUR MAY

ALLEN B. McDANiEL

MRS. T. H. B. MCKNIGHT

A. C. MOSES

GEORGE L. NICOLSON

THEODORE W. NOYES

C. F. R. OGILBY

WALTER G. PETER

WILLIAM R. PLUM

JOHN POOLE

JOHN A. REMON

COL. DONALD H. SAWYER

LAURENCE F. SCHMECKEBIER

JAMES SHARP

C. MELVIN SHARPE

Miss BELLE SHERWIN

Louis A. SIMON

JOHN H. SMALL, III

DELOS H. SMITH

C. W. STARK

HON. HENRY L. STIMSON

HENRY E. STRINGER

FRANCIS P. SULLIVAN

Miss GRACE LINCOLN TEMPLE

MERLE THORPE

CHARLES H. TOMPKINS

WALLACE H. WALKER

CAPT. CHESTER WELLS, U. S. N., RET.

LLOYD B. WILSON

WADDY B. WOOD

ROBERT H. YOUNG

Plaimind and
Civic Comment

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

CONTENTS

Page

The National Conference on Planning ...

National Arboretum Progressing

Editorial Comment . .

I Newton B. Drury becomes Director of the National Park Service 7

Zoning Round Table: Variances ......

Hetch Hetchy and the ACA

Congressional Record Reprints P&CC Article

Strictly Personal .13

Watch Service Report

Planning Courses Make Wider Appeal . .16

For Better Roadsides

Thirtieth Anniversary Meeting of the Commission of Fine

Arts

Planning and Zoning Discussed .19

Eight-Day Meeting of Commission on Resources and

Education

Resources and Education Workshops . .22

Notes on National Resources Planning Board .23

A Tribute to Thomas Adams ,24

State Park Notes .26

Highlights of the 1940 National Conference on State Parks . 29
Moonbow Inn's Melodramatic Escape .

Book Reviews .34

Recent Publications . . .35

APRIL -JUNE 194O

PLANNING AND
CIVIC COMMENT

Published Quarterly
Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

Official Organ of: American Planning and Civic Association,
National Conference on State Parks

SCOPE: National, State, Regional and City Planning; Land and Water Uses;

Conservation oj National Resources; National, Stale and Local Parks,

Highways and Roadsides.
AIM: To create a better physical environment which will conserve and develop

the health, happiness and culture of the American people.

EDITORIAL BOARD

HARLEAN JAMES FLAVEL SHURTLEFF CHARLES G. SAUERS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

FREDERICK J. ADAMS
HORACE M. ALBRIGHT
HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW
EDWARD M. BASSETT
RICHARD E. BISHOP
RUSSELL V. BLACK
PAUL V. BROWN
STRUTHERS BURT
HAROLD S. BUTTENHEIM
ARNO B. CAMMERER
MARSHALL N. DANA
S. R. DEBOER
EARLE S. DRAPER
NEWTON B. DRURY
CHARLES W. ELIOT 2o
L. C. GRAY
S. HERBERT HARE
ELISABETH M. HERLIHY

HENRY V. HUBBARD
JOHN IHLDER
GEORGE INGALLS
RAYMOND F. LEONARD
RICHARD LIEBER
THOMAS H. MACDONALD
ROBERTS MANN
J. HORACE MCFARLAND
HENRY T. MC!NTOSH
KATHERINE MCNAMARA
HAROLD MERRILL
MARVIN C. NICHOLS
JOHN NOLEN, JR.
F. A. PITKIN
ISABELLE F. STORY
L. DEMING TILTON
TOM WALLACE
CONRAD L. WIRTH

MANAGING EDITOR

DORA A. PADGETT

$3.00 a Year

Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Washington, D. C., under
the Act of March 3, 1879. Additional entry at Harrisburg, Pa.

EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATION OFFICE: 901 Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C.

Printed by the Mount Pleasant Press, J. Horace McFarland Company, Harris-
burg, Pa.

Planning and Civic Comment

Vol. 6 April -June, 1940 No. 2

The National Conference on Planning

July 8-11, 1940
San Francisco, Fairmont Hotel

Participating Organizations:

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNERS
AMERICAN PLANNING AND Civic ASSOCIATION
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLANNING OFFICIALS
NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION

Subjects to be Discussed:

Planning the Use of Our Resources, Public Education for Planning,
County Planning, Migration and Resettlement of the People, Highways
and Transportation in Relation to Each Other and to Other Planned
Development, Zoning: How Far Have We Come? How Far Can We Go?,
San Francisco as Seen from New York, National Industrial Development:
The Pacific Northwest; the South; New England, What is Happening to
Our Central Business Districts?, Architectural and Roadside Control, A
Program for the Use of Tax-Abandoned Lands, City and Neighborhood
Planning for Successful Housing, The Nature of Planning in a Democracy,
Using the Nation's Resources.

July 13, 1940
Los Angeles Conference and Field Trip

At 12:30 P.M. on Monday, July 8, the Annual Members' Meeting of
the American Planning and Civic Association will be held at the Fairmont
Hotel in San Francisco. Mr. Ben H. Kizer, Chairman of the Spokane City
Plan Commission, will speak on "Popularizing City Planning." A brief
report on the state of the Association, the election of six members of
the Board of Directors, and the ratification of the slight change in the
Constitution as announced in the Jan.-Mar., 1940 PLANNING AND Civic
COMMENT, will be the order of business.

National Arboretum Progressing*

By FREDERIC A. DELANO, Chairman, Advisory Council of the
National Arboretum

The location of an arboretum in
a national capital suggests various
distinctions and excellences that
might not be so keenly expected of
other arboreta. These characteris-
tics must be looked for in relation
to the city where it lies and to the
public that it is to serve. Washing-
tonians are justifiably proud of the
study that has gone into their city
plan and are interested also in the
care with which that plan is being
correlated to the Metropolitan Area
as a whole and the flow of traffic
that passes through or about the
city from our neighbor States. Both
of these things affect the National
Arboretum, which is located within
the District, but far enough away
from its center that it need not
suffer from metropolitan congestion.

One great stream of motor traffic
passes its boundaries on the west, a
line of railroad traffic flows past it
on the north, a great projected
parkway lies to the east, with the
Anacostia River flowing through it.
Eventually M street, which bounds
it on the south, will carry another
artery of traffic, and an avenue
coming up from the Capitol itself
will impinge upon this border. The
initial area allocated to the ar-
boretum lies, therefore, like a serene
and peaceful island, easily reached
from all directions, but not dis-
turbed by the business of the passing
world. As one stands in the
arboretum on Hickory Hill and

looks west across the valley toward
Mount Hamilton, only the sound
of distant traffic reminds one that
the city is near.

Slowly there is emerging in this
island where the botanist and
forester will go to study, the geneti-
cist to make his cross pollinations,
the horticulturist to learn plant ma-
terials, the amateur gardener to
study for his own personal garden
problems and the general public to
enjoy the wonders of nature, a sys-
tem of walks, paths and roadways
that will make every portion of the
area quickly accessible in emergency
and slowly available to the visitor
who must abandon all ideas of speed
here or else belie his intentions!

Of the original projected area
little remains to be acquired. Several
small gardens, lawns, pastures and
meadows are now all consolidated
representing small wooded areas.
Great fields have been carefully
studied and drained where need be
and enriched year by year with crops
of rye and clover in winter and cow-
peas in summer. Woodlots which
had had no care for years have been
freed from mountains of honey-
suckle, endless briers, excessive
growth of wild cherry and locust and
finally cleared of dead trees and in-
jured specimens. Through the
marshy spots now runs a clear
stream and in the wet valley are
three ponds, in two of which this
year waterlilies will unfold and

*Reprinted from the Washington, D. C., Sunday Star, June 10, 1940.

Planning and Civic Comment

reflect the beauties of the waterlily
gardens incorporated in the National
Park System across the Anacostia
valley.

There are as yet no buildings to
meet the permanent future needs of
this arboretum. The permanent
buildings will be located at various
points in the property according to
their uses, the administration build-
ing and herbarium on a knoll over-
looking the Baltimore pike, service
buildings on the north property
lines, a superintendent's group near
M street at Twenty-eighth street.
Today we have only the buildings of
the CCC, with the small office
where all visitors must report, the
necessary shops and sheds and some
temporary greenhouses where there
are now growing nearly 30,000 hy-
brid azaleas to join the thousands
already in the nursery. All these
together will one day make an
azalea display that will equal those
of our South and create one more
stop for the winter pilgrims re-
turning home in the spring. And
since most azaleas flower when
dogwood is at its best, the future
panorama startles even the imagi-
nation.

From these simple greenhouses
and frames it is no great step to
the nurseries, where row after row
of small plants are developing under
local conditions. To these have been
added during the last few months
large collections of Philadelphus
(mock orange), weigelas, deutzias
and cydonias. These last, varia-
tions from the well-known flowering
quince, have been given great atten-
tion of late and many fine new
varieties have recently been named
and introduced.

A group of over 50 Sargent cher-
ries were transferred to the arbore-
tum this year from the United
States Plant Introduction Garden at
Glenn Dale, Md. This uncommon
flowering cherry from Northern
Japan, named for the late Prof.
Sargent of Arnold Arboretum fame,
is slow to develop but makes a far
larger tree than most of the flower-
ing cherries and is as handsome in
the autumn leaf colorations as it is
in the spring with its masses of pale
pink single flowers.

On their way to the arboretum
are a group of California big trees,
small plants but with wonderful
possibilities. It is hoped to have
a comparable grove of Cunning-
hamias, another evergreen tree
somewhat uncommon here, though
beautifully grown in some of our
Gulf States. From some of the
thousands of Japanese yew seed-
lings it is hoped enough treelike
forms will be found to make possi-
ble a grove of that type.

The question is often asked as to
whether it will not be possible in
this arboretum to show off the value
of ecological plant associations.
Doubtless much may be accom-
plished along this line, but this is
not the major purpose of the arbo-
retum here and probably involves
too great and too constant an outlay
of money for successful mainte-
nance.

At the moment it seems wisest to
plan the arboretum in such a way
that emphasis will fall upon three
or four major effects and scenic
displays and to correlate all the
necessary botanical groups in such
a way that they will grow well but
not dominate the scene.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Planning Board a National Asset
in the Present Crisis

The United States of America has
to an extent unknown before in the
history of civilization conferred on
its citizens the blessings of life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
During the hundred and fifty-odd
years of the Republic there has con-
currently developed the greatest ex-
pansion of science and invention
which the world has ever known.

Today we look across the seas and
observe with sorrow that millions of
people have lost these very liberties
for which we once fought; we see
the power of science and invention
put to infamous warfare rather than
to individual well-being. We must
realize that the guarantees of free-
dom from despotic power which we
have so lightly taken for granted are
threatened by techniques of science
and industry in the hands of those
who are not controlled by human-
itarian motives.

But we need to avoid hysteria
and ill-formed policies. In the last
war we sometimes needlessly sacri-

ficed natural resources. If we be-
lieve that in the end we shall escape
the scourge of ruthless machine
force, we may well consider the long-
term planning for wise use of our
natural resources and techniques, as
well as the immediate demands.

We are fortunate that we have a
National Resources Planning Board,
which, under various names, for
more than seven years has been
studying our resources natural and
technical for the highest human
use. This Board is now in a position
to render to the President and to
the Congress an incalculable service
one which could not possibly be
duplicated in a few months, no
matter how great the pressure. The
Board has fostered State Planning
Boards. Many of these have in-
ventoried their resources in great
detail. The body of information
gathered by the National and State
Planning Boards can be used in
mobilizing our military, naval, air,
economic and social defenses.

A Rededication of American Citizenship

The American Planning and Civic
Association, dedicated to "the edu-
cation of the American people to an
understanding and appreciation of:
local, state, regional and national
planning for the best use of urban
and rural land, water and other
natural resources; the safeguarding

and planned use of local and national
parks; the conservation of natural
scenery; the advancement of higher
ideals of civic life and beauty in
America; the improvement of liv-
ing conditions; and the fostering
of wider educational facilities in
schools and colleges along these

Planning and Civic Comment

lines, 5 ' has before it a very grave
task.

The philosophy, the ingenuity
and the natural resources of the
American people, now that the
physical frontiers have been mas-
tered, have conspired to give an ease
of living which has in turn con-
tributed to a growing softness of
fibre and even, at times, to a laxness
of physical and moral stamina. A
cheerful, wasteful, happy-go-lucky
people we have become, only oc-
casionally discouraged by unwel-
come "depressions" which impinged
upon our prosperity.

The times which we are facing
will require sacrifice of some of our
material ease if we are to salvage
the essence of our Republic. We

need a revival of citizenship respon-
sibility, a new dedication of citizens
to see to it that from the smallest
village to the largest city, in every
State in the Union, government
shall make the utmost use of tech-
nical ability, without regard to
party patronage or personal friend-
ships, in the interests of the Nation.
If we are to be put to the supreme
test of defending our country against
invasion, we cannot {>e handicapped
by careless citizens who refuse to
keep a watchful eye on their govern-
mental representatives, who fail to
exercise the privilege of voting, and
who allow public office to fall into
the hands of those who are ignorant,
untrained or selfish. Any mobiliza-
tion short of this will lead to disaster.

Enter the Educators

The Commission on Resources
and Education, composed of edu-
cators, which has recently been
meeting at Reed College with re-
sources and planning consultants,
is marking a new phase in education.
Through the principal organiza-
tions dealing with teachers, this
Commission is seeking ways and
means to bring into the schools
knowledge of what the United
States is actually doing to conserve
and restore its natural resources.
This is a significant movement, for
who can suppose that students who
have been made familiar with soil
and water conservation in practice,
with the preservation of forest cover,
with selective cutting and other
modern methods of ensuring forest

crops for the future, with the pro-
tection from commercial exploita-
tion of the finest of soul-stirring
native landscape, with the conserva-
tion of the remnant of wildlife once
found in America who can suppose
that the citizens which the students
will become will not act according
to the teaching of the schools?

The Commission, in addition to
promoting its constructive program
for the long future, may find itself
in a strategic position to help
teachers and students alike to meet
the current confusion of helter-
skelter thinking with the calmness
which comes of knowing the dangers
within and without with which we
are beset and the plans for over-
coming them.

Arno B. Cammerer, a Personal Tribute

By HORACE M. ALBRIGHT

Arno B. Cammerer and I worked
together in the Park Service from
1919, when he came into the Service
at Stephen T. Mather's request,
until 1933 when I resigned as Di-
rector and he succeeded me. We
were together under the leadership
and inspiration of Mather, who was
the first Director of the National
Park Service, until his death in
1929. When in that year I was ap-
pointed to fill the post left vacant
by Mr. Mather's death, I had the
able support of Cammerer, a career
man in Government service, as my
Associate Director, adviser and
trusted friend. And so it was during
the next four years of our work to-
gether. Thus, we had served through
fourteen of the pioneering years
during which the policies and tradi-
tions of the National Park Service
were being formulated.

From these facts, I think I can
say that I know Cam and his worth.
Whether he was engaged in a major
activity, such as his leadership in

the establishment of the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park,
or was concerned with the every-
day routine of office, his counsel and
contribution were at all times
human, considerate, and effective.
When he took over the Directorship
of the National Park Service, the
organization was entering upon a
much wider conservation program.
The duties of the Director were
literally trebled. While, under these
circumstances, it was no longer pos-
sible for him to spend as much time
in the field as Mather and I had
previously done, the responsibility
of coordinating the growing program
and of directing it into channels of
permanent value was a task of great-
ness. It is my belief that that was
effectively achieved, and that the
enduring value of the national park
program while Mr. Cammerer was
Director will mark that period as
one of the greatest in national park
history.

Outdoor Cleanliness Association Organized

A movement to improve the
sanitation and cleanliness of Wash-
ington streets resulted in the organi-
zation in June of a new local associa-
tion to be called the Outdoor Clean-
liness Association. Its purposes will
be to create and foster interest and
cooperation among associations, or-
ganizations and citizens in the
improvement of cleanliness in the
District; to interest the public in

such improvement and to assist the
city authorities to maintain clean-
liness by suitable methods. This
organized action is considered the
first step in a great movement to
improve the appearance of the
city.

Dr. Harry A. Garfield, with other
civic leaders, has been active in
arousing public interest in the for-
mation of this association.

Newton B. Drury Becomes Director of the
National Park Service

The selection of Newton B. Drury
of California for the post of Director
of the National Park Service was
announced on June 19th by Secre-
tary of the Interior Ickes, following
receipt of a request from Arno B.
Cammerer that he be relieved of
those duties for reasons of health.

Mr. Cammerer will remain with
the National Park Service and be
appointed to a high staff position,
which will give the Government the
benefit of his service and continuing
advice without imposing upon him
the rigorous executive duties of
Director of the Service.

His successor as Director is a
/esident of Berkeley, California, and
since 1919 he has been a leader in
that State of the movement to con-
serve and develop unusual areas for
park purposes. A classmate of Mr.
Albright, he is a graduate, class of
1912, and former faculty member of
the University of California and a
veteran of the World War Air Ser-
vice. He has served as secretary of
the Save-the-Redwoods League and
as land acquisition officer for the
California State Park Commission.

Mr. Drury has served as a mem-
ber of the Board of Directors of the
National Conference on State Parks
since 1938 and attended the recent
Indiana-Illinois Conference.

In his letter of resignation to
Secretary Ickes, Mr. Cammerer
wrote: "I entered the Federal Ser-
vice in 1904. I entered the National
Park Service on July 5, 1919 as As-
sistant Director, on direct request

of former Director Stephen T.
Mather and Secretary Franklin K.
Lane. That position then ranked
next to the Director ... I have
never regretted the step that I took,
for I have considered the sense of
accomplishment and working in
that great field of conservation as
adequate compensations for the
arduous duties and sacrifice of
leisure time involved."

In May of last year Mr. Cam-
merer suffered a collapse which
forced him to bed for several
months. He made a slow but satis-
factory recovery but has now de-
cided that the continuing strain on
his strength and reserve energies are
such as to jeopardize the gains in
strength which he has made and
must maintain, especially during
the coming year.

The Secretary's letter of accept-
ance of Mr. Cammerer's resignation
stated: "Your thirty-six years of
service to your Government in vari-
ous capacities also is worthy of note
as an example of true career service,
but perhaps your most outstanding
achievements were the creation of
the Great Smokies National Park
and the Shenandoah National
Park."

The Association's best wishes go
to both Mr. Cammerer and Mr.
Drury in their new duties. Mr.
Drury becomes the fourth to serve
as Director of the Service established
in 1916, his predecessors being
Stephen T. Mather, Horace M.
Albright, and Arno B. Cammerer.

Zoning Round Table

Conducted by EDWARD M. BASSETT

VARIANCES

I WANT to talk about variances
with members of boards of
appeals regardless of what state
they are in. How hard it is to
make head or tail of the provisions
of zoning enabling acts and ordi-
nances when it comes to this
subject! Members often blame
themselves when it is the enabling

act and ordinance that are so con-
fused as to be non-understandable.
It has occurred to me that a
statement of the underlying inten-
tions would be helpful. I shall try
to make it simple, cutting out
many of the trimmings and ex-
crescences that have crept into
the laws.

Special Exceptions in Print

Those who worked on the words
in the early days perceived that the
fixed rules governing zoning dis-
tricts would be arbitrary in ex-
ceptional cases and that the courts
would set them aside or else throw
down the whole structure of zoning.
The New York City workers, and
later the Washington workers, saw
that every local ordinance could
properly provide exceptional fields
where the discretionary board could,
in printed instances, provide alter-
native treatment that would be
comparatively harmless. For in-
stance, in an outlying vacant resi-
dence district that might not be
built up for a dozen years, it was
evident that a two-year temporary
permit to allow the owner of a
sand hill to make cement building
blocks, would not hurt the future of
the district and would afford the
owner a sensible use of his land to
earn some money to pay taxes and
help build up the locality. If there
had been no provision for such a
temporary permit the court would,

in those early days, surely have
declared that the law was too
arbitrary and therefore void. It was
seen that these specified fields for
exceptions must be authorized in the
state enabling act, otherwise the
municipality would have no power
to make them effective. The New
York City zoning enabling act, an
amendment to the city charter,
provided near the beginning that
the Board of Estimate, when it
made an ordinance, might print in
the ordinance the situations where
the Board of Appeals might deter-
mine and vary the special applica-
tion of the rules in harmony with
their general purpose and intent;
and in accordance with general or
specific rules therein contained.
This was the first clause in this
country to provide for these printed
special exceptions. All later state
enabling acts inserted such a clause.
I am using the word "printed" to
make it plain that we are talking
about special fields or items that
are printed in the zoning ordinance.

Planning and Civic Comment

Different municipalities will print
different fields of exceptions. A
mining town will not need the same
ones as a fishing village. An in-
dustrial city will not need the same
as a suburban village. But wher-
ever the council directs the board
of appeals to say yes or no it must
be printed in this list of special
exceptions. In New York City not
only were two-year temporary per-
mits printed but garages in business
streets where there was already one
garage between two intersecting
streets, also the 80% consent garage
in a prohibited district, also the

permitted extension of a new build-
ing into a prohibited district. It is
impossible to name all these printed
special exceptions that are inserted
in the various ordinances of the
country. But if we find a printed
statement in the ordinance describ-
ing a special field subject to the board
of appeals, you may be sure that you
need go no further. If the variance
can be made with fairness and in com-
pliance with the printing it will be as
solid as a rock. Put tLese variances
in a bag and mark them special ex-
ceptions. They are a different sort
of variance from those that follow.

Hardship

It was evident to these early
framers of zoning that exceptions
printed in ordinances did not alone
fill the bill. Perhaps the English
language could cover twenty or
thirty desired exceptions but that
was not a drop in the bucket to the
variances that might be needed in
the case of practical difficulty and
unnecessary hardship. Quite apart
from the printed enumeration of
special exceptions there must be
some provision for the ameliorating
determinations of the board of
appeals in cases of practical dif-
ficulty and unnecessary hardship.
Who can describe them all? Some
zoners have attempted to describe
them but they have always failed.
I suspect that there are some mil-
lions of them. They are the multi-
tudinous exceptions that sensible
government must take care of in a
regulatory law like zoning. For
instance, in New York City the
great Western Union building cov-
ered a half block at Broadway and

Fulton Street. It had been designed
so that the northerly complementary
half might be built later. In the
meantime the building zone resolu-
tion was passed requiring setbacks
above certain heights. If the north-
erly half were made with setbacks
it would spoil the entire structure.
A variance was made by the Board
of Appeals so that the northerly
half might complete an architec-
tural unit. This was done on the
grounds of practical difficulty and
unnecessary hardship. How could
the printed ordinance provide for
all situations of this sort? Some-
times part of the required open
space can well be distributed
through yards in different locations.
Sometimes the construction can be
varied without hurt to anybody
and yet allow it to suit the owner
and architect. Sometimes next to
lawful non-conforming buildings it
is desirable to construct a modified
building. The words "practical
difficulty and unnecessary hard-

Planning and Civic Comment

ship" were selected to embrace all
these thousand and one ameliora-
tions. They do not need to be
described any further. The enab-
ling act states that an appeal can
always be taken from the deter-
mination of the building com-
missioner wherever there is prac-
tical difficulty or unnecessary hard-
ship. It is not even necessary to

say anything about this in the
zoning ordinance. If it is in the
zoning enabling act, that is enough.
The board of appeals, when an
appeal comes before it on the
grounds of practical difficulty and
unnecessary hardship, has the power
to make an adjustment that will
be sensible under all the circum-
stances.

Conclusion

It should be noticed that special
exceptions must be printed in the
ordinance. Appeals on the grounds
of hardship can be taken from any
determination of the building com-
missioner. Keep in mind the two
bags, one for special exceptions
and the other for hardship. They
are entirely separate and distinct.
I have been trying for twenty years
at conference round tables and
elsewhere to put over this dis-
tinction. I have succeeded badly.

A simple way to look at it is
this: if it is a special exception
look at the print in the ordinance;
if it is a case of hardship look
at the enabling act to see the re-

quirements for your determina-
tion.

Do not allow yourself to be
confused because your ordinance
has mixed up these two bags.
Sometimes provisions for hardship
have spilled over into the print for
special exceptions. All you need to
do is to turn back to the state
enabling act and you will find the
basic provisions for hardship. The
ordinance cannot add or subtract
anything to or from these provisions
in the basic law.

These two sorts of variances are
handled differently by the courts.
If you do not make them right, they
will come back to hurt.

House & Garden Issues a Washington Number in July

As a part of its series of "Intro-
ductions to America," House &
Garden will publish in July an entire
issue devoted to Washington, the
Nation's Capital, featuring full color
photographs of the interiors of the
White House, Arlington and Mount
Vernon. The issue will consist of
two complete, separately bound
volumes. Section I will tell the story
of the Federal City, Section II will

highlight the Capital's homes. In
addition to the exclusive color illus-
trations, there will be rare prints
and engravings of the early city and
striking views of modern landmarks.
Months of research have gone into
the preparation of the Washington
issue.

Harlean James has contributed
an article on low-cost housing in the
Nation's Capital.

Hetch Hetchy and the A. C. A.

By J. HORACE McFARLAND

IT WAS the Sierra Club of San
Francisco which interested the
American Civic Association in
what amounted to an attempt to
turn nearly half of the Yosemite
National Park into uncertain uses
of the city of San Francisco. As the
President of that time, I attended
many conferences in Washington,
including hearings and lively scraps
before the various Interior secre-
taries, who were bombarded by San
Francisco. Some of the history is
hardly fit to print, including the
story of a five-hour conference with
Mayor McCarthy, who was in
Washington to drive the thing
through.

John Muir entered into the pic-
ture with an impassioned plea to
Secretary Garfield w r hich was writ-
ten somewhere in the Yosemite on a
piece of brown wrapping-paper and
sent on to me for transmittal.

Our own investigations indicated
that San Francisco could get water
vastly cheaper and closer by filtra-
tion, and that the use of the Tuol-
umne river was not necessary or
desirable. At that time Marsden
Manson was the San Francisco engi-
neer who was the major proponent.
At the first National Park Confer-
ence of wide reach, held in the Yel-
lowstone Park under Secretary
Fisher, Mr. Manson offered to take
the Secretary and myself to the
Hetch Hetchy to prove his case. I
declined to go save under Park
auspices, and as at that time the
War Department was in charge of
the Yosemite, that was arranged.

We gathered, consequently, at El
Portal, and toured the vicinity on
horseback for three dusty and dif-
ficult days. The first night we
camped in the Hetch Hetchy Valley,
then fully realizing its majestic
beauty, since completely flooded
out. Mr. Fisher set up a contest
around the campfiref between Mr.
Manson and myself as to the rights
and wrongs of the situation.

The next day we went to Lake
Eleanor, one of the supplementary
situations. With me was Robert
Marshall, then Chief Topographer
of the Geological Survey, who had
mapped the Yosemite, and we were
almost alone in insisting that the
Hetch Hetchy should be retained
undesecrated as part of the Yosemite.

There were later hearings in
Washington which brought out the
water supply facts, but eventually
the decision went to San Francisco
under conditions of political pressure
which surely are not "fit to print."

It was then predicted that it
would be a long time before San
Francisco got water. The power
side of the picture was kept subdued.
As brought out now it was the major
part of San Francisco's desires. The
cost of the work was immensely
beyond the estimates first submit-
ted, and the time taken to get usable
water was delayed for many years.
Constantly I had to remember what
Mayor McCarthy said to me with
respect to his interest in the matter,
which was expressed in one sentence:
"All I have in this job is $10 a day
for pick and shovel."

Planning and Civic Comment

As I see it now, the whole thing
was an expensive and sorrowful
mistake, and the predictions of the
Sierra Club have all been justified
as to expense, delay and inadequacy.
What Secretary Ickes is doing is
obviously the sensible thing at this
time. The majesty and beauty of
the Hetch Hetchy Valley about
which John Muir wrote is gone. It
is somewhat of a satisfaction for us
to be able to say "I told you so!"

EDITOR'S NOTE On April 23, 1940,
in a release from the Department of the
Interior, Secretary Ickes assured the
people of San Francisco of his readiness to
cooperate in the consideration of new
plans for the distribution of municipal
electric power to consumers in place of
the present sale by the Pacific Gas & Elec-
tric Company which had been declared

invalid by an opinion of the Supreme
Court of the United States delivered on
April 22, 1940 in the historic Hetch Hetchy
case. (See Jan.-Mar. 1940 PLANNING
AND Civic COMMENT, p. 22.) In its final
decision, the Supreme Court upheld the
position of the Government in the litiga-
tion and reversed the findings of the
Circuit Court of Appeals in California,
and affirmed the action of Judge Roche in
the District Court, at the same time
remanding the case to the District Court
for effectuation of the injunction originally
issued by Judge Roche on June 28, 1938,
when he enjoined the City and County of
San Francisco from disposing of the power
to the Company. In connection with its
release on the Supreme Court's decision,
the Department has issued an interesting
chronology of the History of the Hetch
Hetchy Case, which had its inception in
1906. We have asked Dr. McFarland to
write the foregoing comment on Hetch
Hetchy to recall the activity of the former
American Civic Association in connection
with this case.

Congressional Record Reprints P & C C Article

Hon. Bertrand W. Gearhart of
California, author of the bill to
create the Kings Canyon National
Park, inserted in the May $oth
Congressional Record-Appendix the
complete article "Fifty- Year Fight
for Kings Canyon National Park
Won" which was published in the
Jan.-Mar. 1940 Planning and Civic
Comment.

In asking consent of the member-
ship of the House of Representatives
to reprint this article, Mr. Gearhart
said:

Mr. Speaker, the enactment of my bill
for the creation of the Kings Canyon
National Park in California culminated in
victory, a legislative fight which had its
beginning in 1881 when Senator John F.
Miller, of California, introduced the first
bill to accomplish this end so devoutly
wished for through all of the intervening
years by all true nature lovers and moun-
tain conservationists.

As incomprehensive as it is strange, the
disinterested efforts of naturalists and

mountain lovers to confer national-park
status upon this unprotected area has met
with unyielding opposition down through
the years from partisans of other adminis-
trative agencies and would-be exploiters of
the public domain. Because of the nature
of the opposition, the length to which they
were prepared to go, and did go, in their
endeavors to block this most worthy
legislative move, the final enactment of
the legislation will ever be to me an inci-
dent in my legislative career which I will
recall with gratitude to those who have
assisted me throughout the long-drawn-out
legislative contest.

It is with pardonable pride that I ask
consent of the membership of this body
that an article entitled, "Fifty- Year Fight
for Kings Canyon National Park Won,"
which appeared in the January-March
1940 issue of Planning and Civic Comment
magazine be spread upon the pages of the
Congressional Record. The article, though
short, contains much that will be of
historical value in the days to come.

The unanimous consent of the member-
ship of the House of Representatives being
indicated, the article which has been
referred to follows:

(There follows the full text of the
article.)

Strictly Personal

Dr. J. Horace McFarland, presi-
dent emeritus of the American Rose
Society, celebrates in the American
Rose Annual of 1940, the silver an-
niversary of this publication, of
which he is editor.

Georgia wildlife and for fishermen,
hunters, nature lovers and conserva-
tionists. Charles N. Elliott, com-
missioner of the Georgia Depart-
ment of Natural Resources, is
editor.

George H. CoIIingwood, former
forester of the American Forestry
Association for many years, became
chief forester on April i5th for the
National Lumber Manufacturers
Association.

Harlean James has an article in
the May Bulletin of the Garden Club
of America entitled, "Some of the
Things to be Seen in the National
Parks."

Katherine McNamara, Librarian
of the Departments of Landscape
Architecture and Regional Plan-
ning, Harvard University, who com-
piles the list of Recent Publications
for each issue of Planning and Civic
Comment, was elected to correspond-
ing membership in the American
Society of Landscape Architects in
recognition of her notable contribu-
tion of the advancement and knowl-
edge of the profession in both land-
scape architecture and the broader
phases of planning.

Outdoor Georgia is a new monthly
publication issued in the interest of

Paul P. Cret, distiriguished archi-
tect, has become a member of the
National Commission of Fine Arts
to serve for four years.

Tom Wallace was elected presi-
dent of the American Society of
Newspaper Editors at the spring
meeting in Washington.

Mrs. Edward W. Biddle is the
oldest living graduate of Wilson
College. Her many civic activities
and achievements will be the sub-
ject of a biographical article soon to
be published in the Wilson Alumnae
Quarterly.

Earle S. Draper, Director, De-
partment of Regional Planning
Studies, Tennessee Valley Authority,
delivered an address on April 22,
before the southeastern meeting of
the American Automobile Asso-
ciation at Knoxville on "Recrea-
tional Opportunities in the Ten-
nessee Valley." This paper was re-
printed in the Congressional Record,
and copies have been distributed to
the members of the APCA and
NCSP.

Watch Service Report

National Parks

H. R. 6975 (O'Connor) introduced June 23, 1939. To provide for the reconveyance
to the State of Montana of a portion of the land in such State within the boundaries of
the Yellowstone National Park. This bill was withdrawn on April 19 and at the request
of Mr. O'Connor it was stricken from the calendar of the House. In withdrawing the
bill, Mr. O'Connor stated that "by reason of changed conditions" he did not desire
that the bill be passed. This bill had been favorably reported by the Public Lands Com-
mittee over an adverse report by the Department of the Interior. (See statement on
this bill in Watch Service Report, Jan.-Mar. issue of PLANNING AND Civic COMMENT,
p. 21.)

H. R. 9394 (Flannagan) introduced April 15, 1940. To provide for the establishment
of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and the Cumberland National Recrea-
tional Area in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. Reported from Committee on Public
Lands on April 17; passed House on May 6; passed Senate on May 29. As enacted, the
bill now provides for the establishment of a park only.

H. R. 9535 (Robinson) introduced April 25, 1940. To authorize the participation of
States in certain revenues from national parks, national monuments, and other areas
under the administrative jurisdiction of the National Park Service. Reported favorably
from the Committee on Public Lands May 10, 1940.

H. R. 8788 (Randolph) introduced March 6, 1940. To provide for the creation of
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in the States of West Virginia, Maryland and
Virginia. The establishment of this area as a national historical park would bring into
the system an area which was associated with the origin and progress of the War between
the States. Founded in 1747 by Robert Harper, Harpers Ferry was designated in 1794
as the site of a national arsenal and armory. The best known event in the history of the
town was John Brown's Raid which resulted in the seizure of the Arsenal. Located on
steep heights at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, the area about
Harpers Ferry was a point of great strategic significance and from the eminence of
Maryland Heights can be grasped at a glance the grand strategy of the Virginia theater
of war and Lee's two invasions of the North. No action on the bill to date.

H. R. 9718 (Bland) introduced May 9, 1940. To provide for the establishment of
the Rehoboth-Assateague National Seashore in the States of Delaware, Maryland and
Virginia. No action.

H. R. 9720 (DeRouen) introduced May 9, 1940. To provide for the establishment of
the Tensas Swamp National Park. No action.

S. 1759 (Wheeler) introduced March 9, 1939. Granting the consent of Congress to
the States of Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming to negotiate and enter into a
compact or agreement for the division of the waters of the Yellowstone River. This bill
contains the provision that nothing in the legislation shall apply to any waters within
or tributary to the Yellowstone National Park, or shall establish any right or interest in
or to any lands within the boundaries thereof. An amendment includes South Dakota
as one of the participating States. Passed House March 18, 1940; passed Senate May 4,
!939- Conferee Report agreed upon June 6, 1940.

5.3840 H. R. 9555 (Mead-Keogh) introduced April 24 and 26, 1940. To provide
for the establishment of the Adirondack National Recreational Area in the State of
New York. No action.

H. R. 3648 (DeRouen) introduced Feb. 2, 1930. To authorize the setting apart and
preservation of wilderness areas in national parks and national monuments. Hearing
was held on April 2 before the Committee on Public Lands but no vote was taken to
report it out of Committee.

Public Roads

H. R. 9575 (Cartwright) introduced April 29, 1940. To amend the Federal Aid Act.
Reported from Committee on Roads May i. Authorizes construction of roads in national
park areas and construction of parkways to give access to national parks and national
monuments or to become connecting sections of a national parkway plan. It also pro-

Planning and Civic Comment

vides for the amendment of subsection C of section I of the Federal Aid Highway Act
of 1938 to read as follows:

Hereafter the construction of highways by the States with the aid of Federal funds
may include such roadside and landscape development, including such sanitary and other
facilities as may be deemed reasonably necessary to provide for the suitable accommoda-
tion of the public, all within the highway right-of-way and adjacent publicly owned or
controlled recreation areas of limited size and with provision for convenient and safe
access thereto by pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and the purchase of such adjacent
strips of land of limited width and primary importance for the preservation of the natural
beauty through which highways are constructed, as may be approved by the Public
Roads Administration; and not to exceed 5 per centum of the Federal aid funds ap-
portioned to and matched by any State under this Act may be used for the purchase of
such adjacent strips of land without being matched by the States.

H. R. 7617 (Bradley) introduced Nov. 3, 1939. To authorize the acquisition of forest
lands adjacent to and over which highways, roads, or trails are constructed or to be
constructed wholly or partially with Federal funds in order to preserve or restore their
natural beauty. Reported upon adversely by the Department of the Interior to the
House Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, April i, 1940. This bill is a later form
of S. 231, H. R. 299, and H. R. 6853, all of which provide for the preservation, restora-
tion, improvement and protection of the natural beauty along highways, roads and
trails constructed wholly or in part with Federal funds. This would be accomplished by
the authorization that not to exceed five per cent of the funds appropriated for Federal
aid highways be used in acquiring forest lands adjacent to said highways. It would
limit such acquisitions to roadside areas of not more than one-quarter mile from the
exterior boundary of the roadway except where the lands are deeded to the States by
gift or devise.

Federal City

H. R. 9109 making appropriations for the government of the District of Columbia.
The House placed the recreation system of the District under the sole control of the
Board of Education. Extensive hearings were held before the Senate Committee on
this subject and it was agreed that the recreation system be placed under the joint con-
trol of the Board of Education and the National Capital Parks. The Senate Committee
finally adopted the language which had been forwarded by the President and the Bureau
of the Budget which maintains the status quo, namely, that it should be under the joint
control of the District Commissioners and the Board of Education and that the salary
of the Coordinator should be paid by the National Capital Parks. Conferees of both
Houses have agreed to the Senate amendments 'which maintain the status quo.

H. R. 9525 (Kennedy) introduced April 24, 1940. To provide for the reorganization
of the District of Columbia. This bill was reported by the House Committee on the
District of Columbia and has been placed on the House Calendar. The President sent a
special message to the Speaker of the House opposing certain features of the bill. There
has been no further action to date.

Conservation

S. 3805 (Lee of Oklahoma) introduced April 17, 1940. To authorize soil conservation
work upon certain streams. Referred to the Committee on Commerce. This bill is
designed to authorize soil conservation and flood control work at the headwaters of
streams not authorized by the Flood Control Act of June 22, 1936.

S. 685 to create a Division of Water Pollution in the U. S. Public Health Service,
has been hanging fire in Congress since the publication of our last issue of PLANNING
AND Civic COMMENT. Conferees are now discussing the Mundt amendment.

Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior, Michigan, first projected by Congress in
1931, became an actuality on April 5, when Secretary I ekes accepted a title deed jrom the
State oj Michigan to the remaining land necessary to fulfil requirements under the Federal
law providing for the establishment oj the park.

Planning Courses Make Wider Appeal

Summer Program

The opportunity in the three
weeks' course at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology from July
8th to 26th is interesting quite differ-
ent groups than have heretofore
participated in the sessions of the
School. Individuals and garden
clubs associated with the Maine
Chapter of the American Planning
and Civic Association are enthusi-
astically raising a scholarship fund
to send at least one Maine repre-
sentative to the School and the idea
of scholarship help is appealing to
civic groups in other States. City
engineers who have long appreciated
the advantage of having a member
of their staff better acquainted with
planning principles and techniques
are considering sending a member of
their staff. There will be at least
three newspapermen in the group
and discussions promise to be very
lively.

The first two weeks of the course
will take up the principles of city
and regional planning, the legisla-
tion in the field and the problems
of administration. The last week is
intended primarily for the profes-
sional man and will deal with plan-
ning technique and give opportunity
for the working out of design
problems.

Discussion Groups

Since the introduction of the
short course for citizens in Portland
during January and February and in
Bridgeport during February and
March, and the comment in The
American City of March which was
enthusiastic about the possibilities

of discussion groups, the Association
has been asked to organize groups
for planning discussion during the
summer in several New England
communities, and other cities and
towns are considering meetings in
the early fall. It is interesting that
some of these communities have at
present no planning commission and
no zoning and the objective of the
group is to rouse public interest in a
planning program.

The feeling is also growing that
the planning discussion group is one
of the best leads toward more active
citizen participation in local affairs
and may be one of the answers to the
claim that democracy is proving
inadequate. The slogan has been
suggested "Planning Makes Democ-
racy Work."

In the Schools

Projects in local planning are in-
creasingly finding their way into
civics courses or courses in Ameri-
canism and citizenship. The New
England Town Planning Association
has been the pioneer in promoting
this program and this year its annual
planning contest was actively partic-
ipated in by sixteen junior and
senior high schools in New England.
More than a hundred drawings and
reports were submitted on planning
problems, ranging from the location
of a town forest, playground or
swimming pool to a complete set of
basic planning data maps excel-
lently rendered in color. The work
of the Association has proved with-
out question that civics courses are
enriched and made more interesting
to the students by planning projects.

For Better Roadsides

By FLAVEL SHURTLEFF

Rhode Island merits a citation for
an excellent report of the State
Planning Board by its Advisory
Committee on Roadside Control
and Improvement. The Committee,
which included among its members
representatives of the outdoor ad-
vertising industry, the oil refining
industry and the Rhode Island
Hotel Association, reported that it
favored "a uniform roadside zoning
law applied to state highways in
areas not covered by local zoning,'*
and submitted a bill to the 1940
legislature embodying its recom-
mendations.

As summarized in the report, the
bill provides for the following:

(a) The future development and
segregation of all business and in-
dustrial uses into commercial dis-
tricts and of all residential and com-
patible uses into non-commercial
districts.

(b) The establishment of set-back
lines on the highways concerned for
all buildings and accessory uses, to
provide for off-the-street vehicular
parking and for future improvement
of the roadways.

(c) The continuance of existing
uses in buildings, structures and
premises, as non-conforming uses,
under certain restrictions for future
use.

(d) The control of entrances and
exits to and from the state roads.

The bill had the strong support of
civic organizations and was referred
to the Legislative Council for further
study in the hope that it would re-
ceive the backing of that very
influential state agency in the 1941
session of the legislature.

The other citation of the month
goes to the Massachusetts Federa-
tion of Planning Boards for the pro-
posed amendments to the state bill-
board regulations. These have often
been highly commended by advo-
cates of better protection of high-
way frontage but under the ruling
of the Massachusetts Supreme Court
control over billboards through local
zoning must give way when in con-
flict with the state regulations. The
amendment proposed by the Federa-
tion would correct this situation and
allow local desires as expressed in the
zoning ordinance to prevail.

The other amendment is intended
to reduce the number of billboards
which have been allowed to stand in
violation of the law and in spite of
complaints. It provides that any
inhabitant of a city or town may
make written request to the city or
town authorities to institute a suit
against persons maintaining illegal
billboards and if within thirty days
the town or city authorities fail to
prosecute, the suit may be brought
in the name of the complaining
citizen.

As we go to press, word comes of the appointment of Earle S. Draper,
third vice-president of the APCA, to be assistant administrator of the
Federal Housing Administration. He will conduct research in land planning
and rehabilitation of cities. Mr. Draper was director of Regional Planning
Studies for the TVA.

Thirtieth Anniversary Meeting of the
National Commission of Fine Arts

A MEETING of the Commis-
sion of Fine Arts held on
May 17, 1940, marked to a
day the thirtieth anniversary of the
establishment of the Commission by
Congress. During the three decades
of its existence forty-three leading
artists of the country have served
without compensation as Commis-
sioners, representing the professions
of architecture, landscape architec-
ture, painting, and sculpture. The
existence of this permanent Com-
mission has enabled the Govern-
ment to secure continuous expert
advice on matters pertaining to the
Fine Arts. Appointment to mem-
bership has ever been regarded a
patriotic service to the Nation,
"well qualified judges of the fine
arts" being requisite for appoint-
ment made by the President for four
overlapping terms.

During the fiscal year 1911, the
first in the life of the Commission of
Fine Arts, there were 41 submis-
sions; now they number several
hundred each year. Hardly any
other appropriation made by Con-
gress brings such large proportionate
return as that for the Commission of
Fine Arts, since a statutory limita-
tion of only $10,000 a year has been
made during the thirty years of the
life of this body.

At the present time the Commis-
sion advises concerning all projects
within the realm of the Fine Arts
with which the Federal Government
is concerned in the District of
Columbia. Recently the Commis-
sion called attention of the Members

of Congress to the importance of
giving more attention to the embel-
lishment of our public buildings
through the use of sculpture and
mural painting. To this suggestion
the members of Congress have given
favorable response.

In the early days of the Republic,
President Washington called a com-
mittee consisting of Messrs. James
Hoban and Stephen Hallet, archi-
tects, Colin Williamson and Car-
stairs, builders, and Dr. William
Thornton, to meet in Philadelphia
for a conference concerning ques-
tions relating to the design for the
United States Capitol. In the
spring of 1825, during the adminis-
tration of President John Quincy
Adams, a "commission" consisting
of Dr. William Thornton, Charles
Bulfinch, Architect of the Capitol,
C. B. King, portrait painter, and
Colonel George Bomford, U. S.
Army, assembled in the "Unfur-
nished" East Room of the White
House to determine upon a design
for the tympanum of the central
east entrance of the Capitol. In
1836, during the Administration of
President Jackson, a committee was
appointed to advise concerning the
four historical paintings (in addition
to those by TrumbuII) in the Ro-
tunda of the Capitol. In 1859,
Congress authorized the President
to appoint an Art Commission of
distinguished artists to advise on
questions of sculpture and painting
for the interior of the Capitol
Building. President Buchanan ap-
pointed Henry Kirke Brown, sculp-

Planning and Civic Comment

tor, and James R. Lambdin and
John F. Kensett, painters. This
Commission, clothed with the veto
power, was organized June i, 1859;
they submitted their only report
February 22, 1860. A conflict be-
tween this Commission and the
Congress resulted in an act terminat-
ing its existence.

The Senate Park Commission of
1901, the appointment of which was
authorized by a Resolution of the
United States Senate, consisted of
artists who had taken a leading part
in the Chicago World's Fair of 1893:
Daniel H. Burnham and Charles F.
McKim, architects; Frederick Law
Olmsted, landscape architect; and
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, sculptor.
Charles Moore, then Secretary to
Senator James McMillan, became
Secretary of the Commission. It was
he who served as member of the
Commission of Fine Arts for thirty
years and as chairman for twenty-
two.

The Chicago Fair, better known
as the World's Columbian Exposi-
tion, caused a renewed interest in
the Fine Arts throughout the coun-
try and Washington was the first
city to profit by that awakening.
The Senate Park Commission suc-

ceeded in rescuing the L' Enfant
Plan from oblivion and, in a report
subsequently published (Senate Doc-
ument No. 1 66, 57th Congress), out-
lines plans for public buildings,
parks, and other improvements.
However, there was no existing
official body to urge upon Congress
the carrying out of these plans. In
1909 President Theodore Roosevelt
appointed a "Council of Fine Arts"
consisting of thirty artists, but after
holding one meeting Congress ex-
pressed disapproval of it and it
ceased to exist. Then, on May 17,
1910, during the administration of
President Taft, Congress created the
Commission of Fine Arts, a body
now thirty years old. Its record of
accomplishment may be seen in the
present state of development of the
Nation's Capital, a record which
stands eloquently for unselfish ser-
vice on the part of a large group of
distinguished American artists.

The membership of the present
Commission is as follows: Gilmore
D. Clarke, Chairman; Eugene F.
Savage, John A. Holabird, Paul P.
Cret, William F. Lamb, Paul Man-
ship, Charles Moore and Edward
Bruce. H. P. Caemmerer is secre-
tary and administrative officer.

Planning and Zoning Discussed

EDITOR'S NOTE: En route to the con-
ference of the Commission on Resources
and Education at Reed College, Harlean
James addressed the following meetings
called together by Chapter Chairmen and
active members of the Association:

On Monday, May 20, Harlean
James was the guest of Mr. Frank
M. Lindsay, of the Decatur News-
papers, Inc., Chairman of the Illi-
nois Chapter of the American Plan-

ning and Civic Association. Mr.
Lindsay drove her through the thou-
sand acres of parks that Decatur
has acquired for its citizens and
around the lake which resulted from
damming the Sangamon River for
Decatur's water supply and brought
into use many picturesque wooded
hills and valleys with lake frontage.
The scars of the construction some

Planning and Civic Comment

twenty years ago are almost obliter-
ated and the lake-shore now assumes
a naturalistic appearance. At lunch
Mr. Lindsay had invited H. C.
Schaub of the Park Board and Presi-
dent of the Decatur Newspapers;
Mayor Charles E. Lee; J. C.
Hostettler, President of the Plan-
ning Commission; Allen Buck, Sup-
erintendent of Macon County High-
ways; and Henry Bolz, Secretary of
the Chamber of Commerce. The
discussion centered around the re-
vision of the zoning ordinance, the
change which reduced population
increases will bring to city growth
and city planning, and the means by
which planning can be made more
effective. A project for county zon-
ing is being considered. In the light
of the revival of Lincolniana, it may
be remembered that it was in
Decatur that Lincoln lived when he
first came to Illinois, that it was in
Decatur that he was first mentioned
for the Presidency, and that the log
court house in which he practiced
law stands in Fairview Park.

On May 27, Mr. L. F. Eppich,
Chairman of the Colorado Chapter
of the APCA, presided at a luncheon
attended by some forty civic leaders
and officials of the Denver Athletic
Club. Miss James spoke on "Prog-
ress in City Planning" and while
paying a high compliment to the
beautiful residence districts of
Denver, called attention to the
increasing problems of the
business districts which Denver
shares with other cities. Among
those present were: S. R. DeBoer,
Hon. B. F. Stapleton, I. J. McCrary,
David H. Canfield, F. T. Priester,
Paul R. Franke, W. J. Keller, F. E.

Ammann, V. L. Board, Charles
Boettcher II, George E. Saunders,
Chester E. Smedley, W. T. Hedg-
cock, L. F. Eppich, J. L. Dower,
Col. Allen S. Peck, C. M. Lightburn,
Fred Davis, R. S. Corlew, B. W.
Matteson, Elmer H. Peterson, Ed-
ward D. Nicholson, Edward D.
Foster, Walter Pesman, Mrs. Alida
K. Chamberlain, Temple H. Buell,
Hudson Moore, Jr., Marion C.
Smith, John E. Furlong, A. F.
Hewitt, A. V. Williamson, A. J.
Bromfield, Mrs. Ella Parr James,
Casper F. Hegner, Jr., Irma M.
Greenawalt, Mrs. J. W. Sluder,
J. S. Marshall, Charles D. Vail,
Roy A. Klein, Mrs. Georgia Cox.

The Des Moines City Plan and
Zoning Commission gave a luncheon
on May 24th to consider ways and
means of securing better citizen
support for planning. Harland Bar-
tholomew has been making a re-
study of the Des Moines Plan to
bring it up to date. Mrs. McKee,
Chairman of the Commission, pre-
sided at the luncheon attended by:
Mrs. Addison Parker, Robert Evans
Mrs. Burton Skelley, H. B. Armour,
E. T. Crane, Mrs. Frederic Sigler,
Mrs. B. L. Tesdell, Mrs. J. R.
Rutherford, Mrs. Marie Hunnell,
Mae C. Anders, Mrs. Tom B.
Throckmorton, Mel Harvey, Guy
Grimes, F. T. Van Liew, L. S. Hill,
Robert Lappen, J. A. Johnson,
Mrs. Colin Miller, Ruth R. Mc-
Gregor, Mrs. Meyer Rosenfield,
George C. Whitmer, Kathryn Krieg,
Mrs. Ray Newton, Mrs. V. W.
Flickinger, Mrs. Henry Frankel,
C. E. Roush, Lyle Flanagan, D. A.
McDonald, R. S. Wright, John W.

Planning and Civic Comment

Budd, George L. Towne, Mrs.
Raymond Huttenlocker, Mrs. Edna
Lyman, Owen Cunningham, Evan-
geline Linn, Mrs. Robert Geise,
Mrs. Edyth Howard, John Tippee,
Harlean James, and Mrs. J. W.
Sluder.

Luther Ely Smith, Chairman of
the Jefferson National Expansion
Memorial Association, in St. Louis,
arranged a luncheon attended by
civic leaders and officials of the Na-
tional Park Service on May 22.

Harlean James spoke on National
Monuments and Memorials, out-
lining past history and future pos-
sibilities. Among those present were
Harland Bartholomew, Dr. Maud
Bartlett, Edward F. Batchelor, Miss
Temple Burrus, Eugene Cissell, Mrs.
George R. Dobler, Miss Marjory

Douglas, Miss Mary Englesling,
Daniel Cox Fahey, Mr. and Mrs.
Tom Gilmartin, Mrs. Julian K.
Glasgow, William Edwin Guy, Vic-
tor B. Harris, Col. Isaac A. Hedges,
C. E. Howard, Harlean James,
Herbert Johnson, Frank E. Law-
rence, John G. Lonsdale, Joseph
Marlowe, Hon. William L. Mason,
Morton May, Silas B. McKinley,
Stratford Lee Morton, W. Oscar
MuIIgardt, Robert L. Murphy,
Charles Nagel, Jr., Lee Pelligreen,
Miss Clara Pendleton, James B.
Rasbach, Charles Van Ravenswaay,
Louis G. Sartor, Mrs. T. M. Say-
man, Mrs. John W. Seddon, Miss
Ruth Shank, Mrs. J. W. Sluder,
Luther Ely Smith, Luther Ely
Smith, Jr., J. C. Spotts, Judge Frank
A. Thompson, Miss Edna Warren
and Miss Laura Wilson.

Eight-Day Meeting of Commission on
Resources and Education

On the pleasant campus at Reed
College, from June 8-16, the Com-
mission on Resources and Education
appointed by the National Educa-
tion Association, Progressive Ed-
ucation Association and the U. S.
Office of Education, working under
a grant from the General Education
Board, held a conference with
invited consultants in the Resources
and Planning fields. The discussions
demonstrated the interest of edu-
cational leaders in articulating
school curricula to meet the chang-
ing needs of society and included
suggestions of practical ways and
means of acquainting faculties and
students with modern developments
in making the best use of our

natural, technical and human re-
sources through wise planning. Dur-
ing the course of the Conference a
suggested Credo was formulated for
the consideration of the Commission
and for discussion at the Edu-
cational Workshops. After the Com-
mission has adopted the Credo it
will be widely published. Readers
of PLANNING AND Civic COMMENT
may expect to find it in the Sep-
tember issue.

Dr. Paul Hanna, of Stanford
University, is Chairman of the
Commission. The other members
are: C. L. Cushman, American
Council on Education; Willard
Givens, Executive Secretary of Na.
tional Education Association; H. C.

Planning and Civic Comment

Hand of the University of Maryland;
Lewis Mumford, Author; Howard
Odum, University of North Caro-
lina; Frederick L. Redefer, Execu-
tive Secretary of the Progressive
Education Association; John Stude-
baker, U. S. Commissioner of
Education; Ruth West, Past Presi-
dent, National Council for Social
Studies; and Ray Lyman Wilbur,
President of Stanford University.
Among the consultants in atten-
dance at the conference were: Dex-
ter Keezer, President, Reed College;
Charles Collier, Friends of the Land;
R. F. Bessey, Consultant, National
Resources Planning Board; Ben
Kizer, Chairman, Washington State
Planning Council; Cyril W. Grace,
President, State Teachers College,

Mayville, North Dakota; Aubrey
Haan, Stanford University; Harlean
James, American Planning and Civic
Association; Charles McKinley,
Reed College; Paul Oppermann,
American Society of Planning Offi-
cials; Helen Strong, of the Soil
Conservation Service, and George
A. Duthie, Chief Section on Educa-
tion, U. S. Forest Service, U. S.
Department of Agriculture; L. Dem-
ing Tilton, Haynes Foundation;
Kenneth Warner and John B.
Appleton of the Northwest Regional
Council; Mrs. Virginia Shepherd of
the National Resources Planning
Board and Colonel S. P. Wetherill,
Vice-President of the American
Planning and Civic Association.

Resources and Education Workshops

One of the interesting develop-
ments in adjusting educational prac-
tice to resource and planning preach-
ing is being unfolded in the ex-
perimental Resources and Educa-
tion Workshops. The Pacific North-
west has two of these one at
Reed College June ly-July 19 and
one at the University of Washing-
ton, June ly-July 17. The Work-
shop at Reed College is conducted
under the Commission on Resources
and Education and the Northwest
Regional Council, that at the Uni-
versity of Washington in addition
has the cooperation of a number of
other groups.

Related to and fed by the Work-
shops there will be in the Northwest
seven institutes of two or three days,
conducted by the staffs of the
Workshops, at the University of

Oregon, Oregon State College, Uni-
versity of Idaho, Washington State
College and the Teachers Colleges
at Bellingham, Ellensburg and
Cheney, Washington.

The object is to determine more
precisely the role of education in
utilizing accurate information about
the region's resources and related
problems. The enrollment of teach-
ers for these Pacific Northwest
Workshops is already far beyond
the capacity to serve the group.
These workshops are under the
joint direction of W. Virgil Smith
and Edgar M. Draper.

In the East similar Workshops
are being conducted at George
Peabody College for Teachers,
Nashville, Tenn., University of
Tennessee at Knoxville and Uni-
versity of Kentucky at Lexington.

Notes on National Resources Planning Board

FOLLOWING passage by Con-
gress of the appropriation of
$710,000 for the National Re-
sources Planning Board "to perform
the functions heretofore authorized
to be performed by the Federal
Employment Stabilization Board"
during the fiscal year beginning
July i, 1940, the Board and the
Washington office have concen-
trated attention on (i) completing
certain current studies before Jan-
uary, and (2) planning activities,
organization, and budget for the
next fiscal year. Closer working
arrangements are being established
with the Bureau of the Budget,
especially as regards the public
works program.

For the first time in the history
of the Board and its predecessors
the appropriation for the next
fiscal year was included in the
Independent Offices Appropriations
Bill rather than in emergency re-
lief legislation as heretofore. This
action, together with recognition
of the continuing legislative status
of the agency under authority of
the Reorganization Act of 1939, the
Public Resolution 20, Seventy-sixth
Congress and the Federal Employ-
ment Stabilization Act of 1931,
establishes the Board as a part of
the permanent organization of the
Federal Government. Among other
things, the change of status permits
the placing of most of the Board
employees under Civil Service, ef-
fective July i, 1940.

PUBLICATIONS

A program of hydrologic studies
designed to improve present-day

hydrologic knowledge and provide a
sound basis for the development and
utilization of the country's water
resources was recommended by the
Board in a report transmitted to
President Roosevelt April 25, 1940.
The report "Deficiencies in Hy-
drologic Research" outlines inves-
tigations covering such items as the
movement of intense f storms, infil-
tration of rainfall, relation between
snow cover, water yield and stream
flow, and the movement of ground
water, all of these representing the
hydrologic cycle about which much
additional information is needed.
The report urges that the long-
range studies, by Federal and State
agencies, be undertaken in full
cooperation with educational and
other interested institutions. Such
a program, the report says, would
involve "expenditures insignificant
in comparison with the savings
which would be effected in the cost
of structures."

Six or seven additional reports on
various subjects are scheduled for
release during June and July.

PERSONNEL

Dr. Charles A. Lory, President
of the Colorado State Agricultural
College since 1909, has been ap-
pointed a member of the Land Com-
mittee of the Board. In addition to
his function as an educator, Dr.
Lory has been prominent in educa-
tional and civic organizations par-
ticularly in the Association of Land
Grant Colleges and Universities of
which he was president in 1919.

Dr. Dexter M. Keezer, President
of Reed College at Portland, Oregon,

Planning and Civic Comment

has been appointed a member of
the Science Committee of the
Board. The Science Committee, of
which Dr. E. B. Wilson of Harvard
University is Chairman, is com-
posed of designees from the Social
Science Research Council (which
nominated Dr. Keezer), the Na-
tional Academy of Science, the
American Council of Education,
and the American Council of
Learned Societies. The Committee
is making a comprehensive review
of the research resources of the
United States including those of
industrial laboratories, business or-
ganizations, and state and local
governments.

Mr. Philip H. Elwood, Counselor
and Consultant for Region 6 for the
last six years, has been appointed
Regional Chairman. Mr. Elwood's

region comprises the States of Iowa,
Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Ne-
braska, North and South Dakota.

Mr. Lester Franklin has suc-
ceeded Mr. L. J. Folse as Executive
Director of the Mississippi State
Planning Commission, which by act
of the recent session of the legis-
lature becomes a portion of the new
Mississippi Board of Development.

Mr. Sigfrid Unander has been
appointed Secretary of the Oregon
Economic Council which has taken
over the planning function of the
State since the abolition last year
of the State Planning Board.

Mr. John P. Loughlin has been
named Director of the New Mexico
State Planning Board, with offices
in the Don Juan Building, Santa Fe.
The Board had previously been
without a director.

A Tribute to Thomas Adams

Thomas Adams was one of the
ablest of city planners. His un-
timely death leaves a vacancy
which cannot be easily filled. His
first venture in town planning was
as secretary of the Garden City As-
sociation and First Garden City
Association. In that position he was
associated with Ebenezer Howard
in planning and developing Letch-
worth, England, an experience from
which he learned much about the
principles and details of planning.
In 1909 he was appointed to be the
first town planning inspector of the
British Local Government Board.
In 1914 he led in the formation of
The Town Planning Institute of
England and was elected its first
president. In the same year he went

to Canada to be Town Planning
Adviser to the Canadian Govern-
ment. He remained there until 1 92 1 .

In 1923 he was chosen to direct
the Regional Plan of New York and
Its Environs, a work which held
him until 1930. Here he had the op-
portunity to show his great ability
as a researcher, as a philosopher, as
an executive and as a city planner.
The volumes containing the reports
of studies made for this Plan are a
remarkable monument to his vision
and genius.

Mr. Adams held for several years
a professorship of City Planning at
Harvard University and a lecture-
ship on Civic Design at the Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology.
During this period, however, he

Planning and Civic Comment

spent most of his time in England
and became consultant on planning
to a number of local government
units.

He wrote a number of valuable
reports and articles. His chief
published works were "The Building
of The City", the final report of the
Regional Plan of New York and Its
Environs; "An Outline of Town and
City Planning"; and "Recent Ad-
vances in City Planning"; all three
books are outstanding contributions
to the science of city planning.

Mr. Adams was a Scotsman. He

readily, however, fitted himself in
harmoniously with the methods and
ways of Canadians and Americans.
He had rare intelligence, wisdom
and power to lead. He was thor-
oughly unselfish and considerate of
the claims of others. He won the
admiration and devotion of those
with whom he was closely associated.
He had high ideals and deep re-
ligious convictions and followed
them courageously \vherever he
thought they led, without fear or
favor. JOHN M. GLENN, Russell
Sage Foundation, New York City.

Walter Kohler, 1875-1940

The death of Walter Kohler on
April 22, 1940, marks the loss of one
of the APCA'S valued members of
long standing. Mr. Kohler's name
will endure through his contribution
to the field of industrial housing

in addition to his other outstanding
civic accomplishments. His par-
ticipation in making the town of
Kohler an American industrial gar-
den city is testimony of his practi-
cal realism in the planning field.

Newton B. Drury Addresses

National Parks Association

Anniversary Dinner

"Utter the word 'park' and imagination
runs the gamut from a beer-garden to the
sublimest natural spectacle," declared
Newton B. Drury when he addressed the
National Parks Association on the oc-
casion of its recent Anniversary Dinner.

"In California, we are attempting to
collect our thoughts to make clean-cut
distinctions as to those lands known as
parks There are fifteen state his-
toric monuments and definite policy has
been adopted that restricts their use to
interpretation of significant events or eras
in California's colorful past. There is
another class, the areas like the bathing
beaches of the south and the state camp
grounds which are frankly devoted to
outdoor recreation. There is a third cate-
gory, which for want of a better name we
have termed reserves. We are recognizing
that these areas, because of the unique and
precious qualities they possess are neld in
trusteeship for the perpetuation of their
special values."

New Conservation
Organization

A new conservation association was
formed in March to be known as the
Friends of the Land. Its purpose is the
conservation of soil, rain and man. Morris
L. Cooke of Philadelphia, was elected
president and Charles Collier, son of
the Commissioner of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, was named as executive
director.

The Association will publish a magazine
and Russell Lord has been named editor.
The magazine will appear under the name,
The Land.

Many people prominent in soil and
other fields of conservation, participated
in the initial meeting of the organization.
Among them were Stuart Chase, econo-
mist and author; Rexford G. Tugwell,
Chairman of the New York City Planning
Commission; J. Russell Smith, professor of
Economic Geography at Columbia Uni-
versity; Dr. Paul Sears, author of "Deserts
on the March" and Harlean James, author
of "Land Planning in the United States
for the City, State and Nation."

State Park

Alabama

Alabama's state parks, during
their first year of operation, brought
in a financial return of just under
$10,000, and it is anticipated that
this will be doubled during the
present season, according to the re-
port of W. G. Lunsford, Chief of the
Division of Parks, Monuments and
Historical Sites, in the first Annual
Report of the Alabama Department
of Conservation. He also reports
that it is planned to substitute an
entrance fee for the parking and
picnicking fees charged during 1939.

Connecticut

The report of the General Superin-
tendent of Connecticut State Parks
for 1936-38 tells an interesting story
of state park operation under the
handicap of insufficient funds, and
is quoted below:

"State park improvement for the
last six years has been limited to
certain conditions. With exception
of Sherwood Island, which had a
special appropriation for acquisition
and development, no funds were al-
lotted for new work and except for
what could be done by men paid
from Federal funds there could be
no improvements on units of the
system in general.

"This situation could not produce

well-distributed development on the
parks and is not easily understood
by people who are giving the park
needs some thought, or by those who
make active use of them. They are
inclined to criticise park administra-
tion and to ask 'Why are not con-
veniences provided for comfortable
enjoyment where so many of us like
to go? Is it not our own money that
provides this equipment?'

"There is, of course, both truth
and reason in these questions, which
are countered by the fact that it is
their own representatives who are
supposed to say how, when and where
the funds are to be spent, but are not
definitely charged by their constitu-
ents to provide them with parks.

"Even under these conditions, the
state parks have gained some im-
provements during this period that
otherwise would have been delayed
indefinitely, and the work being
done will, when finished, be well
done and will increase the usefulness
of those units of the system where it
was possible to schedule Federal
projects.

"One advance step has been taken
in the employment, July I, 1937, of
a superintendent in charge of the
Norfolk group of parks, which are
Dennis Hill, Haystack and Camp-
bell Falls. While not much could be

Planning and Civic Comment

done in the way of improvement,
these parks have had some real
maintenance care and a few much
needed repairs have been made. The
roof of the bungalow on top of
Dennis Hill has been re-shingled. At
Campbell Falls, the barn has been
taken down and the salvaged lumber
made into picnic tables.

"During the past two years the
buildings on one Forest CCC camp
and a part of those on two others
were assigned to the Commission for
park use and the salvaged lumber
will be distributed throughout the
entire park system. Already some
of it has gone to Hurd Park, Sher-
wood Island, Housatonic Meadows,
Lake Waramaug, Hammonasset
Beach, Sleeping Giant, Wharton
Brook, Dennis Hill, Kent Falls,
Macedonia Brook and Squantz Pond,
for repair work and in a few cases for
construction of additional equip-
ment.

"Commencing in June, 1938, a
general parking charge was made on
cars remaining in the shore parks
more than two hours, with the inten-
tion of increasing revenue with
which to care for the parks. Of
course, it is too soon to draw any
definite conclusion as to results; it
may be a step in the right direction.
With the same purpose in view at
Rocky Neck, Hammonasset Beach
and Lake Waramaug, all free short-
term camping was discontinued,
starting June 15, 1938; the period of
use was changed from two nights to
three nights; and a charge was
established of twenty-five cents per
car per night.

"A restriction of fifteen days was
made, at Hammonasset Beach only,
on out-of-state campers in the long-

term camp section. The purpose of
this change was to make available
more camp-sites for Connecticut
residents where overcrowded areas
seemed to be depriving them of the
use of their own parks."

Georgia

Eugene L. Bothwell, Director
Georgia Division of State Parks, has
written an article for the March
issue of Behind the Wheel, Southern
Travel Magazine, on the state parks
of Georgia. The article is entitled,
"Public Playgrounds of Georgia for
the Tourist of 1 940." It is illustrated
with several views in Georgia's state
parks and a state map which shows
the location of most of the areas.

Iowa

Acquisition of a i,2OO-acre area in
Decatur County, Iowa, now under
way, will bring the total of Iowa's
state parks and preserves to 75. A
descriptive folder and recreation
map issued by the State Conserva-
tion Commission contains the in-
formation that seven of the 74 areas
have cabin accommodations which
may be rented for periods from one
day to two weeks, that swimming
can be enjoyed in 12 of the areas,
and that naturalist programs were
conducted in nine of the State's
parks during 1939.

Louisiana

B. A. Hardey has succeeded E. S.
Clements as chairman of the Louisi-
ana State Park Commission.

Maine

Raymond E. Rendall, Maine State
Forest Commissioner, reports that
the Maine State Park Commission
has been reorganized, and that H.
E. Kimball is the new secretary.

Planning and Civic Comment

Maryland

Karl E. Pfeiffer, Director of State
Parks of the Maryland Department
of Forestry, reports that a total of
447,184 persons made use of the
recreational facilities available in the
state parks and forests of Maryland
during 1939. State park attendance
totaled 341,286. Mr. Pfeiffer also
reports that the past winter was a
good one for winter sports in Mary-
land, and that the ski trail in the
New Germany area at Savage River
State Forest was used extensively.

Mississippi

Mississippi has issued brief de-
scriptive folders on each of its ten
state parks, containing information
regarding the location, outstanding
features, and rates charged for use of
facilities. The folders may be ob-
tained from J. H. Fortenberry, direc-
tor of parks, State Board of Park
Supervisors, Jackson.

Many interesting and informative
publications and reports on state
parks, conservation and recreation
are being issued by the various States,
a few of which are listed below:

Recreation on Maryland State
Forests and State Parks, State De-
partment of Forestry, Baltimore,
Maryland. Mimeographed. 4 pp.

Onaway State Park, Cass Lake
Dodge Brothers No. 4 State Park,
Bloomer No. 2 State Park, Holland

State Park, Walter J. Hayes State
Park, Island Lake Dodge Brothers
No. i State Park, Dodge Brothers
No. 2 State Park, Sterling State
Park descriptive folders written
and compiled by Michigan Writers'
Project of the Works Project Ad-
ministration.

Michigan State Parks Location,
Features, Facilities. Travel Bureau,
Michigan Automobile Club. 28 pp.
Processed.

Michigan State Department of
Conservation, Division of Parks,
Reprint from Ninth Biennial Re-
port, 1937-38. 25 pp.

State Parks of Minnesota. Divi-
sion of State Parks, Department of
Conservation. Processed.

The Natural Resources of Ten-
nessee A Report of Progress and
Plans. Tennessee Department of
Conservation. 79 pp.

Guide to State Parks of Texas.
Texas State Parks Board, Austin,
Jan. 1940.

Visit Bastrop State Park in the
Lost Pines Forest, Bastrop, Texas.

Indian Lodge, Davis Mountains
State Park. Texas State Parks Board.

Longhorn Cavern, Texas State
Park.

Washington State Parks, A Recre-
ational Resource, 1939. State Parks
Committee, Seattle.

Among the State Parks and For-
ests of Wisconsin, Conservation De-
partment, Madison. 52 pp. IIIus.

IRMINE B. KENNEDY, Washington, D. C.

New Park Reports

Statistics on Facilities and Activities and Fiscal Data in State Parks and
Related Recreational Areas have been presented in two new publications
compiled from the returns on the first Annual State Park Records, undertaken
by the National Park Service at the request of the National Conference on
State Parks.

Highlights of the 1940 National Conference
on State Parks*

At the 2oth National Conference
on State Parks, Col. Richard Lieber
was re-elected Chairman of the
Board of Directors and Harold S.
Wagner, President. Re-elected also
were Major William A. Welch and
William E. Carson, Vice-Presidents,
C. F. Jacobsen, Treasurer, and
Harlean James, Executive Secretary.

Conrad L. Wirth was elected a
life member of the Board of Direc-
tors to succeed Alexander Thomson,
who died during the year. Paul V.
Brown was elected a term director
to succeed himself, and Carter
Jenkins of Illinois and Charles
DeTurk of Indiana were elected to
succeed Conrad L. Wirth and N. E.
Simoneaux whose terms had ex-
pired.

The twenty-first National Con-
ference on State Parks, by vote of
the Board, will be held in Georgia.
The Conference will convene in
Pine Mountain State Park early in
April, 1941, and, if possible, a post-
convention tour of the northern
Florida State Parks will be ar-
ranged.

The Institute for State and
County Park men which was held
so successfully at Syracuse Uni-
versity in 1939, under the able
direction of Professor Laurie D.
Cox, is to be repeated in 1941. The
course will run for three weeks in
March, 1941, and if there is a
registration of 40 men, the fee will

term will allow men who can secure
a month's leave, or vacation, to
travel to and from Syracuse and be
present throughout the entire course.
Roberts Mann is chairman of a
Committee on Arrangements for the
Institute. Inquiries may be sent to
him through the headquarteis office
in Washington.

Hon. Charles P. Casey, Director,
Illinois Department of Public Works
and Buildings, Springfield, III. : The
State of Illinois has set aside 16,600
acres in 12 State Parks, 9 Historic
Parks, 1 6 State Monuments and
27 State Memorials. The State has
tripled its acreage in the last 7 years
and today has two acres of state
parks for every 1000 inhabitants.

H. S. Wagner, Akron, Ohio: Prin-
cipal emphasis was on the need for
rigorous action to increase member-
ship in the Conference.

Col. Richard Lieber, Indianapolis,
Indiana: Recalled the first forma-
tive days at Des Moines when
Stephen T. Mather assisted in
founding the Conference. Mather
felt that state parks developed on a
high plane could help his National
Park Service. . . At the time of
the 1923 meeting, 25 States had
120 state park areas. In 1940, 47
States claim 821 areas. . . Saving
of the state park program lies in
public enlightenment. The secret
of all success in park work is con-
stancy of purpose. Ours is the

be reduced to $35. The three weeks

*This resume is based on notes taken at the sessions by Herbert Maier.

Planning and Civic Comment

stewardship of things not made by
the hand of man.

Hon. Barney Thompson, Rockford,
III.: Indorsed Col. Lieber's address
as perfect in form and perfect in
understanding. Pleaded for pres-
ervation of native values inherent
in each park area.

Mrs. M. M. Kinsey, Akron, Ohio:
Urged the Conference to work for
the cooperation of the women's
groups. Other agencies are out-
distancing it there.

Dr. L. B. Sharp, New York City:
Many people feel that group camp-
ing is not a function of parks. How-
ever, if you have good camps in
general use the year round you have
a good argument for obtaining funds.
The two general patterns for con-
ducting camps are the centralized
that is, the traditional pattern which
calls for swimming, craft, nature,
etc.; and the decentralized, which
calls for the breaking up of the
youth into small groups and placing
them out in shelters on their own
and letting them solve the problems
that affect their own lives.

Carter Jenkins, Springfield, Illi-
nois: At present the state park
acreage of Illinois is four times
greater than in 1933. An increase
of one-half million visitors is ex-
pected this year. The State is
planning for the day when no
citizen will be more than ten miles
distant from a state area.

Dr. D. T. Ries, Utica, Illinois:
Outlined the geology of Starved
Rock State Park, which was for-
merly an inland sea.

Father George Link, Grajton, Ill-
inois: The return to nature move-
ment is very strong in this country
today. Nature programs in state
parks should be simple they should
aim towards getting the visitor
back to the spirit of things.

Hon. M. Clifford Townsend, Gov-
ernor of Indiana: Welcomed the
delegates to Indiana.

Kenneth Kunkel, Indianapolis,
Indiana: Representatives of the
more than 1,000 conservation groups
in Indiana meet with the Indiana
Department of Conservation every
four months. He defended the
erection of hotels in Indiana State
Parks.

Conrad L. Wirth, National Park
Service, Washington, D. C., pre-
sided at a panel discussion on
"Land Acquisition" which he sum-
marised as follows:

1. Quoted Robert Kingery's
statement that "Laws should pro-
vide that States should have the
right to suggest as well as accept
areas."

2. Study of needs and planning of
development must precede ac-
quisition.

3. Purchase can precede actual
development by a considerable dis-
tance of time.

4. Land planning the study for
decrease or increase of a system
should continue indefinitely.

The discussers were: Charles N.
Elliott, Newton B. Drury, Col.
Lieber, J. H. Fortenberry, Mrs.
Linwood .Jeffreys, and Robert
Kingery.

Planning and Civic Comment

Dr. Laurie D. Cox, Professor oj
Landscape Engineering, Syracuse
University, led the panel discussion
on "Use Areas." Those who par-
ticipated in this discussion were:
V. W. Flickinger, P. H. Elwood,
Roberts Mann, Harlean James,
Conrad L. Wirth, Rex Volz and
Carroll M. Terry.

Dr. Carol Wegeman, National
Park Service, Region II, led the
panel discussion on "Use and Pro-
tection of Water Areas."

Mrs. Montgomery spoke in place
of Mrs. George Jaqua, who could
not be present. She called atten-
tion to the work of Indiana school
children in exchanging pennies for
trees in one of the memorial forests.

Garrett Eppley, National Park
Service, Omaha, Nebraska: Spoke on
the "Place of Leadership in State
Parks" and stated that the start

should be made with the very
youngest children. In every youth
program some of it must be carried
on in a park area.

Hon. James J. McEntee, Director
of CCC: The National Conference on
State Parks and the CCC are both
basically interested in conservation.
In 1933 the CCC came as an answer
to the prayer of the conservation
groups. Since then the state park
acreage has increased over 100
per cent. There is nothing so badly
needed in this country as state
parks. The CCC has gone past the
experimental stage and is now an
American institution.

The Conference closed with a
banquet, at which Howard B.
Bloomer presided. Dean Stanley
Coulter was the banquet speaker.

EDITOR'S NOTE. Conference proceed-
ings will be published in the 1940 Ameri-
can Planning and Civic Annual.

Moonbow Inn's Melodramatic Escape

By TOM WALLACE, Editor, Louisville Times

BUT for an event, six years ago,
in the Board Room of the
Union Trust Building, Wash-
ington, D. C, Kentucky's most
famous State Park would be with-
out an inn at the opening of the
season of 1940, as a result of the
burning of Du Pont Lodge April
4th, this year.

Du Pont Lodge, named in honor
of the late Senator Coleman du Pont
of Wilmington, Del., a native of
Louisville, who, with his heirs,
donated the Cumberland Falls tract
to Kentucky, was built by the CCC
and WPA with Federal and state

funds, between 1934 and 1937. The
State's contribution was $10,000.

It was decided by the then Ken-
tucky Director of Parks, Mrs.
Emma Guy Cromwell, and the Na-
tional Park Service that it would be
economical to raze Moonbow Inn
situated at Cumberland Falls and
use materials from the building in
construction of du Pont Lodge, on
a cliff overlooking Cumberland River
about a mile above the Falls, as the
river runs, and about one half mile
by highway.

Demolition of the Inn the oldest
summer resort building in continu-

Planning and Civic Comment

ous use in Kentucky was to begin
within less than a week when a
meeting of the Board of Directors
of the National Conference on
State Parks was held in Washington.

At that meeting I objected to the
razing on the ground, that, while
nobody with park experience or
interest would build an inn in such
a situation within 100 feet of the
cataract at normal stages of the
river, and with its front porch al-
most, or quite, in the edge of the
river during extreme high water it
was of historic interest, and its
quaintness and age, its framing of
trees which had grown up about it
during its sixty or seventy years,
made it not >P?1 eyesore, but a pic-
turesque fea^ i ?e of the reservation,
and that, --cooled by nature,
being within te range of the mist of
the Falls, it ra.de a strong appeal to
summer vis-'brs who like to sleep
under blank ts.

In this contention Major Wil-
liam A. Welch of Palisades Inter-
state Park, a native of Kentucky,
and Colonel Richard Lieber, creator
of Indiana's State Park system,
always interested in Kentucky,
joined me.

Conrad L. Wirth, head of the
National Park Emergency Work in
State Parks, and Herbert Evison of
that Service held that the Inn
should be removed, but Mr. Wirth
said it would not be razed with his
sanction if there was objection in
Kentucky.

The demolition order was re-
scinded.

Materials from Moonbow Inn
would have gone up in smoke April
4, 1940, but for that discussion.

For a half dozen years Mr. Wirth

and I have kidded each other about
Moonbow Inn, Mr. Wirth usually
greeting me with the question:
"How's the barn?"

Du Pont Lodge was a beautiful
inn, with every modern convenience,
superbly situated about a mile, as
runs the river, upstream from the
Falls and about 200 feet I am
guessing at the elevation above the
riffles of Cumberland River, which
at ordinary stages makes music
which is more than merely audible
at the cliff-crest. It had every at-
traction a well-planned park inn
should have, including a great open
fireplace in the lounge and a long,
wide porch overlooking the river,
beyond which the timbered hills
look like primeval forest, although
the forest is regrowth.

Moonbow Inn was built for sum-
mer use only, when guests arrived
at Cumberland Falls in farm wagons,
the only vehicles which were taken
over the unimproved road from
Cumberland Falls Station on the
Southern Railway thirteen miles
distant. It has never known ex-
terior or interior paint. It is a two-
story whitewashed building with
board walls. Galleries, as they are
called in Gulf States, belt the
building at a level with the first
story and second story rooms.

Until the State Park was estab-
lished, Brunson Inn, as it then was
called, had never had fly screens.
Mosquito netting was used on win-
dows and a mosquito netting cur-
tain, sliding on twine at the top,
hung just within each bedroom door.
The furniture was made by car-
penters when the Inn was built. The
Inn had never used ice. Hillside
springs served as refrigerators. Life

Planning and Civic Comment

was so informal at Brunson Inn that
artists sojourning there painted what
they liked on doors of their bed-
rooms. Their fancy dictated the
humorous and the grotesque chiefly.
The art gallery from the first floor
gallery the full-door paintings on
the outside of the doors was de-
cidedly worth saving, but the State
painted all doors a uniform dark
green with no regard for art.

Moonbow Inn's walls are so thin
that one must talk in whispers or be
heard in the next room. When it
was operated as a private enterprise
it was silent and dark after ten
o'clock at night by strict orders of
the proprietor, universally obeyed.
In those days there was no radio, of
course, and as there was more inter-
est in good fishing, or hiking, by day,
earnest eating three times a day, and
good sleeping at night, than in any-
thing else, nobody minded the silence
decree.

The ancient Inn was re-roofed,
newly coated with whitewash, with-
in as well as without, when the
State took it in hand, and in 1935
the dining room and kitchen, a unit
separate from the main building,
were reconditioned.

Now the flimsy old building which
my friend Connie Wirth calls the barn
is the only hotel in the park. It, and
the rustic cottages near the ashes of
du Pont Lodge, will be the park's
only accommodations this year.

Moonbow Inn's escape to serve
after destruction of du Pont Lodge
was as narrow as that of the innocent
maiden in melodrama, bound to the
rails when the cannon-ball train was
almost due.

Whether the melodrama maiden
should, upon her looks and general
merits, escape is of course a question
upon which critics may disagree. I
am not contending to readers of this
publication that Colonel Lieber,
Major Welch and I were right, and
that Mr. Wirth and Mr. Evison were
wrong in the debate on Moonbow
Inn's merits. I am only telling a
story, and that, in Kipling's words,
would be "another story."

It is pleasing to hear, by the way,
that Kentucky's Director of Parks,
Bailey P. Wootton, expects to
build, with $10,000 received from
a fire insurance company which
carried the risk on Mu Pont Lodge,
plus WPA assistai e, an inn of
rough local sandstoi on the site of
du Pont Lodge.

He will undoubl ly strive to
have WPA outdo CC

Should he succeed ' Cumberland
Falls State Park wou, have a not-
able inn, since du Poi t Lodge was
highly creditable to CCC, Mrs.
Emma Guy Cromwell, as Kentucky
Director of Parks, and the National
Park Service.

Mr. Wootton's praiseworthy aims
include getting the State Highway
Commission to relocate the highway
which now bisects Cumberland Falls
State Park and virtually sabotages
it inasmuch as the gate fee cannot
be collected on the public road
where it crosses the line of the State
Park, and is collected only from
visitors who enter the grounds of
Moonbow Inn. It is even possible
to enter that half-acre in the 500-
acre park by a trail and not pay the
gate fee.

Book Reviews

AMERICAN HIGHWAYS AND ROADSIDES by
Jac L. Gubbels. Houghton Mifflin
Company, Boston, Mass., 1938. 94 pp.
Illustrated. Price $2.75.

The author of this book is land-
scape engineer for the Texas High-
way Department who tells how the
scientific modern highway is located,
designed and constructed. Particu-
larly valuable to those members of
the AP&CA who are actively en-
gaged in roadside improvement is
Chapter III, entitled "The Right-
of-Way." Mr. Gubbels discusses the
problems involved in procuring the
right-of-way and states: "The best
plan is a regional one providing for
the early purchase or control of
ample right-of-way for future de-
velopment. It is better to acquire
options on too much rather than on
too little acreage, because once the
road is designated, adjacent land
values rise inordinately." The im-
portant aspects of the right-of-way
discussed by the author include:
Width, Clearing, Road Focus, Meth-
ods of Erosion Control. Another
valuable chapter deals with Plant
Life on the Highway and points out
the value of tree planting to empha-
size alignment and to mark the
direction of the road. The illustra-
tions add greatly to the value of this
volume.

HAYNES GUIDE, HANDBOOK OF YELLOW-
STONE NATIONAL PARK, by Jack Ellis
Haynes. 45th Revised Edition, 1939.
Haynes, Inc., Yellowstone Park, Wyo-
ming. 194 pp. Maps and illustrations.
Price 75 cents, postpaid.

This handbook contains full gen-
eral information on the Yellowstone
National Park, and details of the
various points of interest including

distances and elevations, plant and
animal life, geology, history, services
and accommodations. A valuable
guide for travelers and an excellent
reference for park enthusiasts on this
most popular of the national parks.

DEMOCRACY AT WORK, LIVING IN AMERI-
CAN COMMUNITIES by E. B. Fincher,
R. E. Eraser and W. G. Kimmel. The
John C. Winston Company, Phila-
delphia, Pa. 1939. 566 pp.

Facts and problems move along in
story form in this volume, which
was prepared primarily for the
younger generation. Contemporary
aspects of living in American com-
munities, with suggested solutions
of the many grave and economic
inequalities, have been presented for
the young student. Care has been
taken to utilize information which is
functional to the description of our
times, rather than to follow the
technique of the conventional civics
book.

HOUSING IN SCANDINAVIA, URBAN AND
RURAL by John Graham, Jr. Chapel
Hill, University of North Carolina
Press, 1940. 223 pp. $2.50.

Although this volume was written
before there was any suggestion of
an invasion of Finland by Soviet
Russia, or of Norway by Nazi
Germany, the record it gives of the
Scandinavian people and their living
conditions is of great interest and
importance. In some respects the
book takes on an added significance
through its accounts of the relation-
ship between the government and
the people. The achievements of the
people of Scandinavia in the field of
housing is one of the most interesting
aspects of their civilization and this

Planning and Civic Comment

account, based upon the author's
personal observations in Denmark,
Norway, Sweden and Finland, an-
swers many questions. His chapters

are entitled: Land for Housing,
Municipal Housing, Housing So-
cieties, Rural Housing and Coloniza-
tion and Applied Philosophy.

Recent Publications

Compiled by Katharine McNamara, Librarian of the Departments of
Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, Harvard University

AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION.
SAFETY AND TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
DEPT. Pedestrian protection. Wash-
ington, The Association, 1939. 90 pages.
IIIus., diagrs., tables. Price 50 cents.

AMERICAN PLANNING AND Civic ASSO-
CIATION. American planning and civic
annual. A record of recent civic advance
as shown in the proceedings of the
National Conference on Planning held
at Boston, Massachusetts, May 15-17,
1939; the National Conference on
State Parks held at Itasca State Park,
Minnesota, June 4-7, 1939; and the
Third National Park Conference of
the American Planning and Civic
Association with the national park
officials held at Santa Fe, New Mexico,
October 8-10, 1939. Edited by Harlean
James. Washington, The Association,
1939. 288 pages. IIIus. Price $3.00;
$2.00 to members.

BARKLEY, J. F. Some fundamentals of
smoke abatement. [Washington], U. S.
Bureau of Mines. Oct. 1939. 59 pages.
Mimeographed. Tables, chart. (In-
formation Circular 7090.)

BASSETT, EDWARD M. Zoning; the laws,
administration, and court decisions
during the first twenty years. New
York, Russell Sage Foundation, 1940.
275 pages. Prices $3.00.
Reprinted with additions.

BEELER ORGANIZATION, N. Y. Report
to the city of Seattle on a plan for
modernization of the Seattle municipal
street railway with R[econstruction]
Finance] Corporation] financing. New
York, The Organization, 1939. 65 pages.
Mimeographed. Plans (folded), tables
(part folded).

CINCINNATI, O. .Crrr PLANNING COM-
MISSION. Preliminary report: a re-
development plan for the central river
front; report of the engineer to the
City Planning Commission, Cincinnati,
Ohio. Cincinnati, The Commission,
Nov. 1939. 15 pages. IIIus. (folded),
maps (one folded), tables.

COLEAN, MILES L. Can America build
houses? Rev. 1940. New York, Public

Affairs Committee, Inc., 1940. 31 pages.
Charts. (Public Affairs Pamphlets, no.
19.) Price 10 cents. .

DES MOINES, IA. CITY PLAN AND ZONING
COMMISSION. A preliminary report
upon urban land uses and zoning,
Des Moines, Iowa. Harland Bartholo-
mew and associates, city planning
consultants. . . Des Moines, The Com-
mission, July 1939. 48 pages. Tables,
charts.

DULLES, FOSTER RHEA. America learns
to play; a history of popular recreation,
1607-1940. New York, D. Appleton-
Century Co., 1940. 441 pages. IIIus.
Price $4.00.

EASTMAN, AUSTIN VITRUVIUS. The ter-
minal plan: an improved system of
urban transportation. Seattle, Wash.,
University of Washington, July 1938.
57 pages. Plans (part folded), diagrs.,
tables. (Bulletin, University of Wash-
ington, Engineering Experiment Sta-
tion Series, Report no. 5.)

EVELYN, JOHN. London revived: con-
sideration for its rebuilding in 1666,
edited by E. S. de Beer. Oxford,
Clarendon Press, 1938. 61 pages.
Plans. Price 55.

GEDDES, NORMAN BEL. Magic motorways.
New York, Random House, 1940.
297 pages. IIIus., maps, diagrs. Price
$3.50.

HIGHWAY RESEARCH BOARD, and AMERI-
CAN ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY
OFFICIALS. JOINT COMMITTEE ON ROAD-
SIDE DEVELOPMENT. Roadside develop-
ment; reports at the nineteenth annual
meeting. Washington, The Board,
March 1940. 63 pages. Mimeographed.
Tables, chart. Price 50 cents.

LAUTNER, HAROLD W., [comp.] American
Institute of Planners handbook pub-
lished with the approval of the Board of
Governors. Cambridge, Mass., The
Institute, Mar. 1940. 83 pages. Litho-
printed. Map. Price $1.00.

LEE, ALVIN T. M. Land utilization in
New Jersey: a land development
scheme in the New Jersey pine area.
New Brunswick, New Jersey Agri-

Planning and Civic Comment

cultural Experiment Station, July 1939.
50 pages. IIIus., map, tables. (Bulle-
tin 665.)

LINDEMAN, EDUARD C. Leisure: a national
issue; planning for the leisure of a
democratic people. New York, Asso-
ciation Press, 1939. 6 1 pages. Price
50 cents.

LUCAS, EDGAR. Practical air raid pro-
tection. London, Jordan and Sons,
Ltd., 1939. 153 pages. IIIus., plans,
diagrs., cross sections, tables, chart.
Price i os. 6d.

MOSES, ROBERT and OTHERS. Arterial
plan for Pittsburgh, prepared for the
Pittsburgh Regional Planning Asso-
ciation, by Robert Moses, with the
assistance of. . . consultants. . . [Pitts-
burgh, The Association], Nov. 1939.
26 pages. Mimeographed. IIIus., maps
(folded), plans (folded), cross sections
(part folded), charts.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ASSESSING
OFFICERS. Urban land appraisal: a
description of methods employed in
assessing property taxes. . . Chicago,
The Association, 1940. 170 pages.
Plans, diagrs., tables, charts. (Assess-
ment Practice Series, no. 2.) Price $3.00.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF HOUSING
OFFICIALS. What to know about a
housing project; an outline for studying
large scale developments. Chicago, The
Association, June 1939. 19 pages.
Mimeographed. Tables. (Publication
no. Nio6.) Price 25 cents.

NATIONAL BOARD OF FIRE UNDERWRITERS.
Building codes: their scope and aims.
New York, The Board, [1940]. 22
pages. IIIus.

. Code of suggested ordinances

for small municipalities; rev. reprint.
New York, The Board, 1938. 47 pages.

NATIONAL RECREATION ASSOCIATION.
Twenty-fourth National Recreation
Congress proceedings. . . New York,
The Association, 1939. 189 pages.
Portraits. Price $1.00.

NEW YORK, N. Y. DEPT. OF PARKS. Grade
crossing elimination; report to the
Mayor, Nov. ist, 1939. [New York,
The Dept.], 1939. [18] pages. IIIus.,
map, chart.

[PERLING, ESTHER RUTH, and BERTRAM
R. COEN.] Wage rate laws on public
works. . ., August 1939. Washington,
Govt. Printing Office, 1939. 226 pages.
(U. S. Federal Works Agency, Public
Works Administration.) Price 25 cents.

SAMUELY, FELIX JAMES, and CONRAD
WILSON HAMANN. Civil protection:
the application of the Civil Defense Act
and other government requirements for

air raid shelters, etc. [London], The
Architectural Press, 1939. 165 pages.
Map (folded), plans, diagrs., cross
sections, tables, charts. Price 8s. 6d.

STEVENS, F. L. Under London: a chron-
icle of London's underground life-lines
and relics; with an introduction by
Herbert Morrison. London, J. M.
Dent and Sons Ltd., 1939. 204 pages.
IIIus., diagrs., cross section. Price
8s. 6d.

U. S. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS. Street
railways and trolley-bus and motorbus
operations, prepared under the super-
vision of Thomas J. Fitzgerald. Wash-
ington, Govt. Printing Office, 1939.
93 pages. Tables. (Census of Electrical
Industries, 1937.) Price 15 cents.

. Urban population in the United

States from the first census (1790) to
the fifteenth census (1930). Washington,
The Bureau, Oct. 31, 1939. n pages.
Lithoprinted. Tables.

U. S. CIVIL AERONAUTICS AUTHORITY.
TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT DIVISION.
AIRPORT SECTION. Protection of air-
port approaches. Transcript of findings
of fact and conclusions of law and of
decree in United Airports Company of
Cal., Ltd., v. Hinman, et al. (U. S.
Dist. Ct., Southern Dist. of Cal.,
Central Div., April 29, 1939.) Wash-
ington, The Authority, Jan. 2, 1940.
21 pages. Mimeographed.

U. S. FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION.
Low-rental housing for private in-
vestment. Washington, The Adminis-
tration, 1940. 31 pages. IIIus., plans,
diagrs., table.

U. S. WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION.
New York municipal airport; a detailed
description of the great air terminal con-
structed by the Work Projects Adminis-
tration. [New York], The Administra-
tion, [1940]. 19 pages. Lithoprinted.

WAGNER, H. S. and CHA[RLE]S G. SAUERS.
Study of the organization of the national
capital parks. [Washington, U. S.
Dept. of the Interior, 1939.] 51 pages.
Mimeographed.

WILLIAMS, LESLIE. Library classification
and sample bibliography of traffic
engineering materials. New Haven,
Conn., Bureau for Street Traffic Re-
search, 1940. 58 pages. Mimeographed.
(Yale Traffic Bureau Series no. i.)
Price $1.00.

WOOD, EDITH ELMER and ELIZABETH OGG.
The homes the public builds. New
York, Public Affairs Committee, Inc.,
1940. 32 pages. Map, charts. (Public
Affairs Pamphlets, no. 41.) Price
10 cents.

Planning and
Civic Comment

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

CONTENTS

Page
Notes on Values of Recreation 1

Editorial Comment 6

Cities Worth Defending 7

The Eternal Verities 8

Cascade Mountains Study 9

Zoning Round Table: Upheaval in New York City Zoning ... 10

National Resources Planning Board Notes 13

Strictly Personal 15

Annual Meeting of the APCA Members 17

Dollar Dividends from Planning 19

State Park Notes 21

1940 Yearbook 26

Guide to Yosemite Valley 27

Watch Service Report 28

New City Plan 30

Metropolitan Boston 32

Census Tract Planning Aid 32

N. E. Regional Planning Conference Report 33

Special Defense Report on Housing 33

Summer Planning Activities in New England 34

Second Joint Conference on Roadside Improvement 35

For Better Roadsides 35

Program for Wayne County, Michigan 36

Purposes of Defense Housing Coordinator 37

Report Available on Planning for the Harrisburg Area 37

Book Reviews 38

Recent Publications .39

JULY- SEPTEMBER 194O

PLANNING AND
CIVIC COMMENT

Published Quarterly

Successor to: City Planning, Civic Comment, State Recreation

Official Organ of: American Planning and Civic Association,
National Conference on State Parks

SCOPE: National,' State, Regional and City Planning; Land and Water Uses;

Conservation oj National Resources; National, Stale and Local Parks,

Highways and Roadsides.
AIM: To create a better physical environment which will conserve and develop

the health, happiness and culture oj the American people.

EDITORIAL BOARD

HARLEAN JAMES FLAVEL SHURTLEFF CHARLES G. SAUERS

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

FREDERICK J. ADAMS HENRY V. HUBBARD

HORACE M. ALBRIGHT JOHN IHLDEK

HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW GEORGE INGALLS

EDWARD M. BASSETT RAYMOND F. LEONARD

RICHARD E. BISHOP RICHARD LIEBER

RUSSELL V. BLACK THOMAS H. MACDONALD

PAUL V. BROWN ROBERTS MANN

STRUTHERS BURT J. HORACE MCFARLAND

HAROLD S. BUTTENHEIM HENRY T. MC!NTOSH

ARNO B. CAMMERER KATHERINE MCNAMARA

MARSHALL N. DANA HAROLD MERRILL

S. R. DEBOER MARVIN C. NICHOLS

EARLE S. DRAPER JOHN NOLEN, JR.

NEWTON B. DRURY F. A. PITKIN

CHARLES W. ELIOT 2o ISABELLE F. STORY

L. C. GRAY L. DEMING TILTON

S. HERBERT HARE TOM WALLACE

ELISABETH M. HERLIHY CONRAD L. WIRTH

MANAGING EDITOR

DORA A. PADGETT

$3.00 a Year

Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Washington, D. C., under
the Act of March 3, 1879. Addional entry at Harrisburg, Pa.

EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATION OFFICE: 901 Union Trust Building, Washington, D. C.

Printed by the Mount Pleasant Press, J. Horace McFarland Company, Harris-
burg, Pa.

Planning and Civic Comment

Vol.6

July -September, 1940

No. 3

Notes on Values of Recreation

By GEORGE F. INGALLS, Omaha, Nebraska

THE topic of measuring values
of recreation in terms of dol-
lars is by no means new, yet
has an adequate review of the mat-
ter been made? We do not offer the
following thoughts as being com-
plete, but wish only to suggest some
of the considerations involved. There
is need for authoritative answers to
the questions that would be raised
in a full discussion of the subject.

Value is a relative term. When we
say of a thing that it has a certain
value, we are asserting the desira-
bility or worth of it compared with
the desirability or worth of some-
thing else. Recreation may be de-
fined as "any pleasurable activity of
mind or body which is stimulating
or refreshing and which is entered
into without compulsion or expecta-
tion of material gain." (Lee Hanmer,
Russell Sage Foundation, New York,
from a letter of August 17, 1934.)

In considering recreation and its
value, our only concern is its value
to man. More and more it is becom-
ing realized that recreational lands
and facilities are required in the
public interest, as are schools,
libraries, departments of health, and
other public services. Increasingly

it is being realized that the social
value of none of these services can
be stated in terms of money. Recre-
ation is a contributing part of our
culture, but the value of that part
cannot be given in terms of measure-
ment. As recently stated by Mr.
Cammerer, National Park Service,
before the Eighth American Scien-
tific Congress, recreation is a quality
of living: Who can say when our
living is good enough?

A sound and progressive Nation
exists only when the individuals who
collectively constitute it are healthy
in body, mind, and soul. The pri-
mary requisites of an individual and
of a Nation to be healthy are such
things as work, food, shelter, ideals,
and recreation. Since the origin of
man, people have worked together
to provide some of their needs. Col-
lectively they maintain agencies
such as school systems, police de-
partments, fire departments, health
departments. They contribute to
the construction of highways, water-
ways, cities. They establish recrea-
tional areas and systems; municipal,
county, and state parks; national
parks and monuments.

Some forms of recreation can be
supplied by individuals, some by
communities, some by States,

Planning and Civic Comment

whereas others must be supplied by
the Nation. In order that special
privileges may not be accorded to a
few individuals at the expense of the
others, we have recreational areas
established "for the benefit and en-
joyment of all the people." Thus all
individuals comprising the Nation
are the trustees and guardians of
certain means for recreation which
cannot be supplied by the individual,
by the community, or by the State.
The need for recreation has become
a national concern.

In all plans for the development of
this country, or any section of it,
each natural resource must be classi-
fied according to its highest use.
Some lands are most suitable for
farming, others for grazing, others
for forestry and mining; but some
lands are most suitable for the in-
spiration and recreation of the public.
Lands of superlative natural or
historic character, wherever they
may be, fulfill their greatest service
when permanently guarded against
developments that would injure
their native worth. It is also such
areas whose "recreational values"
are the least measurable, for who can
set a price upon inspiration? An
area such as Grand Teton National
Park is unquestionably of primary
importance for its inspirational
value, as the Congress recognized in
establishing it. On the other hand,
there are many areas throughout the
Nation primarily valuable for other
purposes, such as water control, yet
having recreational usefulness. The
Boulder Dam region is primarily
valuable for water control purposes
and has been so developed. In that
development, however, recreational
and wildlife values have been recog-

nized and are being planned for the
public benefit.

The physical and spiritual bene-
fits accruing to people from recrea-
tion cannot be measured in dollars.
"The difficulty of insuring that
result (the greatest good of the great-
est number) is great because the
utilitarian benefits commonly are
measurable, whereas the public
recreation benefits are likely to be
intangible. Because they are in-
tangible, however, they are no less
real, and a good sound public policy
will safeguard to the fullest extent
intangible values that concern the
public at large. Superlative scenery
or natural features having inspira-
tional associations may possess social
values not to be outweighed by
economic considerations." ("Drain-
age Basin Problems and Programs,"
1937 Revision, National Resources
Committee, page 113.)

But there are certain economic
aspects concerning recreation about
which much can be learned. We need
to know much more about the
economic side of recreation, not for
one instant, however, forgetting the
supreme importance of social values.
Perhaps the most obvious phase of
recognition of the economic side of
recreation lies in the tremendous
publicity and encouragement being
given to recreational travel. Travel
bureaus and publicity departments
exist on every hand, because to
cater to demands for recreation is an
enormous business. Monetary re-
turns from this source of expendi-
ture are tangible and are important
in our economic life. It is essential
to remember, however, that exces-

Planning and Civic Comment

sive commercialization of a recrea-
tional resource can destroy the very
charm of the thing upon which
monetary returns depend.

From various sources it is possible
to obtain statistics on expenditures
for recreational travel, services, and
products. Governmental agencies
and private concerns are deeply in-
terested in this subject. Many
States maintain publicity bureaus
which extol the benefits of recrea-
tional travel in their States, and
point with pride to the vast sums
spent therein annually. Highway
departments compile similar data,
as do resort associations, oil com-
panies, and chambers of com-
merce. Many conservation depart-
ments can show definite data re-
garding state income from fishing
and hunting licenses. Gasoline
taxes from recreational travel are
an important source of state rev-
enue.

In estimating the economic effects
which will result from establishing a
recreational area in a given locality,
various considerations arise. Some
land will be removed from the tax
rolls; but against this it would be
imperative to place estimated tax
receipts resulting from increased
land values in nearby areas bene-
ficially affected by the project, as
well as from increases in sales to
recreational visitors, of recreation
products and services, gasoline, oil,
and other automobile supplies, lodg-
ings, meals, souvenirs.

The project may result in some
change in trade areas for already
established markets. Against this
it would be necessary to place such
items as money which would be
distributed locally through expendi-

tures for supplies and salaries by
operators of recreational facilities
and by the recreational administra-
tive agency.

Lands may be removed from such
productive uses as agriculture, graz-
ing, or lumbering; but against reduc-
tions in monetary returns from those
sources, we should weigh increased
returns from other sources of income
created as a result of a new recrea-
tion industry.

If the area in question is large,
there may be effects upon school and
other municipal districts. Loss in
public investment in structures and
services may be offset, at least in
part, by reduction in maintenance
costs, because certain facilities will
no longer need to be kept up; more-
over, through resulting consolidation
of districts, economies in new con-
struction and maintenance may be
possible.

The above are but examples of
considerations that must be summed
up, the pros against the cons, in any
weighing of economic factors.

Ill

Can a per acre recreation dollar
sign be set upon recreational lands?
Is it feasible to arrive at a usable
figure by totaling for a given recrea-
tional area the yearly public ex-
penditures therein, the amount spent
annually by visitors in the park and
in getting to it, and then dividing by
the park acreage? The result would
be a figure which would show what
was spent there annually per acre for
recreation, and as such would cer-
tainly be useful. It would not, how-
ever, be the value of recreation. Let
us not identify costs or expenditures
with values.

Planning and Civic Comment

Many recreational areas have a
reserve value which we often neglect
to mention. It is as if we had an
investment which we forget, except
for the interest. When looked upon
as a timber crop, the forest has a
monetary value as well as a sus-
tained-yield value. The soil itself
may have agricultural or mineral
worth. Other values exist such as
for fishing, wildlife, and watershed
protection. All of these are fairly
measurable, may be classified, and
need to be placed on the balance
sheet.

Fees are being collected at the
entrances to some national and state
parks. In many local parks and
playgrounds a charge is made for
special services, such as swimming
and tennis. It is through these fees
that park users help pay for the
operation and maintenance of facili-
ties provided for public enjoyment,
but they do not represent the value
of the facilities to them. Neverthe-
less, in the light of accurate inter-
pretation the amounts collected
may be viewed as one indication
of usefulness of recreational devel-
opments.

In attempting to determine
whether certain lands should be set
aside for recreation, the method of
"comparative analysis" may be
employed. Thus the character and
potentialities of a proposed project
may be compared with known facts
regarding an existing similar de-
velopment.

Of water control projects, such as
impoundment for flood control,
irrigation, or power, the dominant
purpose is other than recreation.
Even though the dominant purpose
may be other than recreation, the

project may have recreational po-
tentialities. But these possibilities
may be used as a justification for the
project only if prior studies have
shown a need for water recreation in
the locality, and have indicated the
suitability of the project for recrea-
tional development. If investiga-
tions have shown need and suita-
bility, then the planning, develop-
ment, operation, and maintenance
of the project should be such as will
enable the best recreational use of
the area, commensurate with the
public need and compatible with the
major purposes of the project.

In appraising the recreational
possibilities of a water control proj-
ect, it is necessary to weigh the
values that may be lost through im-
poundment of water against those
that may be gained. These values
may include scenic, geologic, wild-
life, or other inspirational or educa-
tional qualities, and prior studies
must be made to determine whether
their loss or impairment would be of
greater or lesser importance to the
public than the total of the benefits
to be derived from the completed
project.

In order to determine whether
recreational areas are required, it is
necessary first to obtain accurate
information on population trends
(both resident and tourist), types of
recreation needed in the locality,
existing facilities already provided,
and other facilities proposed in the
vicinity. It should be definitely de-
termined whether the need warrants
the cost of planning, developing,
operating, and maintaining any
recreational project. It is important
to make certain that a competent
administrative agency will exist to

Planning and Civic Comment

operate and maintain the recrea-
tional developments.

Where recreational needs have
been determined and it is thought
that water control projects under
consideration for other purposes may
help to satisfy them, each project, in
addition to hydrological studies,
should receive careful investigation
on such subjects as the possible
effects of changes of water level on
plant life, fishing, waterfowl habitat,
beaches, dockage; the possible coin-
cidence of drawdown with the
recreation season and resulting ex-
posure of unsightly shores and of
facilities left high and dry away from
the water; water pollution; safe
drinking water; and sewage treat-
ment and disposal. These and other
questions need to be answered before
it can be said, even if the rec-
reational need is known, whether
recreational possibilities should be
developed.

Planning for recreation in connec-
tion with projects of other dominant
purposes is too often rear rather than
advance planning. Rather than
impose a recreational development
upon an existing project as an after-
thought, it would be far more
sensible and far more satisfactory
all around to begin the recreational
planning at the same time that plan-
ning for the dominant purposes is
undertaken. Through advance plan-
ning it will sometimes be possible to
make adjustments in the primary
plan to benefit recreation without
harm to the dominant purposes. It
will sometimes be possible in the
early stages to determine what addi-
tional lands should be obtained for
recreation beyond those required for
the primary use.

In considering the establishment
of recreational lands there is an
obligation to estimate as accurately
as possible their costs in dollars
(since this is the medium of physical
measurement in public works) and
to study the relationship of these
sums to the benefits to society. Some
of these benefits are /measurable in
dollars. But the vital values, having
to do with the purpose of creating
and recreating mental perspectives,
cultural appreciation, social inspira-
tion, bodily health and vigor these
and kindred necessities for the indi-
vidual and national welfare, if con-
trollable by the dollar, are neverthe-
less of a different substance from it
and are therefore not measurable by
that gauge.

An ancient philosopher put it
simply: "If you have but two pen-
nies, with one buy bread for the
body, with the other buy a flower for
the soul." Such a philosophy would
place an equal value on the percep-
tive and the physical lives, implying
that one is meaningless without the
other. The answer to the question of
the value of recreation can be de-
termined only when the value of life
is given. Shall we place a monetary
value on friendship, or a man's love
for his wife and child? Can we
equate with a dollar mark the inti-
mate glimpse of a waterfall that may
influence the insight of a child on
life purposes? Multiply the value of
that one glimpse by the benefits to
millions of other people who have
viewed similar wonders, and you have
an approximation of the value of
one type of recreation that alone may
outweigh the "costs" on any scale
adjusted to weighing social benefits.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

ASK YOURSELF whether Your
Community is in a position to stand
the strain of increased defense activ-
ities.

Has it planning, zoning and park
boards to guide its growth and pre-
vent major mistakes?

Has it adequate low-cost housing?

Has it public and private agencies
capable of providing for new hous-
ing needs?

Now is THE TIME for all American
citizens to exercise their priceless
privileges to make sure that:

1 . Active, adequately supported
planning boards and zoning agencies
are in a position to function intel-
ligently and continuously in con-
nection with all public and private
housing and with all defense mea-
sures which affect the structure of
local communities.

2. Park, parkway and playground
facilities are provided to keep pace
with the increasing needs for out-
door recreation, so essential for
human beings living under abnormal
conditions of strain.

TOTAL DEFENSE includes putting
into effect the very program which
the AMERICAN PLANNING AND Civic
ASSOCIATION (and its predecessors,
the American Civic Association and
the National Conference on City
Planning) and the NATIONAL CON-
FERENCE ON STATE PARKS have
labored to promote for many years.

It is just as important to the pro-
tection of the country that the civil
population live in well-planned,
pleasant and health-providing com-
munities as it is to supply sanitary
quarters for the military forces.

No NATION can defend itself
against attack from without and
decay from within if its citizens do
not make sure that local govern-
ments are in the hands of honest
and efficient public officials. Can
all American cities qualify?

A RESOURCES UTILIZATION PRO-
GRAM which sought to put into
commercial use every acre of culti-
vable land, every drop of falling
water, every standing forest tree,
every discoverable deposit of metal,
every blade of forage grass, would
hardly merit the appellation of a
planning program. Planning agen-
cies are set up to devise balanced
programs under which a great va-
riety of human needs may be met.
Some lands and waters no doubt
can be subjected to a number of
simultaneous uses; but let us make
no mistake if the day ever comes
when our national and state parks
are opened to broad commercial ex-
ploitation, we shall have introduced
practices which will lead to their
ultimate destruction as parks. Parks
are quite as important in a balanced
program of land and water uses as
other more extensive acreages and

Planning and Civic Comment

the United States will be the poorer
if parks dwindle or disappear under
the blanket of more or less complete
commercial exploitation.

made available by Mr. T. Coleman
du Pont.

SOME YEARS AGO, when the
Cumberland Falls fight was at its
height, the then counsel for the
Federal Power Commission claimed
that protecting water scenery was
"complete non-use," and could not
be included under the Act of Con-
gress authorizing a comprehensive
scheme of improvement and utiliza-
tion for the purposes of navigation,
of jvater power development, and of
"other public beneficial uses." For-
tunately, this point of view did not
prevail. Today the State of Ken-
tucky is proud of Cumberland Falls
State Park, purchased with funds

AT FIRST BLUSH national and
state parks, highway, parkway and
roadside development and such
kindred causes may seem far re-
moved from the operation of Na-
tional Defense. But,President
Roosevelt, Secretary I c k e s , Gov-
ernor Hoey of North Carolina and
Governor Cooper of Tennessee, all
made it clear at the dedication of
the Great Smoky Mountains Na-
tional Park that they believe that
the conservation and wise use of
national parks, such as this inspira-
tional area, constitute a contribu-
tion to human health and happiness
in war and other emergencies as well
as in times of peace and prosperity.

Cities Worth Defending

It is high time that we ask our-
selves what we are defending. Our
homes and places of business, our
farms, forests and factories, our
public buildings and historic shrines,
our parks, parkways and highways
in short, the environment which
we have inherited or created. But
many civilizations have possessed
fertile fields and humming factories.
Many peoples have accumulated
wealth and exercised power. A few
have developed cultures which
through the magic of genius in the
arts and sciences have left precious
heritages to mankind. But the great
nations of the past have risen to
peaks of power and glory and then
declined to make way for more virile
peoples.

Ability to defend territory and
resources from the onslaughts of the
envious is no doubt one practical
evidence of the vitality of a people,
though it must always be remem-
bered that actual war operates to put
the law of the survival of the fittest
into reverse action, for cannon and
bombs are no respecters of the fit.

Fortunately, there are other
methods of preserving the vitality
of a people. Healthy bodies, trained
minds and high ideals make a com-
bination hard to beat.

One of the inevitable signs of de-
cay is flabbiness physical, mental
and moral sometimes accompanied
by overdoses of luxury and un-
earned ease and almost certainly
divorced from habitual physical

Planning and Civic Comment

exertion and frequent contact with
the unspoiled open country. Run-
ning along with physical and mental
decay, of course, comes the inevit-
able decline in the civic virtues
careless citizens who permit or con-
done public graft and private rackets
or merely remain uninterested and

inactive in community welfare and
unwilling to make sacrifices for the
city, state and Nation.

PLANNING AND Civic COMMENT
issues a call to citizens to participate
in making their communities good
places in which to live the good life
cities worth defending.

The Eternal Verities

Apropos of the long-continued
drive in the eleven western States
to bring commercial uses and prac-
tices into national and state parks
and to prevent the extension of
qualified and much-needed parks,
we quote from a statement made by
Frederick Law Olmsted, the elder,
in 1890, when Robert Underwood
Johnson, John Muir and others were
trying to return Yosemite Valley to
the Federal Government. Yosemite,
a gift of the Federal Government to
the State of California, had been
administered by the State since
1864. After refuting the baseless
charges of selfish interest made by
the current Governor against Mr.
Johnson and himself, Mr. Olmsted
described an ailment from which we
suffer in 1940 just as we did when
he wrote fifty years ago. Said he:

If the Governor and the Commissioners
are in error, their error probably lies not
in any intentional disregard of the State's
obligation, but in overlooking the fact
that in natural scenery that which is of
essential value lies in conditions of a char-
acter not to be exactly described and made
the subject of specific injunctions in an
Act of Congress, and not to be perfectly
discriminated without other wisdom than
that which is gained in schools and col-
leges, counting-rooms and banks. Such
qualities as are attributed by the Governor
to his Commissioners integrity, general
education, business experience and what

is comprehensively called good taste do
not, in themselves, qualify men to guard
against the waste of such essential value,
much less do they fit them to devise with
artistic refinement means for reconciling
with its preservation, its development and
its exhibition, such requirements of con-
venience for multitudes of travelers as
must be provided in Yosemite. Whether
it is the case with these Commissioners or
not, there are thousands of such estimable
men who have no more sense in this respect
than children, and it must be said that
those most wanting in it are those least
conscious of the want. Men of the quali-
fications attributed to the Commissioners
are the best sort of men for the proper
duties of an auditing and controlling board.
There could be no better men for the usual
business of a board of hospital trustees,
for example. But the best board of hospital
trustees would commit what the law re-
gards as a crime, if they assumed the
duties of physicians and nurses. Ability
in a landscape designer is, in some small
degree, a native endowment, but much
more it is a matter of penetrative study,
discipline, training, and the development
through practice of a special knack. Even
men of unusually happy endowment and
education, who have not, also, the results
of considerable working experience, can
rarely have much forecasting realization
of the manner in which charm of scenery
is to be affected by such operations as
commonly pass under the name of "im-
provements."

No doubt many of those who to-
day see no impropriety in introduc-
ing commercial multiple uses into
areas which need special scenic and
scientific guardianship are quite un-
conscious of their lack of perception.

Cascade Mountains Study

A Report prepared by an Ad-
visory Committee appointed by the
Washington State Planning Council
was submitted to the Council on
May 1 1 and by the Chairman of the
Council to the Governor on June 14.
The printed report was distributed
in July and has been read carefully
by many who are interested in the
development of balanced land-use
policies. The report assembles or
adapts a great many factual statis-
tics and statements of opinion,
generally setting forth the source
quoted or adapted.

The study embraces approxi-
mately 8,350,000 acres of the Cas-
cade Mountains in Washington. Of
this area, 6,844,000 acres are in na-
tional forests and 241,782 acres in
Rainier National Park.

The recommendations follow:

1. That the natural resources of the
Cascade Mountains be developed further
and managed on the multiple use principle
so as to provide in an orderly manner
needed raw materials and recreational
areas for the people of Washington and
the Nation.

2. That no additional lands of the Cas-
cade Mountains be converted into use as
a national park.

3. That the people of the state be con-
sulted and their prevailing sentiment be
respected in considering and deciding upon
any change in federal control or operation
of any of the lands within the national
forests.

4. That the timber, both privately and
publicly owned, be operated under proper
forest management and on a permanent
yield basis, thus providing a continuous
supply of lumber, pulp, plastics, and other
merchantable forest products.

5. That county, state, federal, and
private agencies cooperate in making a
detailed and comprehensive survey of the
minerals of the Cascades. Furthermore,
that prospecting and mining be continued
and be encouraged.

6. That county, state, and Tederal gov-
ernments and private agencies cooperate
in constructing roads within the Cascades
not only for recreational travel but also to
make accessible forest, mineral, and other
resources, and to connect the several sec-
tions of the state.

7. That the grazing areas be left open
for use of domestic animals under proper
supervision and control.

8. That the multiple use principle be
applied to the water resources and that
they be conserved and equitably ap-
portioned for storage, irrigation, electric
power, domestic use, industrial use, and
other uses.

9. That the wild life be judiciously
managed by state and federal agencies so
as to contribute to the economic and
esthetic well-being of the people of the
state and to provide recreation for all.

10. That public and private agencies
cooperate in building recreational facilities
to meet general public demands.

Thus the Washington State Plan-
ning Council has adopted the forest-
lumber-mining-grazing-industrial-
and commercial program, for which,
of course, there is much to be said;
but it does seem a bit one-sided for
a planning agency to accept such a
program without adjustment or
amendment. The Council recom-
mends that recreation be developed
concomitantly with commercial
uses, but that under no circum-
stances should a single acre of the
eight-million-odd acres of these
superlatively scenic mountains be in-
corporated into a national park!

Zoning Round Table

Conducted by EDWARD M. BASSETT

UPHEAVAL IN NEW YORK CITY ZONING

NEW YORK City zoning has
worked smoothly and effec-
tively for more than twenty
years. On January I, 1939, it was
taken in hand by the new City Plan-
ning Commission, and after a year
and a half of re-study by the com-
mission and staff and debates with
property owners the proposals of the
commission were reviewed by the
Board of Estimate and brought to a
focus June 28, 1940. The defeat of
part of the proposals and the adop-
tion of a less important part was the
result.

The commission was of the opin-
ion that the existing zoning in many
respects was out of date.

According to the new City Char-
ter the Planning Commission can
pass proposed zoning amendments.
These are referred to the Board of
Estimate. This is a board of elected
officials corresponding in this respect
to the councils of other cities. If the
amendments proposed by the Plan-
ning Commission are not overturned
by the Board of Estimate by a three-
fourths vote, they become the law in
thirty days.

Perhaps the most important sub-
ject on the long list of amendments
that went from the commission to
the Board of Estimate was the pro-
posal that lawful non-conforming
gasoline stations should be ousted in
five years and lawful non-conform-
ing garages should be ousted in ten
years unless the Board of Appeals
granted permits for continuation on

conditions. As all the gasoline sta-
tions and garages in the city except
those in unrestricted districts are
non-conforming structures, this
meant, if it had gone through, that
all ownership of these buildings
would be precarious for a number of
years. Nine-tenths of the opposition
which appeared at the various public-
hearings was centered upon these
provisions of the new amendments.
Opponents pointed out that such
buildings would be unsalable and
unrentable on long leases. They
claimed that every mortgage on such
buildings would be called because
the mortgagee would see that at the
end of five or ten years his security
might become worthless. The com-
mission itself was not a unit on these
proposals, two of its members voting
against them and filing a dissenting
report. When the Board of Estimate
voted on approval or non-approval
of these provisions, they were over-
thrown by a unanimous vote.

The turmoil did not stop there be-
cause many property owners per-
ceived what they had failed to un-
derstand before, that it was in the
power of two members of the Board
of Estimate, if they happened to be
in agreement with the Planning
Commission, to pass dangerous laws
which the large majority of the
Board of Estimate might try to pre-
vent. The effort of the commission
to put through this rather sudden
and undebated plan has undoubt-
edly caused a widespread Joss of

Planning and Civic Comment

confidence in the carefulness of the
commission. The City Council is
up in arms and is pushing a proposed
amendment to the City Charter
making approval by the Board of
Estimate dependent upon a two-
thirds vote. The sleeper is that the
Board of Estimate could simply
pigeonhole the proposal and that
would end it. The commission would
be virtually annihilated. There is
little danger that this charter change
will be made partly because wiser
heads want to continue the Planning
Commission and also because a
popular referendum is necessary to
alter the charter in this respect.

Those of us who have watched the
development of zoning during the
past twenty years have learned that
owners know a good deal about their
property and its future needs, that
they will in the main do the right
thing if they have a chance to be in-
formed, and that elected officials
care more for the opinion of the
property owners than they do for
novel plans which seem to subvert
values. Zoning has always fared
best in those cities where the prop-
erty owners approve of the zoning
methods by a considerable majority.

Since the original zoning in New
York City billboards have not been
allowed in residential districts. In
business and unrestricted districts,
however, signs of all sorts, if in com-
pliance with the Building Code, have
been allowed. The new proposed
amendments of the Planning Com-
mission divided signs into business
and advertising. A business sign
contains words referring to goods
sold on the premises. An advertising
sign contains words referring to
other matters. If this amendment

had not been overthrown by the
Board of Estimate, all advertising
signs in the city would become non-
conforming. Such signs were given
two years to be ousted unless an ex-
ception for continuance was ob-
tained from the Board of Standards
and Appeals. The Board of Esti-
mate unanimously overthrew the
provisions for ousting non-conform-
ing signs in two years, but left the
provision for the two kinds of signs,
business and advertising. The result
is that presumably advertising signs
will not be permitted hereafter but
business signs with certain limita-
tions not heretofore existing will be
permitted. Undoubtedly this will
cause a considerable expense for
regulation of signs and perhaps
more or less litigation. I confess that
during my connection with zoning
in this city it has not seemed to me
that advertising signs in business
and industrial districts were a vital
concern. I know that others have
considered the subject to be of great
importance.

A new sort of use district was pro-
posed by the commission called a
local retail district. The novelty of
this district consists in permission of
business on the ground floor but
exclusion of everything except resi-
dence uses on the floors above. This
was passed. This seems to me to be
unlawful because the regulation has
no substantial relation to the com-
munity health, safety, comfort and
morals. It would seem to be based
on a desire to help along the usual
practice in large cities of using the
ground floor for stores and allowing
the upper floors to be used either for
residence or business purposes. The
new feature is that the exclusion of

Planning and Civic Comment

business from the upper floors is not
optional with the owner but he is
compelled to use them for residence
purposes. As this is a police power
regulation and as every such regula-
tion in order to be valid must have a
substantial relation to the com-
munity health, safety, comfort and
morals, those who uphold this regu-
lation must point out in what way
it is safer or more healthful than
otherwise. If a store can keep kero-
sene on the first floor it is difficult to
see why the second floor must be
used for residence only. The same
dangers would affect the second
floor as the first floor. Yet the city
must show the court that the second
floor is safer and more healthful be-
cause it is restricted to residence
purposes. We all know that fire
insurance on the second floor is the
same as on the first floor where in-
flammable material is on the first
floor. We also know that all the
arguments regarding transmission of
disease by insects apply to families
immediately above stores. It is well
to remember that twenty years ago
most of the courts of this country
frowned on residence districts, say-
ing that the exclusion of business
from residence districts was based
on esthetics. This view was gradu-
ally altered on the production of
proof before the courts regarding
fire risk, noise, dust and insects.

No actual local retail district has
yet been established on the use map
of the city. It is suggested that only
a few spots, probably apartment
house spots, will be used for this pur-
pose. It is also likely that property
owners where such districts are
created will not object. Neverthe-
less it is my own conviction that

zoning regulations should be lawful
on their face and not dependent on
strong arm methods.

In the early days of zoning, New
Rochelle, N. Y., passed a regulation
limiting the number of families per
acre. An aggrieved builder took the
matter to court and it was decided
that the words "height, area and
use" which were the basis of the zon-
ing law had nothing to do with num-
ber of families and that therefore it
was unlawful to establish zoning dis-
tricts containing such a regulation.
Immediately those interested in the
sound development of zoning began
to advocate the introduction of the
words "density of population" into
all zoning enabling acts. They were
successful in doing this in the Gen-
eral City Law, the Village Law and
the Town Law of New York. The
same words were introduced into the
model zoning enabling act which the
Department of Commerce was dis-
seminating throughout the country.
The result has been that in every
part of the country municipalities
can now establish zoning regulations
for number of families. This, how-
ever, does not apply to New York
City because the original zoning
enabling act did not contain the
words "density of population" and
for one reason or another their inser-
tion has been postponed year after
year and the words are not now in
the new charter or administrative
code.

Notwithstanding this the Plan-
ning Commission established in the
proposed new amendments a con-
siderable number of new residence
districts in which only one-family
detached dwellings could be con-
structed. The commission was both

Planning and Civic Comment

right and wrong in doing this. We
all consider that every municipality
should have the power to establish
single-family residence districts. The
commission was wrong in going
ahead with this procedure before the
charter was amended by introducing
the words "density of population."
The Board of Estimate did not over-
throw these new single-family dis-
tricts and consequently they are
permitted by the words of the law.
These provisions occupy a larger
part of the new law than any other
single new subject.

Since the adoption of the new
amendments on June 28, 1940, the
Supreme Court of New York State
has declared that one-family de-
tached dwelling districts are void

(Hall v. Leonard, Supreme Court,
Bronx County, New York Law
Journal, July 3, 1940). In this re-
spect the court has followed its own
decision in the New Rochelle case.
If the higher courts do not reverse
this decision a considerable part of
the new amendments will be a dead
letter.

New York City has cer;ainly gone
through a zoning upheaval. The
City Planning Commission has tried
out its new and important powers.
It has not had the best of luck so far.
But the important thing is that the
law should retain its legal integrity
and should not lose the support of
the citizens of New York who know
that a planning commission is im-
peratively needed.

National Resources Planning Board Notes

On June 26, 1940, the President
signed an Executive Order long de-
sired by those interested in the plan-
ning and programming of Federal
construction activities. Based on
joint studies of the Budget Bureau
and the National Resources Plan-
ning Board, and by virtue of the
authority contained in the Stabiliza-
tion Act of 1931, the President di-
rects each "construction agency" of
the Government to submit annually
to the Budget Bureau and the Na-
tional Resources Planning Board a
six-year advance plan and program
of public works construction with a
schedule of priorities. The Execu-
tive Order also provides for clearing
with the Bureau of the Budget re-
ports on the results of surveys or in-
vestigations on proposed construc-
tion before such reports are sent to
the Congress, so that a statement may

be included in the agency's report as
to the relationship of any such pro-
posals to the program of the President.

PUBLICATIONS.

Terming the problem of land-use
adjustment in the Northern Great
Plains "the most difficult agricul-
tural problem of its kind in the
United States," the Northern Great
Plains Committee transmitted to
President Roosevelt on July 23 a
report urging close cooperation be-
tween Federal, State and local
agencies in the preparation of a
regional plan for the area. The re-
port, prepared by a committee of
representatives of interested State
and Federal agencies, was approved
in general by the National Resources
Planning Board.

National resources for defense and
development of the United States

Planning and Civic Comment

are summarized in a handbook
"Our National Resources" made
public by the Board on July 29.
Compiled from the Board's technical
reports and other authoritative
sources, the handbook provides an
inventory of the human and physical
resources of the Nation with a brief
statement in each case of the major
problems affecting their conserva-
tion and wise use.

On August 6, the Board submitted
to the President the Land Commit-
tee's report on land acquisition.
Stating that some land in private
ownership is now needed for public
use, and that some other land should
never have been settled, the report
suggests that Federal, State and
local governemnts all have a respon-
sibility for reacquiring land. Acqui-
sition should be undertaken only
when in the public interest, accord-
ing to the Committee which recom-
mends general principles to guide
such acquisition, and urges that
adequate funds be provided to per-
mit acquisition at a rate commensu-
rate with the best interests of the
land-use program as a whole. Un-
wise settlement of some land has
led, the report says, to "serious
destruction of soils, poverty of men
and waste of public funds."

PERSONNEL.

Dr. Gardner C. Means, formerly
Economic Adviser to the Board, is
now Assistant and Economic Ad-
viser to the Director of the Bureau
of the Budget.

Dr. Hildegard Kneeland, who re-
cently completed the third volume
in the series on Consumer Incomes
and Spending, is now Principal
Agricultural Economic Statistician,

Bureau of Agricultural Economics,
Department of Agriculture.

Dr. Charles E. Judd has resigned
as Secretary of the Science Com-
mittee but retains membership on
the Committee.

Mr. Earle Draper has resigned as
Regional Counselor, Region 3, and
is now Assistant Administrator of
the Federal Housing Administration.

Mr. Orval Baldwin, formerly with
the Water Resources Section, has en-
tered on a year's tour of duty with the
Army as Captain, Engineer Reserve.

Mr. Raymond Leonard has re-
signed as Planning Technician at the
Atlanta Field Office, Region 3, to
accept a position in the Regional
Planning Studies Department of the
Tennessee Valley Authority.

Mr. William Davlin, Associate
Planning Technician, in the Field
Service Section of the Washington
office, has been transferred to the
Atlanta Field Office, Region 3.

RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE STAFF
OF THE NATIONAL RESOURCES
PLANNING BOARD INCLUDE:
Mr. Frank W. Herring, Assistant
Director of Division C, was formerly
Executive Director of the American
Public Works Association.

Dr. Spurgeon Bell, Principal Econ-
omist in Division A, was formerly
connected with the Brookings Insti-
tution.

Mr. Oscar L. Altman, as a Senior
Economist on the staff of Division
A, was formerly with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.

FIELD OFFICES:

Present addresses of the Board's
Field Offices are as follows :

Region i: nth Floor, 2100 Fed-
eral Building, Boston, Mass.

Planning and Civic Comment

Region 2: 350 Post Office Build-
ing, Baltimore, Maryland.

Region 3 : 520 New Post Office
Building, Atlanta, Georgia.

Region 4: 528 U. S. Court House
and Post Office, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Region 5: 560 Federal Building,
Dallas, Texas.

Region 6:211 Federal Office Build-
ing, Omaha, Nebraska.

Region 7: 302 Post Office Build-
ing, Denver, Colorado.

Region 8: 212 Post Office Build-
ing, Berkeley, California.

Region 9: 220 Federal Court
House, Portland, Oregon.

Strictly Personal

H. S. Wagner, president of the
NCSP, has an article on Akron's
Street Shade Tree Plan in the Sep-
tember, 1940 American Forests. In
the October issue, Mr. Wagner will
continue his presentation of the plan.

Jacob L. Crane, Jr., who has been
Assistant Administrator of the
USHA for the past two years, has
been released to work with the Na-
tional Defense Advisory Committee
as Assistant Coordinator of Defense
Housing.

Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., has
presented to Colonial Williamsburg,
a collection of 250 pieces of Ameri-
can folk art. The collection was lent
to Colonial Williamsburg in 1935
and was installed in the Ludwell-
Paradise House. New pieces have
been added since the collection was
first placed on exhibition.

Arno B. Cammerer, who resigned
Director of the National Park
Service last June, is now serving as
Regional Director of Region One,
with headquarters in Richmond,
Virginia.

Several additional transfers have
been announced in the National
Park Service. Miner R. Tillotson
transfers from the directorship of
Region One to that of Region Three,
covering the Southwestern States,
with headquarters at Santa Fe, New
Mexico. Col. John R. White, trans-
fers to San Francisco from Santa Fe
and becomes Regional Director of
Region Four. Frank A. Kittredge,
Regional Director of Region Four
becomes Superintendent of Grand
Canyon National Park.

Howard K. Menhinick has suc-
ceeded Earle S. Draper, former Di-
rector, Regional Planning Studies
Department, TVA.

Mrs. Dexter Cooper of New York
City has been appointed Superin-
tendent of the Vanderbilt Mansion,
north of Hyde Park, Dutchess
County, New York, now designated
as a national historic site. Mrs.
Cooper is the first woman to receive
appointment as superintendent of a
Federal area under the National
Park Service.

Planning and Civic Comment

A. D. Taylor received the honor-
ary degree of Doctor of Science at
Oregon State College Commence-
ment on June 3, "in recognition of
distinguished service to society, and
significant achievement in an im-
portant field of human endeavor."

Gilmore D. Clarke received the
honorary degree of Doctor of Hu-
mane Letters from Yale University
at the commencement exercises on
June 19.

Announcement was made on June
1 8, of the election of O. G. Shaffer of
Urbana, Illinois, as Chairman of the
Urbana Zoning Commission.

Paul R. Franke succeeds Marshall
A. Finnan as new Superintendent of
Zion National Park. Mr. Franke
was formerly Superintendent of
Mesa Verde National Park.

pal Review "Metropolitan Grow-
ing Pains in Allegheny County."

Charles F. Palmer of Atlanta,
Georgia, has been named Housing
Coordinator under the direction of
the Advisory Commission to the
Council of National Defense. Mr.
Palmer has been recently elected
president of the National Asso-
ciation of Housing Officials. His
new duties will make him responsible
for expediting housing developments
in connection with all defense
activities.

Robert H. Randall, formerly of
the National Resources Planning
Board, is now with the Bureau of
the Budget, as administrative con-
sultant.

H. Marie Dermitt has an article
in the September National Munici-

Carey H. Brown is a new ap-
pointee to the City Planning Board
of Rochester, New York.

J. C. Nichols is serving as Director
of the Miscellaneous Equipment
Division of the National Defense
Advisory Commission.

Miles Colean, research director
of the Housing Survey for the
Twentieth Century Fund, Coleman
Woodbury, director of the National
Association of Housing Officials,
and Herbert U. Nelson, executive
vice-president of the National
Association of Real Estate Boards
have been appointed as consultants
to C. F. Palmer, Defense Housing
Coordinator.

Earle S. Draper, vice-president
of the American Planning and
Civic Association, and of the Ameri-
can Institute of Planners, who has
been called to Washington to act as
Assistant Administrator of the Fed-
eral Housing Administration, has
brought to his work in the past a
high degree of skill, industry and
restraint. After graduating from
Massachusetts State College in 1915
and studying abroad, he established
an office in Charlotte, North Caro-
lina and later offices in Atlanta,
Georgia and Washington, D. C.,

Planning and Civic Comment

where his work in land planning
was of a character which later com-
manded the attention of the TVA
Board in 1933, then looking for an
experienced planner familiar with
Southern industry, people and cli-
mate. In Norris and other TVA
towns, simplicity, convenience and
economy keynoted the architec-
tural and community plans. In
Regional Planning for the Tennessee
Valley, unusual coordination of
the social sciences with architecture
and engineering was achieved under
his direction. In his new position
with the FHA Mr. Draper will be
building on the excellent planning
publications and practices of the
FHA, which have been increasingly
effective in subdivision and housing

developments. But there is an
opportunity to extend planning
principles into large-scale private
housing practice with the aim of
expanding the field of activity to
meet some of the more critical civic
problems of today urban, subur-
ban and rural. In addition to
responsibility for techifical studies,
research and advance planning ac-
tivities of the FHA, Mr. Draper
has been given charge of all Defense
Housing activities of the FHA and
the coordination of such activities
with other Federal agencies. He has
the training and experience to make
a real contribution to state and
local planning practices through the
leverage of the FHA.

Annual Meeting of APCA Members

THE 1940 annual meeting of
the members of the American
Planning and Civic Associa-
was held at a well-attended luncheon
at the Fairmont Hotel, San Fran-
cisco, on Monday, July 8th. Mr.
Delano, Chairman of the Board,
presided.

The Executive Secretary pre-
sented a statement on the year's
activities, most of which have been
scheduled in PLANNING AND Civic
COMMENT. She stressed the need
for a more intensive and broader
program for education in citizenship
especially as citizens are required to
function in the field of planning,
beginning with the local community
and working through the counties,
states and regions to the national
field. She said: "We are not justified

in wasting our resources by lack of
planning no matter how great the
emergency. Indeed, the more acute
the emergency the greater need for
adequate planning."

Mr. Ben H. Kizer gave a very
stirring address on "Popularizing
City Planning." He called liberally
on his own very successful expe-
rience as chairman of the Spokane
Planning Board. He expressed an
optimistic opinion of the capacity
of government to meet additional
demands upon ;t. Mr. Kizer re-
ferred to the excellent program of
the Commission on Resources and
Education, of which Dr. Paul R.
Hanna is Chairman.

Mr. Delano called upon Dr.
Hanna, who responded with a brief
statement on the work of the Com-

Planning and Civic Comment

mission and the series of educational
workshops being conducted during
the summer of 1940.

The Chairman then introduced
Mr. Newton B. Drury, the newly
appointed Director of the National
Park Service. Mr. Drury, who has
been the Secretary of the Save-the-
Redwoods League in California and
on the staff of the California State
Park Commission, pledged his best
efforts to serve the national parks.

The members confirmed the
action of the Board of Directors
taken on January 31, 1940, which
amended Article II of the Con-
stitution to read as follows:

Purpose: The exclusive purpose
of the Association shall be the
education of the American people to
an understanding and appreciation
of: Local, state, regional and national
planning for the best use of urban
and rural land, and of water and
other natural resources; the safe-
guarding and planned use of local
and national parks; the conservation
of natural scenery; the advancement
of higher ideals of civic life and
beauty in .America; the improve-
ment of living conditions and the
fostering of wider educational fa-
cilities in schools and colleges along
these lines.

Mr. L. Deming Tilton, Chairman
of the Nominating Committee, pre-
sented the names of Messrs. Edward
M. Bassett, Alfred Bettman, Fred-
eric A. Delano and James M.
Langley for re-election and the
names of William H. Schuchardt,
of Los Angeles, a member of the
Los Angeles City Planning Com-
mission, and Frank M. Lindsay, of
Decatur, Illinois, who has been
active in state and local planning

matters, as the new members of the
Board. The report of the Nominat-
ing Committee was accepted and
the six members were elected for
four years. The election of Henry P.
Chandler by the Board of Directors
to fill a vacancy on the Board was
confirmed. Mr. Chandler's term
will expire in 1943.

New Chapter Chairman

Mr. William H. Schuchardt has
accepted the chairmanship for the
California chapter of the American
Planning and Civic Association.
In cooperation with Mr. L. Deming
Tilton, the other California member
of the Board of Directors, Mr.
Schuchardt is planning to extend
the membership and influence of
the American Planning and Civic
Association in California.

Joint Planning Conference

The National Planning Confer-
ence held in San Francisco in July
was one of the most successful and
enjoyable planning meetings of re-
cent years. Over 450 persons were
in attendance, and the program was
unusually stimulating. The papers
presented at the Conference will be
included in the 1940 AMERICAN
PLANNING AND Civic ANNUAL, to
be issued during the autumn.

The Los Angeles and San Diego
inspection trips and breakfast and
luncheon meetings added materially
to the information which delegates
to the California conference were
able to take home with them.

Invitations for the 1941 national
planning conference were received
from Oklahoma City, Jacksonville,
Florida, Cleveland, Ohio and Des
Moines, Iowa.

Dollar Dividends from Planning

HARD headed city councillors
are asking for more illustra-
tions of the value of plan-
ning in terms of the budget. They
want to be shown that the cost of the
plan and the annual cost of adminis-
tering it not only bring dividends in
increased attractiveness and con-
venience but actually save the city
money or increase its taxable in-
come. This may be an unreasonable
demand on the part of the city fath-
ers and some well-established city
departments might have difficulty
in meeting such a test, but to argue
the reasonability of the demand is
to lose the case for planning in some
communities.

Unquestionably many planning
boards have saved their cities heavy
expenditures through the prevention
of untimely improvements or of un-
wisely located improvements but
cities are not wont to publicize the
mistakes they make or even those
which they avoid. A zoning plan by
its improvement of the appearance
of areas, by the prevention of blight
and the stabilization of values has
been of great money value to the
city, but these important contribu-
tions of the planning program as well
as others which make the city a more
attractive and convenient place are
difficult to estimate in dollars. Rough
estimates have been made of the
money values resulting from changes
in traffic routing, from improved
parking methods, from the elimina-
tion of eye sores such as automobile
graveyards and objectionable signs,
from tree planting and the improve-
ment of triangles at street junctions.

Such estimates may not pass muster
with the type of city councillors with
whom we are dealing. They may be
satisfied only with citations of spe-
cific instances of increase in munici-
pal income or savings in the cost of
projects directly resulting from the
planning process. Striking examples
of planning values which can be
accurately estimated in dollars have
appeared from time to time in re-
ports of planning commissions. There
is no attempt to collect them all
here or to list the cities in which they
occur but some of them at least can
be readily grouped under the follow-
ing captions:

Land Use Surveys:

Many cities have made them and some
have discovered properties which have
escaped assessment. The new income to
the city from this discovery can be very
accurately set down.

Assessment of Real Estate:

The adoption of planning commission
recommendations for more frequent re-
vision and better methods of assessment
has resulted in increased income from real
estate taxation.

Tax Delinquent Lands:

Recommendations by planning com-
missions have resulted in state legislation
which has expedited the sale or other dis-
position of tax delinquent lands and new
policies adopted at the suggestion of plan-
ning commissions have brought about the
restoration of tax delinquent lands to the
assessment lists or their advantageous use
for municipal purposes, notably parks or
playgrounds.

Streets:

Widening and extensions. Even where
the cost has been considerable a net profit
for the city can be shown because of in-
crease in assessed values and elimination
of delays.

Planning and Civic Comment

New streets and widening of old streets
at no cost to the city for land.

Building lines have made street widen-
ings less expensive in many cities. A not-
able instance is East Market and East
Exchange Streets in Akron, Ohio, where
the building line saved $850,000 in the cost
of widening. Mercer County, N. J ., paid
$50,000 for land in a highway widening
project of half a mile. At the same time,
in an adjoining area, it obtained a mile and
a half of new right-of-way for $2,000 a mile.
A building line on the widened highway
would have saved the county at least
$45,000.

Savings in street paving due to the
classification of streets in a major street
plan or to zoning.

Parks, Playgrounds and Other Municipal

Recreation Areas:

Recreation areas have been bought for
less money and have been more advantage-
ously located because of the plan.

Parks have increased assessment values
and have kept them steady in many cities.

Gifts of land for parks, playgrounds and
golf courses have been induced by the
planning program.

Buildings and Building Sites:

Better public building sites at less cost
have been secured in many cities: branch
libraries in Pasadena, Calif., schools in
Wichita, Kans., and Minneapolis, Minn.,
fire and police stations in Canton, Ohio.
Some building sites have been given to the
city because of a planning program.

Subdivisions:

Prevention of premature land sub-
division has resulted in savings for munici-
pal utilities.

The dedication of land for streets and
parks without cost to the city is a direct
result of subdivision control.

The requirement of installation of utili-
ties by the subdivider has become a
custom in many cities.

Zoning:

Beside the great benefit from zoning to
cities in appearance, in the stabilization of
values and in the checking of blight, many
cities have made improvements in zoning
and in zoning administration.

There is a distinct trend to the require-
ment of larger lots in residential areas,
particularly in "dormitory communities"
in metropolitan areas. Stamford, Conn.,
for instance, requires in its A (most highly
restricted) Residence Zones a minimum
area of one acre, Woodbridge, Conn.

60,000 feet and Oyster Bay, L. I., two acres.
Control over filling stations has im-
proved their location and reduced the
number of applications for permits. The
planning commission acts as the board of
appeals in zoning in some cities and in
others has jurisdiction over changes in
zones. The requirement in Pasadena that
the planning commission shall investigate
and report on all zoning appeals has re-
duced the number of appeals fifty percent.

Summary:

The annual cost of making and ad-
ministering a plan for a city of about
50,000 to 75,000 is from $4,000 to $5,000.
This figure is based on the actual expendi-
tures of cities of that size which are doing
excellent work. Over a ten year period,
will the planning program pay for itself by
saving the city at least $50,000. This is a
test of dollar value of planning which
should satisfy the most budget minded of
city councillors.

Specific cases of profits or savings due
to a planning program are available in the
files of the American Planning and Civic
Association, but planning agencies are
urged to send in other cases which have
happened in the last ten years so that the
citations may be as complete and up-to-
date as possible.

Joseph P. O'Connor, Assistant
Attorney General for the State of
New York, advises that a verdict for
the State of New York has been
directed at the trial of the famous
Sterling signboard case at Elizabeth-
town, New York. This litigation,
which has been carried on since
1925, is an effort of the State of
New York to defend the Adiron-
dack State Park against billboards.
The direction of a verdict for
the State for the penalty provided
by law for the erection and main-
tenance of advertising signs in
violation of Section 62 of the Con-
servation Law, is a matter of
satisfaction to the State. However,
the case has been appealed and the
decision of the upper courts must
be awaited.

State Park

CALIFORNIA.

In November, the people of Cali-
fornia will vote on a Constitutional
Amendment which provides that
"The Legislature may authorize the
sale of lands comprising a part of the
State park system whenever it
appear that such lands contain
valuable deposits of oil or gas, and
that the value of such deposits may
exceed the value of the lands for
recreational purposes.

"The State Lands Commission,
with the consent of the State Park
Commission, shall have power to
execute leases, easements or con-
tracts for the extraction and removal
of such deposits of oil and gas from
such lands or portions thereof in
accordance with law. All such oper-
ations authorized by the State Lands
Commission shall be conducted in
such manner as to cause the least
possible interference with the use of
such lands for park purposes. The
proceeds from any sale or sales,
lease, easement, or contract shall be
deposited in the general fund of the
State, but the Legislature may ap-
propriate the proceeds, or any part
thereof, for acquisition and main-
tenance of State parks, or for any
other purpose.

"The provisions of this section are
self-executing but the Legislature

may enact legislation supplemental
thereto and in furtherance of the
purposes thereof and may, in its
discretion, provide for the execution
of leases, easements or contracts by
a different State officer or agency
than the State Lands Commission."

The California Division of Parks,
on August 9, issued the following
argument against this proposal :

"This proposed Constitutional
Amendment would expose to re-
peated onslaughts, and possible
exploitation or total loss to the
people, all of the valuable scenic and
recreational areas acquired by Cali-
fornia bathing beaches, redwood
groves, mountain parks and historic
monuments.

"It empowers the legislature to
authorize sale of State park lands
whenever it appears that these lands
contain valuable deposits of oil and
gas such value in their opinion
exceeding value of the land for
recreational purposes.

"Under it the State Lands Com-
mission, with the consent of the
State Park Commission, may exe-
cute leases for the extraction of oil
and gas from State park lands.

"While such operations are to
cause the least possible interference
with use of lands for park purposes,
operations no longer would be under

Planning and Civic Comment

control of the State Park Com-
mission.

"Proceeds from such sales or
leases are to be deposited in the
general fund Tor acquisition and
maintenance of State parks, or /or
any other purpose.' Thus money
donated or appropriated for the
purchase of State parks could be
diverted to some totally different
purpose.

"This would be an obvious breach
oj trust!

"This proposed Constitutional
Amendment violates the funda-
mental principles underlying the
whole State Park System.

"The majority of our magnificent
State parks were acquired under the
matching provisions of the State
Park Bond Act approved, almost
3 to i, by the voters, in 1928. This
act provided for the expenditure of
$6,000,000 of State moneys on the
condition that whenever a park area
was purchased the State's money
should be matched dollar for dollar
by funds from other sources.

"Private individuals and counties
furnished most of the matching
moneys. Millions in private funds
were advanced for this purpose and
in practically every case the gener-
osity was contingent upon the
promise of State officials involved
that these park lands so acquired
should be preserved for public
enjoyment.

"In some of the parks, it may be
economically desirable for the State
to avail itself of the values involved
if they can be secured without too
great accompanying sacrifice. This
could be done by providing for slant
drilling through adjoining ground,
which is now entirely feasible, and

without disturbance of the surface
of the areas involved.

"But above all, the parks them-
selves should be the sole beneficiaries
of the proceeds of such operations.

"The State Park Commission has
taken steps to encourage the defeat
of this amendment.

"Senate Constitutional Amendment
No. 33 Must Be Defeated!"

MASSACHUSETTS.

The appointment of Mr. Ray-
mond J. Kenney to succeed Mr.
Ernest J. Dean as Commissioner of
Conservation is announced in the
Spring & Summer issue of the Massa-
chusetts Conservation Bulletin. Mr.
Edgar L. Gillet of Canton succeeds
Mr. Kenney as Director of the
Division of Parks and Recreation of
the Department of Conservation.

MISSISSIPPI.

An item in the August issue of
Mississippi Forests and Parks states
that the State Board of Park Super-
visors has revised the system of park
operation by appointing a custodian
for each park, and leasing the con-
cessions in each park to a different
individual. The decision to separate
these functions was reached after
three years' experience in state park
administration and after a study of
the methods followed in other
States.
NEW JERSEY.

New Jersey has acquired an area
of 800 acres at Allaire, Monmouth
County, including the site of the old
village of Allaire and its buildings.
The area, which will be known as
Allaire State Park, was donated to
the State by Mrs. Phoebe Brisbane
and family in memory of the late
Arthur Brisbane.

Planning and Civic Comment

SOUTH CAROLINA.

The Division of State Parks of the
South Carolina Commission of For-
estry has recently issued a State
Park Manual for the guidance of its
personnel. Because the chapter de-
voted to a history of the develop-
ment of the State's park system
could apply equally well to half a
dozen other States, it is quoted
below:

"Although the need existed, South
Carolina had no move for a State
park program prior to 1933 due
primarily to lack of funds. There
was no State-owned property suit-
able for the development of a State
park at that time. With the incep-
tion of the Emergency Conservation
Work Program, Federal funds be-
came available for development of
State parks on State-owned lands
under the technical direction of the
National Park Service.

"South Carolina took advantage
of this opportunity as did all other
Southern states. The first CCC
park camp in South Carolina was
established at Cheraw and develop-
ment work started in March, 1934,
on an area of 704 acres which was
donated to the State through con-
tributions of business firms and
citizens of Chesterfield County. An
act passed by the Legislature of this
year placed the development, super-
vision, and operation of State parks
under the S. C. State Commission of
Forestry. The work was supervised
by the State Forester due to lack of
funds with which to employ a park
executive. Other counties were
prompt to follow the example of
Chesterfield and other areas were
soon deeded to the State: Givhans
Ferry in Dorchester County, Poin-

sett in Sumter County, Myrtle
Beach in Horry County, Table Rock
in Pickens County, Edisto Beach in
Charleston County and Chester in
Chester County being among the
first.

"On July i, 1935, an assistant to
the State Forester was employed as
park executive to supervise the plan-
ning, development and operation of
State parks.

"On July i, 1937, a landscape
architect and two clerks were em-
ployed to assist in the development
and operation work.

"Throughout this period and up
until December i, 1938, fifteen parks
came into the possession of the
State Commission of Forestry and
were in process of development;
nine were being developed through
the cooperation of the National
Park Service and six with the U. S.
Forest Service.

"In 1935 the Resettlement Ad-
ministration came into the picture
and began the acquisition of 6,856
acres surrounding the Cheraw State
Park and i o, 1 60 acres in the vicinity
of Kings Mountain battlefield site in
York and Cherokee Counties. These
areas were then transferred to the
National Park Service for develop-
ment. The entire area at Cheraw
and 6, 1 66 acres at Kings Mountain
have been in process of development
since that time as State park areas.
At the present time development
work in cooperation with the Na-
tional Park Service is being carried
on at Kings Mountain, Chester,
Cheraw, Table Rock, Greenwood,
Hunting Island and Edisto Beach.
Development work is being carried
on at Barnwell, Sesquicentennial,
Paris Mountain, and Oconee in co-

Planning and Civic Comment

operation with the U. S. Forest
Service.

"With the entrance of the Re-
settlement Administration into the
land acquisition picture in South
Carolina, the work was expanded to
include six wayside parks located
upon through highways and de-
signed primarily as picnic areas for
the traveling public and the people
living in the immediate vicinity.
These areas, which were located in
Aiken, CoIIeton, Georgetown, Green-
ville, Greenwood, and Kershaw
Counties, were also transferred to
the National Park Service for devel-
opment. Work was started almost
immediately upon the development
of the Greenwood, Greenville, CoIIe-
ton, and Kershaw areas and late in
1938 work was started upon the
Aiken and Georgetown areas.

"Up until the beginning of the
fiscal year 1937-38 no appropria-
tions were made specifically for
State parks but funds for the opera-
tion of the parks were granted in a
lump sum to the State Commission
of Forestry. Beginning with the
fiscal year 1937-38, the first appro-
priation of $12,500 was made and in
the fiscal year 193839 this was in-
creased to $22,500, and in 1939-40
the appropriation was increased to
$32,596."

UTAH.

N. L. Wilson, secretary of the
State Board of Park Commissioners
of Utah, reports that in Utah there
is but one State park consisting of
the First Capitol with small sur-
rounding grounds located at Fill-
more. The building serves as a
museum and attracts a considerable
number of tourists each year. No

camping facilities are available in
connection with the park, although
hotel and tourist cabin accommoda-
tions may be secured in the town of
Fillmore.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

Florida State Parks in Review by
William F. Jacobs, Assistant State
Forester, Florida Forest and Park
Service, Tallahassee, Fla. (With
several descriptive folders of indi-
vidual parks.)

Georgia's State Parks, Depart-
ment of Natural Resources, Division
of State Parks, Atlanta, Georgia,
1940.

Illinois State Parks and Memo-
rials, Division of State Parks,
Springfield, III. (With separate
illustrated folders on each state
park.)

Third Biennial Report, 1938-39,
Louisiana State Parks Commission,
New Orleans, La. (With master
plan maps for Chicot and Tchefuncte
State Parks.)

Second Progress Report, Louisi-
ana State Planning Commission,
Baton Rouge, La., June 3, 1940.

Public Parks in Maine. Issued by
Maine Development Commission,
Augusta, Maine.

Massachusetts Tourist Map. Dis-
tributed by The Massachusetts De-
velopment and Industrial Commis-
sion and prepared by Massachusetts
State Planning Board, Boston, Mass.

Recreation Guide to Massachu-
setts State Parks and State Forests.
Issued by Department of Conserva-
tion, Boston, Mass.

Seventh Biennial Report of the
Mississippi Forestry Commission,
Biennium ending June 30, 1939, and
the First Biennial Report of the

Planning and Civic Comment

Mississippi State Board of Park
Supervisors, Biennium ending June
30, 1939, Jackson, Miss.

Missouri's State Parks. State
Park Board, Jefferson City, Mo.

Individual, descriptive folders on
Sam A. Baker, Bennett Spring, Big
Spring, Meramec, Montauk, Roar-
ing River. State Park Board, Jeffer-
son City, Mo.

Playgrounds of the Ozarks, Offi-
cial Guidebook, Southwest Missouri,
Northwest Arkansas, Northeast
Oklahoma. Published by Tourist
Bureau, Ozark Playgrounds Asso-
ciation, Joplin, Mo.

New Hampshire Public Recrea-
tional Areas. Issued by the N. H.
State Planning and Development
Commission, Concord, N. H.

New Jersey State Parks. Depart-
ment of Conservation and Develop-
ment, Trenton, New Jersey.

Individual descriptive folders on
Bass River State Forest, Belleplain
State Forest, Hacklebarney State
Park, Lebanon State Forest, Penn
State Forest, Stephens State Park,
Stokes State Forest, Swartswood
State Park, Voorhees State Park,
Washington Crossing State Park.
Department of Conservation and
Development, Trenton, N. J.

Official Map of Outdoor Nebraska.
With full descriptions of State Parks
and State Recreation Grounds. Ne-
braska Game, Forestation and Parks
Commission, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Ohio Cherishes Her Rich Historic
Tradition. A 32-page Booklet which
includes the record of the custodial
work of the ArchaBoIogical and His-
torical Society with a list of State

Memorials and pertinent informa-
tion on each. Published by the Ohio
State Archaeological and Historical
Society, Columbus, Ohio.

State of Rhode Island and Provi-
dence Plantations, Department of
Agriculture and Conservation, Of-
fice of Forests and Parks, 1 939 report.

Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee. A
Natural Wonderland fashioned by
an earthquake caprice in north-
western Tennessee. Compiled by
Tiptonville Lions Club, Tiptonville,
Tenn.

Tennessee State Parks and Recre-
ational Areas. Department of Con-
servation, Nashville, Tenn.

South Carolina State Parks, and
Mimeographed cabin information
booklet. Issued by Division of State
Parks, S. C. Commission of Fores-
try, Columbia, S. C.

Caddo Lake State Park, Karnack,
Texas. (Descriptive folder.)

Goliad State Park and Historic
Environs. Issued by Goliad State
Park Commission, Goliad, Texas.

Vermont State Forests and Forest
Parks. Issued by Vermont Forest
Service, Montpelier, Vt.

Individual descriptive folders on
Ascutney State Forest Park, Burke
Mountain in the Darling State For-
est Park, Groton State Forest Rec-
reation Area, Mt. Philo State Forest
Park. Vermont Forest Service,
Montpelier, Vt.

West Virginia State Parks and
State Forests. Published by Con-
servation Commission of West Vir-
ginia, Charleston, W. Va.

Hot Springs State Park, Thermop-
olis, Wyo. (Descriptive folder.)

IRMINE B. KENNEDY, Washington, D. C.

1940 Park Yearbook

Publication of the "1940 Yearbook
Park and Recreation Progress"
has been announced by the National
Park Service. This is the third edi-
tion of the annual and contains an
increased proportion of articles from
persons outside the Service, dealing
with park and recreational activities
of the Federal, State and local
governments.

In a preface to the Yearbook en-
titled "Parks and Peace," Secretary
of the Interior Harold L. Ickes
emphasizes the importance of ade-
quate park and recreational areas,
facilities and programs at a time
when the Nation is forced back
upon itself by chaotic conditions
throughout the world. Such facili-
ties "give our people unique and
happy fortifications against unrest
and war," the Secretary writes.
"Never have we so needed our parks
and monuments," he continues.
"The well-being of useful communi-
ties, equipped for play, rest and
recreation as well as work, is one
guarantee of America's safety for the
future. ... It seems to me that our
park program, sponsored by Federal
and State Governments, is a pro-
gram of peace, protecting and con-
serving both our natural and human
resources. I am happy to have a
part in it."

Newton B. Drury, new director of
the National Park Service, is the
author of an article on "California's
Investment in State Parks," written
before he left his post as acquisition
officer of the California State Park
Commission. Governor E. D. Rivers
of Georgia is the author of an article
on the park system of his State.

Other contributors who discuss
park and recreational activities of
the Federal, State and local govern-
ments include Irving Brant, writer
and Interior Department consul-
tant; Charles G. Sauers, general
superintendent, Cook County Forest
Preserve District of Illinois, who in
collaboration with H. S. Wagner,
director-secretary of the Akron Met-
ropolitan Park Board, prepared the
much-discussed report on the Na-
tional Capital Parks system; C. B.
Whitnall, commissioner, Milwaukee
County Park Commission; Charles
A. DeTurk, director, State Parks,
Lands and Waters, of Indiana;
Dr. L. B. Sharp, director of Life
Camps; Roland C. Geist, founder
and secretary, College Cycle Club
of New York; S. Herbert Hare and
Harland Bartholomew, landscape
architects and city planners; Judge
Clifford H. Stone, director, Colorado
Water Conservation Board; George
Nason, landscape architect; Ross
Caldwell, architect-engineer, Divi-
sion of Parks, State of Illinois;
Frederick C. Hageman, architect
and consultant to the Civilian Con-
servation Corps on the La Purisima
Mission restoration project in Cali-
fornia; Laurie D. Cox, head of the
Department of Landscape and Rec-
reational Management, New York
State College of Forestry, Syracuse
University; Philip H. Elwood, head
of the Department of Landscape
Architecture, Iowa State College,
and counselor of the National Re-
sources Planning Board; Arthur C.
Parker, director, Rochester Museum
of Arts and Sciences; William H.
Carr, assistant curator of education,

Planning and Civic Comment

American Museum of Natural His-
tory; and Colonel Richard Lieber,
Chairman of the Board of the Na-
tional Conference on State Parks.

The Yearbook is available from
the Superintendent of Documents,
Government Printing Office, Wash-
ington, D. C. The price is 35 cents

per copy.

The National Park Service reports
that with the legislatures of 43
States scheduled to be in regular
session in 1 94 1 , it is receiving an in-
creasing number of requests for
assistance in framing proposed legis-
lation on state parks and public
recreation. Administrative bodies
and groups interested in the park
and recreation movement in many
of the States realize that early con-
sideration of necessary or desirable
legislation is important to successful
handling of these items before the
law-making bodies.

The Service will shortly go to press

with its report on "Park Use Studies
and Demonstrations," based on the
findings of a study of public recrea-
tion in state parks and analogous
areas. A nature activities study of
Nation-wide scope has just been
completed and a comprehensive
report on these findings is con-
templated.

A new state park record form has
been prepared and will soon be
ready for distribution to state park
and related agencies for the making
of their annual reports in the co-
operative park use study.

A number of copies of the Na-
tional Park Service report on "Fees
and Charges for Public Recreation
A Study of Policies and Practices,'*
prepared at the request of the
American Institute of Park Execu-
tives, are still available. They may
be obtained from the Superintendent
of Documents, Government Print-
ing Office, Washington, D. C., at
40 cents per copy.

Guide to Yosemite Valley

The illustrated Guide to Yosemite
Valley, by Virginia and Ansel Adams,
is published on coated paper with
excellent half tones taken from the
fine photographs made by the
authors. A plastic binding with
paper cover is used.

The road and trail maps are con-
ventionalized in three colors for
convenient use on the trail, and the
mileages of the different maps of the
trail journey are given in detail. In

addition to the seven-day hike which
is conducted each week during the
summer months by a ranger natural-
ist, many other trails are described.
Chronological notes on the history of
Yosemite, a brief bibliography, lists
of principal trees, flowering shrubs,
flowers and animals are given. The
excellent advice for security in the
mountains, if followed, would save
many a traveler from difficulty and
disaster.

Watch Service Report

National Parks

H. R. 9274 (Warren) introduced April 8, 1940. To amend the act entitled "An Act
to provide for the establishment of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in the State
of North Carolina," approved Aug. 17, 1939. Passed House May 14; passed Senate
June 21 ; approved by the President June 29; Public Law No. 689. Provides that the
name be changed to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. The original
act is also amended to provide that hunting shall be permitted, under such rules and
regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior in conformity with
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

H. R. 9351 S. 3827 (DeRouen-Adams) introduced April n and April 22, 1940.
To amend the act for the preservation of American antiquities, approved June 8, 1906.
Authorizes the creation by public proclamation by the President of national recreational
areas on unreserved and unappropriated lands owned by the United States.

H. R. 9535 S. 3263 (Robinson-Hayden) introduced April 25 and February 2, 1940.
Reported favorably by House and Senate Committees on Public Lands. The House
Committee Report sets forth the following statement of facts:

"The purpose of the bill is to authorize annual payment to the States of 25 percent
of the revenue collected from visitors to areas of the national park system. Such revenue
would be paid to the States for the benefit of the counties in which the areas in question
are situated.

The proposed legislation is in harmony with existing statutory authority providing
for distribution to th