In the first year of the Music Division we have organized more than 150 musical activities of various types and I shall refer to only a few of these. The complete information is carried in the Annual Report of the Music Division and may be had for the asking.

Before it is possible to utilize music properly it is necessary to let the public know what musical service is available to them.

In Los Angeles we do this by giving the public an opportunity to hear typical musical groups from the playgrounds. The playground orchestras and bands are led to do this in a natural spirit of play, and with the full understanding that free and unaffected expression is commendable, but that public performance has no bearing on professional exploitation. Another means of bringing our musical service to the public has been by radio broadcast over several Los Angeles Stations. In the organization of carol singers at Christmas time, the Playground Department enlisted the services of over 300 choirs and glee clubs and approximately 8,000 singers. Practically every radio station in Southern California made announcements to assist our committees and captains in this work. Our programs over the air cover a variety of things, including a regular series of music stories for children, a series of harmonica lessons for children and adults, and programs by musical groups from almost all of our playgrounds. We use the radio to tell of our various activities and this is not confined to music alone. I have just been listening to the playground musical program over one of the local stations, and this program was opened with a talk on our new golf school, our swimming pools and beaches. When I was a boy I was compelled to learn to play the piano, very much against my wishesand this was because music was not "the thing" for boys then. It was considered a girl's domain, but effeminate for boys. Twenty years later I was called upon to write a course of music study for the same state in which I lived as a boy, and I placed music in the high schools as a vocational subject. Many things had happened in that time which had popularized music and had increased the public demand for music study.

The fact that other boys and girls in the community are interested in musical expression as a part of their play, leads still more boys and girls to music. Almost every time a group of people hears one of our harmonica bands there are new recruits for the harmonica. Harmonica sales in Los Angeles have doubled for two consecutive

years, and there will be eight times as many harmonicas sold this year as there were two years ago. This is true of other instruments in varying degrees.

When the musical idea is properly put before the public, demand for self-expression is almost amazing. The problem is, then, to utilize musical play properly, and to make recreation through sound available to everyone, regardless of previous experience. This, we do with musical programs which have an appreciation value. Here in the Los Angeles playgrounds we have programs in connection with our community choruses. This activity provides musical expression through the well-known songs as well as an opportunity to listen to better music. Instrumental music expression on the lower type of instruments, likewise opens up the opportunity for further interest in music of greater cultural value.

The utilization of music and the development of play through music will result in a greater familiarity with a vast amount of desirable musical literature-folk music, standard compositions, and the classics of the masters. Were the art song appreciated, understood, and used generally in recreational music, it would supersede the present day jazz songs and hold the place of the popular music of the land. What is to be the popular music of America rests in the hands of music supervisors in the schools and those in charge of music in recreational activities.

Leaders in music education, and in recreational music, are beginning to recognize the fact that it is necessary to take music where they find it, be it jazz or symphony, mouth organ or violin, become musical missionaries, and raise the standards of musical appreciation and musical expression.

If there is a great wave of social unrest in this land, and, if, as Robert Service says:

"There's a race of men that don't fit in,
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.

They say: 'Could I find my proper groove,
What a deep mark I would make!'

So they chop and change, and each fresh move
Is only a fresh mistake."

Can we not look to recreation leaders for a remedy for these misfits? Is it not our business to provide the right kind of recreation for those who "don't fit in" and make a groove for them?

Mental recreation is at least as important as

physical recreation, and music can always justify its place in any community. Music that can calm mobs and prevent stampedes, music which has made loyal citizens out of potential traitors, music which has rebuilt communities, and music which has diminished juvenile delinquency and adult crime, should be a part of every municipal program of constructive recreation,

William J. Burns, the great detective and criminologist, has said: "Show me a city with a maximum of good music, and I'll show you a city with a minimum of crime."

Mayor Dever of Chicago has stated publicly that with the police powerless to check crime, they are going to make more use of music. And Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "The world is being held back for the lack of music."

But regardless of this preventive side of music, there is a constructive side which is far more important. Theodore Roosevelt at one time made this admonishment: "Let the love of literature, sculpture, architecture, and above all, of Music, enter into your lives." This advice has been given to us in other phrases of similar meaning by Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge and many other statesmen and men of letters.

It is a psychological law that expression follows impression; and exposure to music will inevitably be followed by a wider use of music as a means of self-expression. It is our opportunity, as leaders in recreation, to guide musical impression and open up the proper avenues for musical expression. In doing this we are pouring happiness on others, and it is impossible to pour that perfume of happiness on others without getting a few drops on ourselves. We are not so much interested in what people do with music, but in what music does with people. We are rendering a real service to mankind in the democratization of music.

How New Orleans Acquired Some of Its

Play Space

L. Di Benedetto, Manager of the Playground Community Service Commission of New Orleans, has sent some very interesting information about the way in which New Orleans acquired some of its parks and recreation spaces.

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From hearing "old timers" talk, Mr. Di Benedetto says, he feels sure that nearly all of the park property in New Orleans was donated by certain individuals. Beauregard Playground during the Spanish and French domination of New Orleans was a fortification known about 1800 as Fort Saint Ferdinand. The sites of the Poydras, Saraparu, Larkin and Keller Playgrounds-the city's smallest grounds-were formerly public markets.

"Bunny Friend" was deeded to the city for park purposes in 1834 by a man named Montreuil, but it was not used for this purpose until ninety years afterward. Washington, Annunciation and Clay Playgrounds were former city squares converted into playgrounds in late years.

The Bonart Playground, the city's latest recreation center, was equipped by Sam Bonart, one of the playground commissioners by a personal gift of $16,000, the city furnishing the ground. The playground has an interesting history. When it was found necessary to move the Washington Girls' School located in a commercial district to a more suitable place, the Commission immediately applied to the Council for the ground made vacant by the moving of the School. This request was granted. As the Commission was about to construct a playground on the property, a business firm of the city began negotiating for the purchase of the ground. The Mayor refused to sell, but offered to exchange with this firm for a square in another section of the city which seemed to the Commission more desirable for playground purposes. As a result of the exchange, the city acquired more square feet of space than the old. Washington site provided and $4,000 in addition. The playground equipped represents an investment of at least $50,000.

Galvez and Cleveland Playgrounds are situated on narrow strips, known in New Orleans as neutral grounds but in most cities as parkways.

One of the notable examples of donated ground in New Orleans is the splendid property given by Elias Pailet for the Behrman Memorial Recreation Center. Mr. Pailet presented the city with two fine pieces of land, one measuring 250 feet by 875 feet which will be used for the recreation center, and a second piece measuring 300 feet by 600 feet, which will serve as a park. This property is probably worth no less than $25,000. $50,000 has been raised for the memorial and when it is completed it will be a splendid center, equipped with a gymnasium, swimming pool, tennis courts and children's playgrounds.

BATH HOUSE AT SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS

A Serviceable and Beautiful Building. (For description see page 527)

BY

In Tacoma we have rather a peculiar situation with respect to the relation between the various departments of the city. The school department operates as such, the city government operates along the same lines as most city governments, but the park department has nothing to do with either the schools or the city government. It is an entirely separate corporation so to speak, incorporated under the laws of the state of Washington and subject to them. There is no legal tie between any of these departments. The Recreation Department is a part of the Metropolitan Park District and is controlled by its Board of Directors.

It may be said that cooperation is the keynote to success in every undertaking that requires the united effort of several people. We have cooperation between the workers in our department, we have inter-departmental cooperation in our city government, we have inter-departmental cooperation in our schools and colleges. But the paths to cooperation are not all strewn with roses. Many a thorn and bramble must be removed before the desired state is reached.

It was out of a few seeds planted by Mr. Braden in 1925, that the present department grew. The people who got behind the movement were responsible for Mr. Braden's visit to Tacoma. They had a common object in working for supervised play and adequate recreation facilities for the children.

Rather fortunately no direct attempt had ever been made by the previous administration of the Recreation Department to secure the use of school buildings for recreation purposes. As far as the Park Department was concerned, it had nothing to offer in the way of playgrounds or buildings toward a recreation program. The old "keep off the grass" rules were still rigidly enforced in the various parks. The only thing to do was to secure the use of certain school grounds and buildings,

*Paper given at the District Conference, Santa Monica, California, April 12-14, 1928.

to carry on any kind of a program. To do this required a number of meetings with the school board as well as personal interviews with the individual members.

The first approach was made with a reasonable looking program in hand and a talk on the general aims of the department. Little by little the board was won over to the idea of giving us a chance to "try out our ideas."

Before the close of school in June we had conducted several special programs involving school children, teachers and limited school facilities. When school closed arrangements were completed for using certain school grounds with very limited use of school buildings. The hardest nut to crack was the school janitor. In every case a personal interview was held with the janitor in charge of the buildings we desired to use. In many cases several calls were necessary to explain our purpose and give assurance that the buildings would not be wrecked or the playground carried away.

In addition to securing certain grounds and buildings we succeeded in getting the use of the high school swimming pools. Of course we paid the cost of operation including water, power, heat and such, but by charging ten cents admission, we more than made expenses.

Owing to the absence of certain construction and engineering equipment in the Park Department we had to secure the cooperation of the city engineer. In this we were successful and many contacts were made with the engineering department to borrow certain pieces of machinery, or to have a surveying crew run the levels on a new playground site.

When it came to erecting a flag pole the light department was brought into the program. We got the use of their hoisting equipment for a few hours.

When the summer was over, and the rainy season set in, our attention turned to indoor activity. Again, the Park Department had nothing to offer, so the matter was taken up with the school board.

An approach was again made with a proposed plan in writing and a talk on adult recreation. We secured the use of six junior high schools and two senior high school gymnasiums. Again we had to pay the cost of operation, which in this case. included janitor services, light and water. We attempted to make the evening recreation program self sustaining by charging a fee for the use of gymnasiums. This plan was only partly successful.

By using the junior and senior high school physical directors wherever and whenever possible in our activities program, we maintain a close tie with the physical education department as a whole. In most cases, we found the physical directors, especially the women, well qualified for playground and evening recreation leadership.

I might add here that the regular school janitors are appointed by the school board to unlock the doors, turn on the lights and then lock up again at the conclusion of the period, which is usually ten o'clock. This arrangement is not altogether satisfactory, for several reasons. The physical director is in charge of the gymnasium program and is responsible for the conduct of the participants. The janitor is not interested in this sort of thing, consequently he does nothing to aid the program. I consider this the weak spot of the program.

The central administrative office of the school department has been very helpful and cooperative in many ways. In a recent survey to determine the playground needs of the city, much of the information came from that office. They distribute bulletins as often as we care to put them out.

The Superintendent of Schools has more recently taken a personal interest in the work of our department and very obligingly urges his principals and teachers to cooperate with our program in every possible way.

We have also formed ties with other administrative departments of the city, including the general city council and the Mayor's office. We have taken a hand in entertainments for distinguished visitors to the city, cooperating with the Mayor's secretary. This tie has been strengthened by keeping the Mayor and the city council informed as to outstanding programs and special events. They in turn have dealt kindly and favorably with various requests made by us for the closing of certain streets and alleys in order to make possible a new and important district playfield. Thus a state of cooperation between the Recreation Department of Tacoma and the other city departments has been brought about.

Art and Dramatic Day

Memphis Park Commission each year holds an Art and Drama Day in which the following features are usually introduced: exhibits of playground photography, amateur drawings and paintings, boys' minstrel show, story acting contest by Juniors of the Dramatic Club, a puppet play by the Seniors of the Club, a Safety Oratorical contest by boys and girls, and poem pantomimes by the Rhythm Club.

The contest was opened to all boys and girls of playground age and there was a contest in impersonations of Mother Goose characters for children of kindergarten age.

Oratorical Contest

Each Junior and Senior Dramatic Club conducted an Oratorical Contest for boys and girls. The children wrote their own essays, the subject of which was Safety-How to prevent street and home accidents, memorized them and presented them at a preliminary contest held during the week of which Art and Drama Day was a part. All contestants were eliminated except one boy and one girl. These two latter represented their playground in the "traveling troupe" which visited other playgrounds.

Poem Pantomimes

In arranging these pantomimes, a well known poem is read to the children, some of whom are asked to act it out as it is read. The rhythm beat of the lines is emphasized and the children asked to keep time as carefully as they do to music. The best poem pantomime selected jointly by the children and the teacher is given on some special day. During each presentation some child or group of children read the lines from the book, List of Poem Pantomimes

1. The Three Little Kittens, Action Poem and Play for Children, by Nora A. Smith.

2. Little Miss Muffet, Action Poem and Play for Children, by Nora A. Smith

3. The King of Yellow Butterflies, by Vachel Lindsay

4. The Morning Glories, by Madison Cauvein 5. Overheard in a Saltmarsh, by Harold Monro 6. Autumn, by Sara Beaumont Kennedy 7. When Young Melissa Sweeps, by Nancy Byrd Turner

8. The Dance, by Lehman 9. Pierrette.