The city of Philadelphia, with its 130 square miles, has one large park of 3,000 acres on its west boundary, of which it is justly proud. In small squares for the poor and for children who cannot take a day's journey to the Park, or if at all but a few times a year, it is singularly bare. It has but Franklin, Logan, Rittenhouse, Independence, Washington, Jefferson, Passyunk and Norris, and these provided by the wisdom of the more immediate successors of William Penn. Since that time miles and miles of streets have been built, with the only public ground being the public highways.

At the meeting of the City Councils on April 19th, Councilman Meehan offered an ordinance providing for small parks and squares for the future growth of the city. It directs the Department of Surveys to so revise the plans of the city as to block off plots of ground not less than ten nor more than twenty acres, three or four miles apart. The city is to set apart a marginal strip around each plot for building purposes and apply the proceeds for building new parks. The property to be taken is to be assessed as road damages are. The bill was referred to the Survey Committee, and by them referred to the City Solicitor, to decide whether the city had authority to take land for this purpose.