Sec. 4. Lot Coffman, Benoist Troost and Thompson McDaniel, are hereby appointed commissioners and judges, whose duty it shall be to hold an election on the fourth Monday in March, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-three, having first given ten days notice by at least six written or printed hand bills, put up at six of the most public places within the limits herein before described, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the qualified voters within said limits will accept or reject this charter, and if a majority of said qualified voters, voting on that day, shall be in favor of accepting the provisions of this act, then and from that day, this act shall be in full force and effect, otherwise, it shall be void and of no effect. Sec. 5. If this charter shall be accepted as specified in the last section, the aforesaid commissioners shall proceed to hold the first regular election for the City Officers, under the provisions of this act, provided; that, if any of said commissioners fail or refuse to act as such, then the remaining commissioner or commissioners shall appoint one or two good citizens of Kansas to fill the vacancies so created, and shall appoint their own clerks, and some suitable person to cry the votes, and as soon as possible, after the election is over, said commissioner shall proceed to count the votes, and shall make out and deliver to each person duly elected, a certificate of his election, signed by their names, and thereupon, the Mayor and Councilmen and Marshal, so elected, shall be duly qualified, and enter upon the discharge of their respective duties, provided, also, that if said commissioners fail to hold the above named elections at the time specified in this act, it shall be lawful to hold them at any time within six months after the passage of this act. Office of Secretary of State. I, John M. Richardson, Secretary of State, hereby certify the foregoing is a correct copy of the original roll on file, in my office, of an act passed by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, entitled, "An Act to Incorporate the City of Kansas." In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and affixed the seal of said office. Done at the office of Secretary of State, in the City of Jefferson, this 5th of March, 1853. JOHN M. RICHARDSON, Secretary of State. CHAPTER XXVI. PARKS AND BOULEVARDS. The redemption of a city's plague spots and unsightly and uninviting sections by the substitute of finely improved boulevards, well kept parks and public playgrounds is evidence of civic spirit that today is turning to municipal embellishment and improvement as a valuable asset in the business of making cities. We are in the age of municipal adornment and improvement and the city that fails to locate broad and attractive boulevards, purchase and improve parks and adorn and equip plazas and playgrounds, will fail in the race for the greater city life and business. The spirit of money getting and industrial extension is today a partner of the landscape architect in his plans for civic beauty. The condition of the public mind of today upon the park, and, naturally following, the playground proposition, is a radical departure from that of five years ago. There are many good people whose activities of life turn to the betterment of humanity, to the consideration of better sanitation, better housing, food, clothing and better mental conditions and aspirations for those who are the "hewers of wood and drawers of water" in the seemingly unequal race for life and existence. It is to this class that we must largely give credit for the marked change in public sentiment. Executive officers of cities now vie with these good citizens in their ef forts to provide municipal legislation favorable to this development in civic life. Our own city is now thoroughly awake to this advancement in urban life and as we add miles to our boulevard system, so we shall establish bath houses, swimming pools and playgrounds for both summer and winter. The present generation should so build the park system, and there is every indication that it is doing so, that future generations may amplify the same with a higher degree of finish in the established and improved portions and extensions that may become a harmonious part of the whole. This growing, thriving municipality will as surely require vast additions to its public recreation grounds and beautiful boulevards as it will require new streets and extensions of all its public utilities. It is now sixteen years since park work became a factor in Kansas City municipal life, although the charter of 1889 contained a special article relating to parks. The late Judge John K. Cravens was the author of this, the first evidence of an attempt to make provision for these public necessities. A legal technicality, however, was found that, when passed upon by |