form, and it is earnestly recommended that the following schedule of pay be adopted for the force:

I am actuated in asking this increase by the fact that Congress, by act approved June 8, 1906, increased the compensation of the Metropolitan police force of this city. The act referred to increased the pay of sergeants from $1,140 to $1,250 per annum, placed the pay of privates of class 1 at $900 per annum and privates of class 2 at $1,080 per annum, and created an additional class, class 3, with compensation of $1,200 per annum. Privates of the first class consist of those who have served less than three years. Privates of the second class consist of those who have served over three years and less than five years, and privates of the third class are those who have served over five years. In preparing the foregoing new schedule for the park police I have copied the Metropolitan system, except that the rates are considerably less for the park police force.

One of the arguments used in urging an increase of pay for the Metropolitan police was the increased cost of living during the past three or four years, and that argument will apply to the park police as well as to the Metropolitan force.

While it may be held that in many cases the duties of the park police are not as onerous as those of the men doing duty on the streets and for that reason they are not entitled to the same rates of pay, yet it can not be denied that the present pay of the park force is inadequate and should be increased for the reasons stated here, and also at length in the annual reports of this office for some years past. I consider the question of adequate compensation for this body of faithful public servants of much importance, and it is hoped that Congress will give my recommendation favorable consideration.

The designation of the members of the force should also be changed from that of "park watchman" to " park policeman." Park watchmen were, by act of Congress approved August 5, 1882 (22 Stats., p. 243), given the same powers and duties as the members of the Metropolitan police force of this city, and the designation "policeman "better describes the duties performed by them. Moreover, it conveys to the public a more convincing idea of authority.

The acts of Congress providing for park watchmen have designated the parks in which each shall perform duty. It is considered that it would be an improvement were the necessary watchmen provided, without assigning them to particular parks. Under such an arrangement the members of the force could be assigned from time to time by the officer in charge to the parks where their services might be most needed.

It is also recommended that the appropriation for contingent expenses be increased by $300, to provide for the purchase and repair of bicycles for the use of those members of the force who are mounted. At present 15 of the men have bicycles which were pur

chased from time to time by this Office with funds provided for the care of the public grounds. In the larger parks and in sections where a watchman has many smaller reservations, scattered over a considerable area, to look after in addition to the particular park to which he is assigned, the efficiency of the men is doubled by the use of a bicycle. It is recommended that the appropriation mentioned be increased for the purchase and repair of wheels in order that the general appropriation referred to may be relieved of that burden. There should also be funds provided for the purchase and repair of revolvers for the members of the force, as is done in the case of the Metropolitan police. At present the members of the park police have to pay for their revolvers from their personal funds. The Government provides them with batons and hat badges and breast badges, and revolvers should be provided in the same way.

There is a great necessity for another sergeant. During the past year the one sergeant allowed has, with few exceptions, inspected each day watchman daily during the year, has looked after outlying reservations not provided with watchmen, visiting them from three to six times per week, has inspected the night watchmen three times weekly, has been present in command of the watchmen at band concerts now given four times per week during the summer in the parks. He has also reported at this office each morning (except Sunday) to make reports and receive instructions, and has been present at the police court many times to watch cases taken there by the privates of the park force. These duties are greater than one man should be required to perform, and there should be a second sergeant to relieve and assist him. The discipline of the force could also be better maintained were there two sergeants, for there could then be a sergeant on duty continuously with the privates.

It is also recommended that necessary legislation be adopted providing that all fines and forfeitures of collateral from cases brought before the police court by United States park police shall be held and reserved for the benefit of the United States park police under rules similar to those now in force for the Metropolitan police of the city. The table on the following page shows that in the parks for which watchmen are provided there were 286 arrests made during the year, and that the fines imposed and collateral forfeited in those cases amounted to $1,598; that in addition to the arrests made 2,548 drunken people and 886 persons of objectionable character were ejected from the parks.

Special attention was invited to this subject in my annual report for 1904, page 3922, Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1904, and the recommendations therein made are repeated, namely: That an appropriation of $3,000 be made for establishing, maintaining, and caring for children's playgrounds on public reservations in Washington. It is also recommended that authority be given to this office to erect or permit the necessary structures thereon. During the past three years the public playgrounds committee have desired to place,

at their own expense, temporary wooden structures for shelter and the use of children in their games on some of the reservations that have been set aside as playgrounds. They could not, however, be permitted to do this, as the act approved August 30, 1890, volume 26, Statutes, page 396, prohibits the erection of temporary structures of any kind upon any reservation except when authorized by special act of Congress.

MAINTENANCE OF IMPROVED PARKS.

The usual work required for maintaining the improved parks and park spaces in good condition was extended during the year. This work consisted of mowing and raking lawns, edging their borders, sodding or seeding bare places on them, planting and caring for flower beds, pruning trees and shrubs, trimming hedges and removing dead trees, cleaning gutters and draintraps, and sweeping paved roads and walks. In the autumn of 1906 some of the flower beds were planted with pansy plants and some with flowering bulbs for early spring bloom. In these plantings 10,000 pansies and 31,000 bulbs were used. In the spring of 1907 the beds and vases were planted with 970,219 bedding and tropical plants for summer decoration. These beds were protected in most cases by hooped irons placed around them.

The special efforts made by this Office during the fiscal years 1904, 1905, and 1906 to remove the blemishes caused by bare places on the lawns and worn borders by resodding have been continued, and during the year ending June 30, 1907, 12,792 square yards of sod were used in sodding those places, vastly improving the appearance of the parks and park places thus treated.

In addition to the foregoing the following special work was accomplished:

NORTHWEST DIVISION.

DuPont Circle.-Twelve partly decayed trees were taken out in order to give more light for the growth of small shrubs and grass which had been too heavily shaded. All bare places on lawns were sodded. The interior of the lodge house was painted, and the glass in the windows refrosted. Repairs were made to the asphalt footwalks, the area resurfaced amounting to 825 square yards.

Franklin Park. The basin of the fountain, its supply pipe and that of the drinking fountain were repaired, and two small cement basins were built for holding water for the squirrels. The gravel walks were given a coating of screened gravel, 134 cubic yards of that material having been used for the purpose. Portions of the brick gutters that were out of line were reset, 72 feet of 8-inch terra-cotta drain pipe were laid to drain walks and parking, and new iron grating frames were placed on the brick drain traps on sides of walks. An enameled iron wash basin was erected in the lodge house, and supply and waste pipes run for same. Repairs were made to the asphalt walks, and an area of 760 square yards resurfaced, bare places on lawns were loosened up and resodded, 520 square yards of sod having been used. The interior of the lodge house was painted and glass in the windows refrosted. A new brick foundation was built under the drinking fountain.

Farragut Park.-Worn places in the asphalt walks were repaired, the area resurfaced, amounting to 135 square yards.

Iowa Circle.-The lawns were top dressed with bone meal in March.

Judiciary Park. The approaches and walks around the Pension Office building were extensively repaired. The old asphalt pavements at the east and south parts of the building were taken up and 1,233 square yards of new asphalt pavement, 9 inches thick in all, laid in place thereof. Some rearrangement of drains was done preparatory to laying of the new pavement and six new brick draintraps constructed, and 248 feet of terra-cotta drainpipe and 18 feet of castiron drainpipe laid. The old asphalt foot walks at the north, northeast, and northwest sides of the building were taken up and replaced with new cement walks 5 inches in thickness. The area of new cement walk constructed was 1,746 square yards, and 64 linear feet of cement steps were constructed at the street end of the walk leading out from the northwest corner of the building, being rendered necessary on account of the steep grade of the ground there. The granite steps on the east and west sides of the north entrance were reset to conform to the grade at that point. Two small spaces formerly paved with asphalt and not repaved with cement, one at the west side of south door and the other at northwest corner, were filled with soil and seeded, and a sod border laid around them, and 93 square yards of old asphalt pavement were removed from two strips of walk at the east and west ends of the building and replaced with gravel. The gravel borders of the new cement walks were regulated., A new cement coping 3,004 feet in length, with 20 corner posts at the park entrances, was constructed around the borders of the park with the exception of a short distance on the Fifth street side, which can not be constructed until the old brick pavement there is replaced with a cement sidewalk by the District government. The ground back of the new coping was raised, graded, and sodded. The ground on the Fourth street side, between G an E streets, required a fill of about 8 inches, while that on the Fifth street side from E to F streets had to be raised 18 inches, and this required the park surface to be graded for a considerable distance back from the coping. A border of sod 4 feet wide was laid around all of the trees in this newly graded ground, and the erea not sodded will be sown with grass seed when in proper condition. At the entrance to the park at Fifth and G streets 287 linear feet of brick gutter, 21 inches wide, were taken up, the ground raised to the grade of the new cement walk there, and the ground along the edges of the gutters was regraded and sodded. On the Fourth street side of the park at F and G street entrances, sod was lifted from low places on the lawns, the ground regraded, the sod relaid and borders edged.

Some wooden post and iron wire fencing were put up on east side to prevent trespassing and portions of the old fencing repaired. Gravel roads and walks were repaired, about 510 cubic yards of the material having been used. Two of the old iron posts in the iron pipe fence at the south front of the Pension Office building used for hitching horses were removed and replaced with better posts, and 61 feet of the old iron pipe were taken out and replaced with galvanizediron pipe. This fence was painted. The roof of the lodge house was repaired and repairs made to closets and plumbing therein. A large