ABSTRACT
Some small communities have natural settings favorable to recreation, which others lack. Provision for recreation is not a minor incident of good community life, but a vital element in social well-being. Human society as a whole the world over has recognized play as a primary need. The destructiveness of boys' gangs often is but an unconscious protest to society against being deprived of the arts and opportunities of normal play. Commercial interests seeking for some unfilled need to supply, may provide amusements, not with the aim of making the greatest social contribution but to make the greatest profit. The disintegration of many American communities is due in no small part to the lack of adequate provision for recreation, and of skill and refinement in play. Many people enjoy recreation which has an intellectual or esthetic content. There are some forms of individual or family recreation which do not need public financial support so much as public encouragement.
