At first no effort was made to provide connections among the various parks; but in 1869 a movement was started, by those whom the practical people of that day called dreamers, to realize the then half-forgotten and wholly disregarded motto, by framing the city of Chicago with a garden of parks and boulevards, beginning at Lincoln Park on the north and connecting Humboldt, Garfield, Douglas, Washington, and Jackson parks. The attempt succeeded; the Chicago park system came to take second place among the park areas of the United States, and was the pride and glory of the city. Substantially, park acquisition in Chicago halted there—thirty-nine years ago. Second only to Philadelphia in 1880, Chicago has now dropped to the seventh place in so far as park area is concerned; and when the relative density of population is taken into consideration this city occupies the thirty-second place! At least half the population of Chicago to-day live more than one mile from any large park, and in the congested sections of the city there are nearly five thousand people to each acre of park space. The average for the entire city is 590 persons to each acre of park. For health and good order there should be one acre of park area for each hundred people.[20] The seriousness of present conditions being generally realized, a movement to bring about radical changes has already taken direction, and is fast gathering the force necessary to accomplish its ends. The state of Illinois has authorized the respective boards of park commissioners to connect Grant Park with Lincoln Park on the north and with Jackson Park on the south, and has granted the submerged lands along the Lake shore for that purpose, providing, however, that in all cases the commissioners must reach an amicable understanding with the riparian owners, the right of condemnation being withheld. Moreover, the state has also authorized cities, towns, and villages to grant to park authorities the right to take and improve streets not more than a mile in length without the consent of the abutting property owners, and to construct surface and elevated ways and turn the same over to public park corporate authorities.[21] In 1899 the Chicago City Council created the Special Park Commission, at the same time adopting resolutions recognizing the value of parks in preventing crime, promoting cleanliness, and diminishing disease; also declaring the need of greater area for parks, both large and small, and providing for a systematic study of the present and future needs of the city in the matter of parks and recreation grounds. In 1903, Cook County having created a commission to secure an outer belt of parks and boulevards, co-operation between the Special Park Commission and the Outer Belt Commission was established.