Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-04-17

OoSsupERED WITH REFERkNCE TO rrs
MORAL ASPECT.
The Address Delivered by Rev. ,. Max Bsrk "a
the Pupils Of the Lemoni street Secondary
schools Of this City--wsrm Plea for Tree
Planting by City Minister.

life begins when he first tears himself from |
| out the bosom of nature, and stands forth
| conscious Of an individuality separate from |
his mother. That is its birth. In its child |
hood and youth IL still is blindly dependent
| on nature. She bounteously furnishes food
| and shelter and warmth, and man unques-
| tiohingly accepts 1t all, giving In return moth
| ing but ungrateful disobedicnce and abuse. |
We have too long already fingered in this
"naughty-boyhood" stage; too long have |
| disregarded our loving mother laws, abused
her gracious gifts, and wantonly deiied her
| TO her very face. And in nothing more so
than in the ruthless and reckless waste and
obstruction her forests and trees. Therefore
has she commenced to punish US sorely that
by Christening she might bring us to a sense of |
duty and obligations. Her drouths destroy
ing our crops, her floods sweeping away our |
farms and villages and towns, her drying up |
OF our springs and water-conrses beating |
upon us with the blazing rays of her summer |
sun, and scourging us with her fiercest win |
try blasts have taught US the evil Of four ways
and made US feel the penalty of our disobe- |
| dience. The exercises of to-day throughout
this commonwealth are proof that like the
| prodigal son of the parable, we at last have
"come to ourselves" To recognize that husks
| are not meant for us, and that comfort and
| plenty are In store if but we will retrace our
steps aud bring forth fruit meet for repen-
tance.
We have arrived at stage where our
mother can demand our protection in return
, for all her gifts and favors where indeed
, the latter less needed and no less
. | freely given than before, but where the
strong son must be grateful in return, and
must fulfill his duties of iull-grown sonship
as well. More than this. As birth IL separa-
9 | tion from the mother, 50 truo manhood is
Y | their reunion. Civilization begins with sep
: aration from nature, and il il perfected by
q reunion with nature But the reunion is on
higher plane and of a different character
Z than before. And know of no other means
that shall as fully and generally bring US to
. this contamination as the planting of trees,
d especially by the young, and their constant
n nurture, and demands upon the intelligent
care and sympathetic attention of our boys
aud girls BY this means will our mother
O | nature not only be enabled to hold ~ close
;, | and essential a relation 10 US physically as
~ before, but the still more subtle, profound
e | and tender spiritual relation, AZ between
d mother and son, will be consciously fostered
and its mutual benefits abundantly proved
TREES AND VEGETATION.
'o She will have her youth renewed, and her
re beauty restored and enhanced. For trees
and vegetation are the lungs of the earth.
Through them she breathes. Destroy them
Is and she falls into consumption. Her vital
IN fluids dry up Her fountains, springs and
streams disappear. Her soil becomes arid and
unproductiye. Her temperature tickle and
,is unequal Her atmosphere stale, stagnant,
impure and unwholsome Give her plenty
of trees and vegetation and with new vigor
and ungrudging bounty she will give us
as health, comfort and wealth fresh air to
lie breathe, plenty of water To drink and to irri
., gate our land, shade against the burning sun
and shelter from the icy storm, a richness
ne and abundance of crops in her teeming field,
m, and luxuriance Of fruit III clustering vines
| nd lutln IL
49,, and forests, that far outweighs in value al
u" the products OF our mines of gold, and coal
M and iron. Every tree we plant and raise il
is | an investment made in natures bank tha
,,,, | Will pay us compound interest even if we re
gard the material returns alone, the value IL
en- | dollars and cents only.
he But Is 1t not worth something too to restor,
he and add to the sum of natures beauty? II
- cover her bald spot and hide the scars mad
We by our thoughtless ingratitude, with verdur
ION and luxuriance? To make her feature
her beautiful with the expression of loft,
%, thoughts and lovely sentiments? Such ar
~ trees. They are thoughts of God expresse,
ess in material form. They expressed hi
ent | Eatherly care and foresight when in tin
a, Lord God made to grow out Of the groun,
'h "eyery tree that is pleasant 10 the sight, an,
md jesse" and " the Branch" that should be al
,re ensign for the people, expressed hi
; thoughts OF salvation and blessing that wer
MI intended for all men. "The Vine " with il
IL
bar uplifting power and intimate union with al
who will abide in Him. His thought of Hi
church on earth He expressed in tn
mustard ffee which grew to be the creates
u.s. among herbs,-so that the birds {
M the air come and lodge in the branches there
tho Of" And finally when He would express tn
49, highest beauty of peace and infinite joy {
ul- the New Jerusalem, 1t was in "the tree {
nd | life which bear twelve manner of fruits, an
,cb yielded her fruit every month and tn
leaves of the tree were for the healing of til
nations" Are there not Just as snblin
thought contained in the lofty oak, tn
ha | spreading sycamore, the whispering pine
in the maidenly pear tree veiled in pur
white blossoms, and the matronly apple su
ew spring? Else why does their majesty over
,.. awe and their beauty enchant us? Why i
10 our deeper moods, when joy Is too full fo
'rai another even TO understand it, do we find ]
the silent society OF the trees in some favorit
nd | grove subtle sympathy and glad compar
~, onship, deep satisfaction such rs our fe
pii- low-men could not afford US? Is it not b'
ned | cause Gods thoughts are higher than man
of thoughts? Or why, when the heart is heav
700 with grief, and the cup of sorrow too bite
~. to be shared by any mortal with us, do "
'llh find relief comfort, strength and peace,
all the shady solitude of the woods, under til
NV outstretched arms of some great, plying tre
go such az the noisy world without could nevt
o ohe give us? Did not the Saviour of men hin
the self feel II in the hour of his bitterest agony
When all the world but misunderstood an
hated him; when even his chosen discp
ere could not enter into his hearts grief, then
,,.. withdrew himself, alone into the secusio
'o' of the olive grove of Gethsemane.
s in , -.-.
"into the woods my master went
Clean forspent, forspent,
Into the woods my master came
'se- Forspent with love and shame.
ard But the olives they were not blind To him,
cial | The little gray leaves were kind To him.
tho The thorn-trce had mind to him,
When into the woods he came.
en- "Out of the woods my master went,
-, And he was well content.
hu Out of the woods my master came,
sed Content with death and shame:
was When shame and death would WOO him-as
Tho From under the trees they drew him.-iast;
Twas on a tree they slew hm-last
lor When out OF the woods he came"
'urt All, he understood the Fathers thought
no the trees, and they understood him. Tn
est we do not do so more fully is it not becau
Nc SO long we have looked at them only fro
ns' afar, from without; because we have on
iat- used them, but not loved them? Wht
the once we shall have learned to care for the
scu- more, to nourish them, to feel for them, th,
UNI perhaps will they also reveal themselves
pru- us more plainly, and become our friends
nest truer sense than merely to supply our PHI
GER | sical, material wants.