The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-02-03
"slauRler of the 1nnocnts."


EDITOR LADIES HOME JOURNAL :
-Iwould like to lay before your read
ers few facts in relation to the
slaughter of birds, for the purpose of
trimming. So much has been said
and written in condemnation of this
vicious fashion for women by the press
all over the country and by men in
high places, that the wonder is how
many can adopt it. But it is question
of personal adornment, and IN the
compl agency of satisfied vanity, wom-
en- have shown themselves in many
instances thoroughly heartless. They
will question the DEGREES of Providence
but the DEGREES of fashion-never! !!
though her affairs be covered with the
blood of hundreds of thousands of the
most beautiful creations of the AL
mighty hand.
LII 1885 the leading Ornithologists of
the country published report, show
ing the appalling destruction of birds
for millinery purposes, and it was at
this time that Mr.. g. E. Gordon, Pres
ident of the American Humane Soci-
ETY., made the following sweeping as
sertion;-"These generations Of men
will pass away before the birds can be
restored to the number and condition
of four years ago, before the women of
this country caused their most wanton
and cruel destruction"
simultaneously with the publishing
of the Orinthologists report, the Audu-
bon Society for the protection of
birds was founded at 318 Broadway,
New York City. The society has
members in every state in the Union
and in Canada, and numbers about
$4,000. The signing of the pledges fur
nished by the society constitutes
membership. There are no fees, no
dues, nor any expenses of any
kind. ~.
AS some of your readers may doubt
the magnitude Of the evil with which
the society has to cope, the following
statement copied from the Ornitholo-
gists' report, will convince the most
skeptical. a ~
ave know that a single local taxid-
ermist handles $4,000 bird skins in one
year that million of rails and reed
birds (bobolinks) have been killed
in a month near Philadelphia that
from one small district on Long Is
land 10000 birds were brought to New
York in four months. In q single sea-
son 40, 900 terms were killed on Cape
Cod for expectation. Recently the
swamps and marshes of Florida have
been depOpulated of their egrets and
herons." A gentlemen writing from
the latter place says:
Npho hir6c Ei1toH of cooGnn of
the year when they are rearing their
young. On passing the rookeries
where the hunters had been few
days previous, the screams and calls of
the starving young birds were pitiful
to hear. Some were just fedged,
while others were so young that they
could make but little noise. But all
must inevitably starve to death.
cannot describe the horror it gave me
to hear the pitiful screams of the dy-
ing little BIRDS"
And these atrocities are perpetrated,
and even worse, that women may be
in fashion,.
But enough has been said and [
turn with admiration and reverence
to those women who preferring the
consolation of conscience obeyed, to
the glory of being in the fashion are
striving hard to save the few birds
that remain, and as local secretaries of
the Audubon Society, are doing a
work that will undoubtedly be ac-
counted unto them for righteousness.
For "Be we merciful that ye may OBJ.
tain mercy" admits of the widest in
depreciation. r'...
.l... ... az . E. T.