New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-01
Wv my CONTRASTS.

M1I-D11 ON Ih1cI''
Nav Day offers striking contrasts III Europe
,d ,mor;c, In the vicsStudcS of human
,,roo,oss = festival con>ecratcd in the youth
&c tho world 70 the life giving and orderly
nrocesscs of Nature has been transformed III
tbo cynical old age of the elder continent INTO
, Dies Jrac of social discomfort and unrest.
In London's Hyde Park where Henry III once
wont aMaving with his Queens labor masses
;ts forces to-day. and Socialists seek to lnllame
the passions of working people organized IN
trade. unions. In France, where the dfu'oS
,,,orc accustomed to light their Signatures on
tbe billsides in honor Of the old-timc feast OF
flowers, Anarchist OutrageS are uredoe" Ill"
poice and gendarmes are anXiously multiplying
precautions to avert dynamite explosions ana III
cendiary fires Spain is virtually brought "ioer
martial law to prevent riotOus dcmohs'ra'io"S
If the working classes. In Belgium ana "cf-
MANY labor parades and Socialist maSS-ince'
inrs are to be kept under rigid police ana
military restraint and the effect OF revolution
orv literature scattered broadcast among toll
inc millions is To be closely watched from hour
IN hour. Even in Italy. where the whole month
IF Nav was once dedicated to Apollo and It's
every day was a joyous floral feast the APP
proach of the ancient festival is heraldcd win
arrests of Anarchists i'll the leading cities ana
with balcful rumors of dynamite outrages ana
revolutionary frenzy The gracious Queen OF
the Nav with her lap Drumming with the early
flowers of spring is no longer enthroncd IN the
workaday Europe of to-day. In her place
rcens the blcar-cycd Goddess of Unrest in an
atmosphere electric with suspicion. Above her
do, InnpnII1rN =
torch At her feet blossoms the bomb with
its flaming fuse. Full in her face streams the
hot breath of the toiling masses discontinued
with their lot.
Such is Nav Day in the Old World. day
of forcboding suspicion and rcStcssneSS' when
kings trcmblc OH their thrones and the heaviest
hattalions are massed in barracks and Govern
mcnts feel the strain and tension OF 'Icmch-
do,Is effort 10 keep the destructive forces OF
social disquiet under infcxiblc control. Inc
charm, simplicity and loneliness OF the trad-
tioual Nav Day have passed away from Eu-
ropc but not from the face of the earth Here
in America there is survival OF the gracious
associations Of the springtime festival Early
in the month comes Arbor Day, reproduction
of the old Roman Floraa and practical
HudDIdIlbl III way ray w '''''
and. reouircmonts In twcniy-Sc,cn states and
Territories it is now holiday devoted 10 Tree
planting and TO the educational Influences OF
forestry and every year lis Observance Is pc
coming more general. richer III significance ana
more refined in feeling state Boards oil I'd
ucaton. horticultural societies forestry assocla-
tions and practical legislators have united IN
this beautiful work Of restoring the prestige oil
Nav DAY. Methods have been diverse. but
there has been - same spirit Of sympathetic
accord with Nature East and West. Whether
the barren coast of Cape Cod has been reclaimed
bv systematic forestry. or Ncw-England village
;nnrovcment societies have bcautiiiod neglect
cd commons. or the school children of New
York have set out tens Of thousands of trees or
memorial groves have been dedicated To historic
names i'm Ohio. or the depleted forest wealth
of Michigan. Nebraska ard California has been
renewed by arboriculturc on a large scale,
Nature has not been far from the hearts and
lives of Americans on ArbOr Day. II is the
restful day of the year when her near divine
ness and the adaptabilty Of her working pro-
cesses to human requirements can be perceived
as it was in the d-timc worship of the drudS
or in the mystic ccremonals Of ApoloS month.
II IL something as Inl> oNtINTourH' ulN-
tracted world spins round with the pathos Of
its poverty and the unccaslng struggle oil IFS
toiling millions to be cmancpatcd from the
hard economic conditions Of their lot that there
should be az least one happy and con'cntcd
country where May Day is not a menace Ia
political and social order. but rather source
Of inspiration and rcStfulncss. The academic
rccroations in schoolbouse and village common
on one side Of the ocean arc sign OF National
content and industrial progress just As on the
other the violent harangucs of Socialist agl-
tators are an uncrring indication of social I'M
rest and national discomfort This peaceful
day, given up 10 the planting of trees, shrubs
and vines. to the reclamation Of waste places
and barren roadsidcs. and TO public apprccia-
ton of Natures bOundless resources, serves TO
relieve the shadow cast abroad by Anarchist
conspraccs dynamite ontIages and the mar
,halling of the battalions to suppress rcNUn-
tionary outbreaks. The traditional Queen Of
the May, banishcd from Europe by social rest
lcssnesS, becomes in very truth the Genius Of
Arbor Day.
THE METHODIST GENERAL CONFERENCE