The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-07-15
Voman-The Foe Of Birds.


The bonny. bonny little birds
II In their hour Of need,
They have no power TO beg for life
IL 10 for them plead.
There Is no more exquisite creature In
the universe than living bird, perched
dairtily upon the swaying branch OF an
elm, while from tho little throat pours
forth gush OF melody that carries our
hearts with his, straight to the mercy
! seat OF God.
But the same bird dead, transdxed by
the skill of the taxidermist in the agon-
lied position that could only have been
assumed in the little creatures lingering
death struggles, Is sight to make one
shudder.
The woman who can look In at the
milliner's windows today and not feel
her.soul swell with righteous indignation
and wrath has no woman's heart in her
bosom. Ii is a thing OF stone IL IL can
gaze unmoved upon that sad sight. ] saw
In milliuer's opening a bonnet trimmed
with band composed OF 20 birds heads.
IL seems hardly credible that any woman
could be found with taste so deprayed
as To think this beautiful, but alas! there
are many who would wear 1t as proudly
as the savage wears the girdle OF scslps at
his waist, and with as little thought as
he, OF the suffering of which these tiny
heads are the token. Let us look at IL
u
That means 20 little lives gons out of the
sunlight, 20 happy voices hvshed for aye,
20 little bodies gaspiug heir life out upon
the ground, 80 baby brides starving in
the nest, millions OF grubs and worms
feasting on our crops and fruit, and the
story Is not yet told. Who could esti'
The senseless vanity OF one woman is
gratified, and. at what cost Do you
realize the horror Of II? Why, these are
our own dear birds that we love, the
welcome visitors for whose coming we
wait so anxiously in the spring. When
their first glad notes are heard. what
thrill of Joy it sends through every
nerve! Ne scatter crumbs Tor them and
hope they will build again IN the old elm
tree near the porch. How gladly we an
nounce some morning, that three little
blue eggs are in tbe nest Then bye and
bye what a pleasure it is to watch the
happy little mother as she flies 10 and
fro with the food for her darlings. And
1t has come to thisl The bluebrd who
wakened US in the morning with his
gush Of joyful melody; the oriole whose
song was so sweet that we hushed our
breath to listen, there they are, twisted
into :some fantastic shape and sewed
upon.a bonnet
i look down the church aisle snd see
here a golden wing and there O ruby
breast; here an emerald head and there
scarlet throat; here a bunch of soft
feathers that must nave been plucked
from the breasts of a score of birds, and
here half dozen wings pointing heaven
ward, silent witness OF woman's inhu-
| manIty. Jere Is the entire body OF our
household friend, the oriole, fattened
and contorted, and upon the breast OF the
wearer see the gleam OF the silver cross
of the "King's Daughters, the badge OF
cruelty Haunting above the badge OF
mercy. u, daughter OF the Heavenly
King, listen to this word and blush to
wear that golden wing above that silver
cross. Are not two sparrows sold for
farthing, and one of them shall not fell
on the ground without your Father. or.
as st. Luke says, not one OF them Is for
gotten before God; and, again, your
Heavenly Father feedetn them.
Bright winged messengers OF God sent
TO bring JOY and peace to our hearts while
they carol theft sweet songs OF praise and
Thanksgiving, how shall we account to
their creator for this wicked desecration
of his gift to US? Woman woman! you
can no longer plead ignorance or thought
lessness for your barbarity. You know
the cruelty OF it. you know that without
| the birds man could not live upon the
| earth, you know that, were It not for the
birds, the growth OF insect life would be
so immense that vegetation would be en-
tireiy destroyed; yet you wilfuIly en-
courage the wholesale slaughter OF our
feathered friends, and knowingly sane.
tion this wicked destruction OF the beautt-
full warblers who fill our groves and fields
with their sweet melodies of love. With
your eyes wide open you permit this war
of determination to be carried on and
deck yourself proudly with these slaugh-
tered spirits OF the air, selfishly unmind-
full of the cruel cost. From the Atlantic
to the Pacific, from Canada to Florida,
the agents of the millinery firms are
ceaseless in their work OF death and
destruction. From early spring until late
fall, at all times and at all seasons, the
lovely, hel less creatures are pursued
with relentless vigilance, trapped. shared,
hunted with dogs, shot, killed with air
gus, bean-shooters, stories, no matter what,
long as the bright plumage can bring
few pennies into the hunters pocket.
What care they that without the parent
birds tender care, the little ones die of
slow starvation in the nest? What caro-
they that the glorious burst of melody IL
hushed la death, and that the mangled
form is writhing in agony at their feetf
The dainty creature Is to them but pair
OF wings ana crested head. Millions of
skins are sold annually TO the millinery
trade. Some species Of birds are already
extinct and others fast becoming SO.
From this immense destruction of bird
life but one result can follow, The pun
ishmeDtt for our sin Will fall upon
our children and our chiidren's chill
dren when without let or hind
rance the grubs and worms can de-
stroy the crops, blight the fruit and
le, We the shade trees but blackened skele.
| tons to mourn the death OF the sweet
birds that were wont TO build in their
| branches. The women of the land should
rise up and protest against this outrage
by refusing Indignantly to wear the
plumage, that badge of cruelty which is
the symbol OF 80 much suffering and
anguish
The human cry 20 God is still
For mercy, mercy solrly:
The birds sing only God he praised,