Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1897-08-11
senator Hoar,s onirdu PetI.iOn.

wearing OF song ana lnsecJlNOTOus
birds on women's hats Is said to have
been written by Senator Hoar. The
petition read as follows:-
To the Great and General Court of
the commonwealth of Massachusetts:
We the song birds OF Massachusetts,
and their play-fellows make this our
humble petition. We know more
about you than you think we do.
We know how good you are. We have
hoped about the roofs and looked
in at your windows of houses you have
built for poor and sick and hungry
people, and lame and deaf and blind
children. We have built our nest in
the trees and sung many a song as we
Rew about the gardens and parks you
have made so beautiful for your chill
dreD, especially your poor children, to
play in. Every year we fly great way
over the country keeping all time
where the sun is bright and warm
And know that whenever you do any
thing other people in all this great
land between the seas and the great
lakes find 1t out and pretty soon will
try to do the same. We know. We
know.
We are Americans Just the same
as you are. Some 'of us, like some
OF you, came across the
great sea, But most of birds like us,
lived here long while; and the birds
like us welcomed your fathers when
they came here many, many years ago.
Our fathers and mothers have always
done their best to please your fathers
and mothers.
Now we have sad story to tell you.
Thoughtless or bad people are trying
to destroy us, because our feathers
are beautiful. Even pretty and sweet
girls, who we should think would be
our best friends, kill our brothers and
children so that they may wear our
plumage on their hats. Sometimes
people kill US for mere wantonness.
Cruel boys destroy our nests and steal
our eggs and young ones. People
with guns and snares lie in wait TO
kill us; as if the place for bird were
not in the sky, alive but in shop
window or in a glass case. If th
goes on much longer all our soug bird
will be gone. Already we are told IT,
some other countries that used to be
full of birds, they are now almost
gone. Even the nightingales are being
killed in Italy.
Now we humbly pray that you will
stop all this and will save us from this
sad fate. You have already made a
law that no one shall kill harmless
song bird or destroy our nests or our
eggs. Will you please make another
one that no one shall wear our feathers,
so that no one shall kill us to get
them? We want them ourselves. Your
pretty girls are pretty enough without
them. We are told that it is as easy
for you to do it as for blackbird to
WHISTLE
If you will we know how to pay you
a hundred times over We will teach
your children to keep themselves clean
and neat. We will show them how to
live together in peace and loYe and to
agree as we do in our nest. We will
build pretty houses which you will
like to see, We will play about your
garden and flower-beds ourselves
like flowers on wings without any
cost to you. We will destroy wicked
insects and worms that spoil your
cherries and currants, plums and ap-
Piles and roses. We will give you our
best songs, and make the spring more
beautiful and summer sweeter to you.
Every June morning. when you
90 ont into the fields an
oriole and bluebird and blackbird and
oobolink will fiy:after you and make
the day more delightful to you, and
when you go home tired after sundown
vesper sparrow will tell you how CRATE
full we are. When you sit down on
your porch after dark, fifebird and
uoh anu 'WOOO uoIl Will
sing to you; and even whip-poor-will |
will cheer you up little. We know
where we are safe. In little while
all the birds will come to live in Mass
achusetts again, and everybody who
loves music will like to make a sum.
mer home with you.
The singers are:-
Brown Thrasher King Bird
Robert o'Lincoln Swallow
Thrush Cedar Bird
Vesper Sparrow Cow Bird
Robin Red Breast Martin Veery
Song Sparrow Vireo
Scarlet Tanager Oriole
Summer Red Bird Black Bird
Blue Heron Fife Bird
Bird Wren
Yellow Bird Linnet
Whip-pOOr-will Pee Wee
Water Wag-tail Phoebe
Woodpecker Yoke Bird
Pigeon WoodpeckerLark
Indigo Bird Sandpiper
Yellow Throat Chewink