The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-03-24

mon Who wear atufied birds and Rig-
ruttnH ON their hats. she said, Some
81 them err through ignorance; ntherl
through vanity that amounts 70 MALI
ciONsnesR Not long ago one Of my
friends went into millinery establish
mcnt to buy a hat. The B1leswonnn
brought her q hat with perfect tower
u aiRrettes on one side.
"'irnke II away, she cried, Mortified.
Don't let me- seq . hat with hlgrettea
on II. / wouldn't wear one lf you'd give
me the anest In the store
"The shOpRlrl 'Wns amazed, and no
were three customers who were going
through the tryingsOp process.
h" we IRE interested to know why you
won't wear algretteS, finally one OF The
customers said. and then my friend eX'
planned 10 them that the algrette was
the wedding dress worn BY both sexes
Of the snowy heron in nesting time. SO
that the loss OF the old bird means the
losB Of the eREB, or more frequently the
starving Of the young. She told them
lust how these birds had been nlm0Nt
completely GNtermlnRted In the south
md In other countries In the last twenty
yenra, because women are tonder OF
decorating their hats and their hair
with aigrettea than with anything else,
They were astOnlshed and said they'd
never heard OF such thing and before
abe left them they all declared that
they would never wear another stuffed
bird or algr6tte. They slnned through
Ignorance.
"Not so with another woman know.
| met her one day with n bls bunch OF
1igrettes nOddIng and bobbing ut me
from her bonnet.
"'It's so strange that you wear aiE-
rettes, said !. when you are 10 fond 81
animals, and 30 kind TO them. Won't
you promise me never to wear them
again, and turn others from the cruel
prRctice2' =,
7" Dear me, no, she exclaimed. I
won't uuit wearing them. MY husband
IL IN the feather business, and he has
iuRt booked orders for $4,000 worth OF
birds. feathers, and Higrettes. That
woman knew Just how nlgrettes are obs
tRIned. How wOmH. teuder-henrted,
humane woman cannot only counte-
nance, hut also be the cause OF, this
mOnStluus fashion can't see. II every
Individual would do what she could to
turn the tidal wave It would soon be
stopped.
"Scntlment is changing even US II Is.
/ looked in u millinery store window IN
Fifth avenue the other day, and not q
hat was trimmed with RlBrettes or
feathers OF any kind that necessitnted
the extinction OF u single bird. That
miilinar deserved congratulations, The
time will come, believe, when the mil
liner who Keeps an Audubon hat store
viii make her fortune"
AStaFtIinE Warning.
A startling warning has recently
como from the Smithsonian Institution.
II il to the effect that civilized man Is
sweeping the wild birds Off the face Of
the earth at such n rate that before
long hardly any species Of bird life Will
survive except such as are dOmeStlcat-
cd. This warning should be needed by
every state and territory that does not
already protect It's feRthered pOpulAs
ton. Most OF them have on their stats
ute books laws for the protection OF
birds. Law OF itself cannot do every
thing. So long as women demand birds
for their hats or sanction their use By
mllliners, men are going to supply this
demand Only one thing can stop this
wholesale killing That Is wOmen's in
iiuence crystaliEed in legislation. In
some states, notably Massachusetts,
this has been done. but unless such leg
lslatlOn becomes general, the slaughter
will still go on and the extinction OF the
birds will be complete.
A bill providing pGlalues for killing
any OF the song or insectivOTous birds
has been reported In the Connecticut
legislature. and similar one has been
introduced In the New York assembly.
II IL said that birds save to agriculture
alone annually more than Sl0O 100000 In
the United States In many sections
insect life Il still so abundant that were
1t not kept in check by the birds human
life would be uncomfortable.