The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-31
TREES SHOULD BE PLANTED.
sHADELEss STRETCHES ALONG
MANY SIDEWALKS.

both the Beauty and shade of Trees
Are Missed-Park and Tree Com
mission Has no Authority to Set
Out Trees and Charge "A Property
Owner, Nolens Volens, for the Cost.
Mr.. s. E. Theus Says the Commits
sion Is Ready TO Do This When the
Property Owners Desire.
Before many of the most pretentious
homes in the most beautiful sections of
the city there are wide spaces that are to-
tally devoid of trees. In some localities
these bare places extend the width of sew
eral houses, thereby detracting from the
general appearance of the neighborhood
and showing plainly to the eye that
something is lacking. In summer heat,
too, sight is not the only sense to which
the omission is clear, for the shade that
might be enjoyed if trees were where
they should be is missed. For a long
while 1t has been remarked that new
trees are not set out to any appreciable
extent before the homes of Savapnahs
citizens Residents who own their homes
are likely to seek to beautify them, but it
is observed, on the other hand, that prop
erty-owners who lease their houses to
others do not seem to care whether or not
they have rows of trees before them.
Tree planting is not so attractive 10
some Savannahians as many others believe
it should be. The Park and Tree Com
mission, public board. looks after the
identifying of public places, but it leaves
arboral improvements of their homes and
the houses they let 10 tenants TO property
owners themselves, though, greatly as the
members of the commission regret it, the
trust is not fulfilled as creditably as it
should be.
Chairman Daffin of the Park and Tree
Commission is in New York Mr. S. E.
Theus, member of the commission, was
asked yesterday if it has authority to
peremptorily plant a tree along the side
walk before a property owners premises
and charge him with the cost. His reply
was in the negative.
Mr.. Theus said it has been the custom
OF the commission for some time to fur
nish any sort of tree indigenous 10 this
section that may be desired by a prop
erty owner; also setting it out for him
at the actual cost to the commission. This
cost, ordinarily, is about $1.75 per tree II
varies according to the species of tree
desired
The trees are secured from forests near
Savannah. 1t has been found that trips
must be more lengthy chan formerly in
order to get the trees. They are paid
for by the commission which makes an
agreement with the owners of the lands
from which they are taken. To the cost
of the tree must be added the cost of
digging ii up, transporting it 90 the city
on the special truck built for the pur-
pose and the transplantng.
The depletion of the forests near the
city has made Il necessary for the driver
to go seven or eight miles into the coun-
try before he can secure the trees For
certain species the trip is often longer.
Some kinds of trees are becoming rather
scarce, and distant forests have to be
sought TO obtain them.
Mr.. Theus said the commission has a
perfect right, that being its especial prov
ince, to plant trees in the public squares,
parks and in the plots that run along the
center of some of the streets But there
its power ends. . If it had money enough
ii could plant trees along the sidewalks,
TOO, but that is now regarded as a prerog-
alive of the property owners. If they
do not care to have 1t done, there is no
way to force them to il.
For some reason the trees in Savannah
are not nearly so thrifty as they were
some years ago Those who seek the
cause are at fault. Some claim the
growth of the trees is interfered with
and that the death of many result from
the drainage system, which takes away a
great deal of the surface water that for
merly went to the nourishment of the
trees. Others believe the death of many
Of the great oaks and other trees has been
due to the storms that shook them so vi
olently as to loose the bark from the
trunk.
Whatever the cause, the fact remains
that the trees do not show up as well,
and Mr.. Theus insists that the beauty of
tire city demands that they be supplanted
by others. When one dies, its place should
he taken by young one, which, in time,
may attain the same noble proportions as
that which it succeeds. In no other way
than by tree-planting and that by the
citizens, can Savannah hope to retain its
title as the Forest City or the beauty that
has been an accompaniment of the phrase
Col George A. Mercer, a former mem
Der of the Commission, was asked about
the r'ght to plano tres and force the
property owners to pay for them. He re-
piled that no such right existed. Proper
ty owners, he sand. may be assessed for
their pro rata of a street pavement but
that is a matter of public convenience.
An assessment for tree-planting would
not stand the test of law, however, and
the Commission cannot resort TO that
| means to secure the cooperation of citi-
zens in the identifying of the city who
will not vouchsafe it without such severe
measures.
Col Mercer too. would be glad to gee
the citizens manifest a more general in
| terest in the matter. Handsome shade
trees are a mark of beauty to any city,
| and the resident sections, especially.
| should not be despoiled of them through
the mere failure of property owners whose
housefronts are bare of any shade to in
| vest very few dollars.
Oglethorpe avenue and Liberty streets,
having the grass plots running their en-
tire length, with double rows of trees,
have more trees than any other streets in
the city. 1t has been noted however,
| that many of the trees on these streets are
dead. Some of the dead ones stand in the
grass plots, while others are along the
| sidewalks. The Park and Tree Commits
| sion is removing the dead trees wher-
! ever they are found. Last fall a count of
the dead trees in the city was made, and
| 1900 were found. Many have been re-
moved since that time and the work con-
tinues.
Citizens. Mr.. Theus holds. should help
in this work. Where dead trees stand in
front of their property, they should, with
the consent OF the commission, be re-
moved, and new ones should be planted
in their places. Both OglethoTpe avenue