Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-10-04
IN BEHALF OF THE BIRDS.
Famous Petition That Was Prepared
BY Senator hoar.

Famous Petition That Was Prepared
BY Senator Hoar.
One Of the most remarkable legal
documents on bird protection that the
world has ever known Is the famous
petition by the late Senator Hoar.
When 1t was presented In the legisla-
ture it created unbounded enthusiasm,
and it passed both houses like a whirl-
wind.
The petition is as follows:
To the Great and General Court Of
the Commonwealth Of Massachu-
sets:
We, the song birds Of Massachu-
sets, and their playfellows, make this
our humble petition.
We know more about you than you
think we do. We think how good
you are. We have hoped about the
roofs and looked in at the windows Of
your homes you have built for poor,
sick, and hungry people and little
lame and deaf and dumb children. We
have built our nests In the trees, sung
many song as We few about the gar
dens and parks you have made so
beautiful for your own children, espe-
cially your poor children, to play In.
Every year we fly a great way over
the country, keeping all the time
where the sun is bright and warm;
and know that whenever you do any
thing, other people all over the great
land between the seas and the great
lakes will find It out and pretty soon
will try to do the same thing. We
know; We know. We are Americans
just as you are.
| af 90
from across the great sea, but most
Of the birds like US have lived here q
long while, and birds like US welcomed
your fathers when they came here
many years ago. Our fathers and
mothers have done their very best to
please your fathers and mothers.
Now we have sad story to tell you.
Thoughtless or bad people are trying
to destroy us. They will kill us be-
cause our feathers are beautiful. Even
pretty and sweet girls, who should
be our best friends, kill our brothers
and children so that they may wear
their plumage on their hats.
Sometimes people kill us from mere
wantonness. Cruel boys destroy our
nests, steal our eggs and our young
ones. People with guns and snares lie
in wait to kill US, as II the place for
bird were not in the sky, alive, but
| in a show window or under glass
case. II this goes on much longer, all
your birds will be gone. Already, we
are told, in some other countries that
used to be full Of birds. they are al
most 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
that no one shall wear our feathers,
so that no one will kill US to get them?
We are told that 1t Is as essy for you
to do this as for blacktail to whistle.
If you WILL we know how to repay
you a hundred times over. We Will
teach your children to keep them
selves clean and neat. We will show
them how to live together In peace
and love, to agree as we do In our
nests. We will build pretty houses
which you will like to see, We will
play about your gardens and flower
beds-ourselves like flowers on the
wings-without any cost to you. We
will destroy the insects that destroy
your cherries and currents and plums
and apples and roses. We will give
you our best songs and make the
spring more beautiful and the sum-
mer sweet to you. Every June morn
ing when you go out into the fields.
oriole and blackbird and bobolink will
fly after you and make the day more
delightful to you; when you go home
tired at sundown, vesper sparrow Will
tell you how grateful We are. When
you sit on your porch after dark, fife
bird and Hermit thrush and wood
thrush will sing to you; and even poor
whip-poor-w will cheer you little.
We know where we are safe. In lit
tie while birds will come to live In
Massachusetts again, and everybody
who loves music will like to have q
summer home with you.