The Washington herald., 1907-04-15
President Writes ArbOr Day
Letter to Schools.
POsTERIrY WILL MISS TREES
Executive Declares Immediate steps
Must be Taken to Preserve and
Cultivate wooded Lands IL They
Would BE SaYed-AI Pupils in the
Country Are to Hear the Letter.

children of the United States on the OBJ
servance of Arbor Day will be read in
every public school throughout this coun-
try to-day and from its tenor 1t Is plain
that the President wishes to impress on
the minds of the growing generation the
absolute necessity of preserving the for
ests and replenishing the same with
young growth.
Within your lifetime. the nations need
Of trees win become serious" and in
your kull manhood and worianhood you
viii want what nature once so bountifully
supplied and man so thoughtlessly de-
stroyed." are thoughts in the President s
letter which call especial attention to a
condition, which. if not attended to at
once. viii prove TO be one of serious con-
sequences 10 this country The Presi-
dents letter follows;
To the school children of the United
States;
'Arbor Day (which means simply Tree
| Day) is now observed in every State in
our union-and mainly in the schools At
various times from January to December,
but chiefly in this month of April. you
/ give a day. or part of a day, To special
D
I planting, in recognition of the impOr-
tance of trees 10 US as a nation, and of
what they yield in adornment. comfort,
and useful products 10 the communities
| in which you live.
Need for Trees VIII Become Serious.
/ 1T is well that you should celebrate
/ your Arbor Day thOughtfully. for within
/ your lifetime the nations need of trees
Will become serious. We Of an older gen
| Grafton can get along with what we have.
/ though with growing hardship; but in
! your fun manhood and wOmanh0Od you
will want what nature once so bounu-
/ fully supplied and man so thoughtlessly
destroyed. and because OF that want you
viii reprOach us. not for what we have
/ used, but for what We have wasted.
For the nation. as for the man OF
7 woman and the boy or girl tire road to
! success is the right use Of what we have
and the Improvement of present oppor-
| tunity. If you neglect to prepare yourself
| now for the duties and responsibilities
which will fan upon you later, If you dc
not learn the things which you will need
! TO know when your schooldays are over
/ You viii suffer the consequences. So any
/ nation, which in its youth lives only fOI
/ the day, reaps without sowing. and con-
sumes without outstanding, must expect
the penalty of the prodigal, whose labor
could with difficulty ind him the bare
means Of life.
No Hope without Trees.
"A people without children would face
a hopeless future; a country without
trees is almost as hopeless: forests which
are SO used that they cannot renew them
selves will soon vanish, and. with them
all their benefits. A true forest is no
/ merely a storehouse fun of wood but, "a:
it were. a factory OF wood and at th'
same time a reservoir Of water WheI
you help 10 preserve our forests OF {,
/ plant new ones, you are acting the par
of good citizens. The value of forestry
| deserves. therefore. to be taught in tht
schools. which aim TO make good ciu
zens of you. IF your Arbor Day exer
cises help you to realize what benefit:
each one of you receive from the for
ests. and how by your assistance thes'
benefits may continue. they will serve
good end. THEODORE ROOSEVELT"
Interest IA Forestry Keen.
/! The growth of public sentiment in favoi
Of forest preservation has increased rap
idly in the past few years. The presen
widespread interest is largely due to al
offer made by the L. S. Department o
II Agriculture in 1885, through its Division
of Forestry, 10 give advice and assistance
in the handling Of forest lands.
Until a few years ago tree planting wa
limited to the interested portions Of tn
Middle West and a few localities In New
England. 1t is now being carried on OK
tensiyely throughout New England AM
other Eastern States Under the offer o
the Bureau of Forestry of cO-Operstiol
with forest planters. plans have beei
completed for the planting of thousand
of acres, representing 152 localities il
/ twenty-nine States and Territories.
Legal Holiday in Many states.
Arbor Day IS a legal holiday in Arizona
Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Wiscon
sin. and Wyoming, the day being set b,
the governor; in Texas, February p
Nebraska. April p: Utah. April IS: Rhod
Island. May Il: Montana. second Tues
day in May; Florida, first Friday in Feb
ruary; Georgia, first Friday in December
Colorado (school holiday only) third Fri
day in April; Oklahoma, the Friday fol
lowing the second Monday in March.
After the reading of the Presidents let
ter in the public schools of this city. III
teachers will explain and illustrate to th
children the subject set forth in IA
letter.