Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-17
Stay the AK!

Final action in the matter of emplacing
the Grant statue and destroying certain
historic trees in the National Botanic
Garden should be postponed until Con-
greSs COnvenes. The ak of the chopper
should be stayed. The reasons for this
are manifold. The authority of the statue
commission to commit waste on federal
property should De inquired into. 1t
should he determined whether Congress
when 1t directed the erection of the Grant
statue on ''unoccupied' ground in the Bo-
tanic Garden meant to give the statue
builders the right to cut down trees that
have economic and sentimental value,
that are associated in the minds of men
with the history of the country and which
are not only monuments to the great nan
whose names they bear. but are part of
the life work of the men who planted
them The destruction of these trees
would argue irreverence and contempt
for public opinion.
1t has been suggested that the trees be
transplanted. but this is declared i'm
possible in the case of large old trees like
these by leading arboriculturists. fnclud-
ing an authority like William r. Smith 1t
is true that large trees are transpIanted
II has been done by expositions in their
EFFORTS to adorn barren. treeIess grounds.
and herein is an argument for trees 1t
has been done by rich men in an effort
TO make new homes look old and comfort
able. II has nearly always been done
with trees of no particular historic signifi-
canoe, trees whose life or death was not
much liter of sentiment with any,
body. There is no record of the MANY
tree lives that have been sacrificed under
this method of uprooting and replanting.
II is known that in Washington in public
grounds under the supervision of govern
ment authorities. notable failures have
been made in the transportation of big
trees.
For example, there was the Washington
elm that stood in the Cap toll grounds 1t
was planted by Washington. presumably
at the time of the laying of the corner
stone of The Capitol. That tree was in the
way of the marble terrace improvement
and was disturbed. 1t wthered and died
To satisfy strangers and others a nne elm
on the east side of the Cap toll plaza is
pointed out as the Washington elm. 1t
may be that it is also a Washington elm
but the Washington elm died when the
marble, terrace was built. A slip was
taken from the root of that tree. and is
now growing in the Botanic Garden-a
well-developed specimen of the elm.
Again. it is not only easier to make a
statue than tree, but it is casio to move
IT. If there is to be any moving, the
statue should be moved. AS a matter of
fact the statue IS not in the garden Only
place for it has been staked off. but this
site necessitates the cutting down of trees
A refusal to pick out some other spot just
as eligible for the statue and involving no
harm to the trees. strikes the lay mind as
unreasonable.
There should be no particular haste in
this tree-statue case. After all these years
OF neglect and delay in the natter of a
Statue to the memory of u s. Grant,
few weeks postponement will not count.
Let this question be put up to Congress
for decision
The public heartily sympathizes with
Mr.. Syme's public-s spirited effort to secure
court protection for the trees, and will
hope that the hearing tomorrow NAV re-
suit in saving them