Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-29
STORY OF PEACE OAK
AS TOLD TO COMMITTEE BY
SUPT. SMITH.

| on the lfOrdly Win reference 10 the site
of the Grant memorial In the Botanic
Garden. which was only recently pub
! lished as a House document. an extract
| is given from the testimony OF William
R. Smith. for fifty-flve years superintend-
emit Of the Botanic Garden. Mr.. Smiths
remarks. as published. follow:
Mr.. Smith--Well. forty years ago or
| more, when the war was beginning and
begun in fact. l was very anxious for
| peace and was very much infused with
| the idea of Mr.. Crittenden's being sue
| cessful, his resolution being passed, and
| in walking up toward the Capitol with
John A. Bingham on the one hand, chair
| man of the committee on the judiciary.
and Mr.. Cartel of Georgia. particular
! friend of Mr.. Stevens. l said. why can't
be the agent for bringing you two ex-
| tremists together" Mr. Cartel said Mr..
Smith If your friend Bingham will with
| draw his force bill and pass the Critten-
den resolution. l will guarantee that
Georgia does not go out. Well, turning
| to Bingham with all the enthusiasm Of
| my nature. at that time especially. said.
| Now John. now is the time for you to
| immortalize yourself" He said, We'll,
| will see about this business And he
came up and got into the storm center
and came back to tell me next day that IT
was no use that no man could control
anything about 1t. That incident induced
me to ask Mr.. Crittenden and Mr.. NAL
lory his colleague and friend. Mr.. Wads-
worth of the committee on the library
and they were all inumate friends-to
bring from Kentucky one of the largest
acorns they could find. and we would
plant 1t where this conversation took
place. in memory of his efforts for peace.
even. If they failed 1t was planted; 1t
has grown: II is a magnificent tree, and
there are children of it over the four
quarters of the republic. and many of
them In European countries. Three hum
dred of them are on the battlefield. OF
Chckamauga planted there by Zen.
Boynton, one of the bravest. graIIdest
men of this republic Hence my ardent
anxiety to save the Crittenden peace oak.
If it Is not destroyed, 1t may occupy the
position as a peace agent two or three
hundred years
All Marked for Death.
The Chairman-Do you remember when
this was planted?
Mr. Smith, do not recollect the exact
date. but 1t was the year before Mr.. Crit
tenden's death it can be easily verified
Another one, planted by Mr. Howard of
Michigan, is a still hanosomer tree; of
different kind however. 1t is a scarlet
oak, and that is one of the trees that will
be destroyed by the destruction, to say
nothing of forty or fifty other trees. the
two MorrillS. both planted by Justin S.
Morrill, on that line. The Secretary of
War very honestly stated that these were
all to be swept away If this plan was
adopted These are trees that have been
there. the two Morrills, and 1 might name
forty or fifty others.
The Chairman-Did you make a record
of these trees; was there any record that
you kept?
Mr.. Smith, have a record Of It,
The Chairman-That would designate
them.
Mr.. Smith, have not put the names on
them for a peculiar reason. They would
be pulled to death. Sentimentalism goes
too far very often. and the people take
the names on them that people wanted
a leaf-wanted a piece Of it-so / have not
named them. as / will now If they are al
lowed to remain. Mr.. Becks tree, adjoin-
ing Mr. Crittendens tree is an elm that
was grown here. When Mr.. Omsted was
erecting the architectural terrace that
had to be destroyed there was consider
able sentiment about 1t. George Wash
ington was said to have planted 1t, and l
received the thanks of Mr.. Olmsted for
one of them was planted for Mr.. Beck
and another planted for Mr.. Alexander
Shepherd. There was one of them Mr..
Forney took to the public works OF Phil
adelphia. Mr.. Sargent, senator from Cal
ifornia, took one or two to California. OF
course I do not know what became of
these, but the sentiment exists with refer
ence to trees in the minds of most schol
airy people OH the lace VI luc HIouc
Moving Oak Impossible.
Now, 1 will speak about removing the
Crittenden oak. No sensible man, going
to the spot. would contend for minute
that such thing could be done. 1 was
astonished at Mr.. Dodge assuming to sug-
gest such thing. Go there yourself and
you will see that it is simply a nonsens-
ical statement. With reference to some
NJ the Their there Spvaral If
them of which Mr.. Forney and Mr.. For
rest the great tragedian, and an honor to
America, brought me the seed. and l laid
them in a flower pot and now they are
nearly 80 or 50 feet high. standing there
now as sentinels. telling their stories.
leading people to think. My great coun-
tryman. Andrew Carnegie. is the chief
agent of this peace question, but that tree
will do more, II left alone, than all the
publications he ever made. because it sets
people to thinking. There is an object les
son; can you get better one? 1t came
from Washington-that is grand
thought. 1t is a magnificent specimen of
the vegetable kingdom and leads people to
think about higher objects. If you please.
l am prepared to answer any questions.
The Chairman-Now. Mr.. Smith, when,
If you know, was that garden estab-
lished?
it as a botanic garden, as part of the
college scheme that he had. as readers of
history know, and In 1922 an effort was
made to make a garden of it, and col
lection of rare treeS-native rees-Was
planted about the very spot where 1t Is
proposed to put General Grants monu-
ment. That was in 1922. It has been
known as the Botanic Garden since before
the government moved to this town, and
l hear good deal about l. Enfant-the
l. Enfant business. The beginning of his
scheme was on Sd street. where he
wanted a grand fountain or monument
or something else. and a straight walk
leading through to the presidential gar
dens. Instead of that they borrowed
money, and instead OF the straight walk
they put canal where people could prob
ably indulge In the poetry of Venice and
beautiful gondolas and all that sort of
thing. Solitary and alone, ! put the ball
in motion to fill up that canal; got num-
Der of members of congress from Nash
Vile to offer the resolution to fill UP the
canal and make a sewer at one end of it
and a basin at the othe-. putting Andrew
Jacksons remark to tie old Mr.. Blair
that he did not want such a dirty, stink
ing ditch in the middle of the town when
God Almighty had made such beautiful
waterway.
Floral Designs for Funerals.
The uork Of Guides artists eynresSoc