Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-31
Taft expressed her wondering delight.
| and the thought to give her this present
| qualification was born at that time.

Taft expressed her wondering delight.
and the thought to give her this present
qualification was born at that time.
Compliment to Mrs. Taft.
Mrs. Taft's interest In Potomac Park.
which she has been active in making q
pleasure spot in the National Capital, be-
came known to Nine. Osaki. On her in
itiative the gift was proposed and accept
ed.
The delicacy Of the situation which
arose over the necessity to destroy the lot
Of trees that was the first representation
Of the good will Of the Japanese capital,
has been carefully smoothed over. A
perfect understanding has been establish
ed. and the second gift is the proof OF
this.
The explanation given Is adequate. The
great trees. selected for the first gift, had
lived so long that they had gathered all
kinds of parasitic life. To the trees on
their native soil these parasites were not
dangerous, as nature had provided enc
mics that kept within bounds their de-
structiveneSS.
Transplanted to the United States as
our experts had discovered from ex-
perfence with other imported pests. there
could be no knowing how nature would
meet the enemy The risk was too great
to take. and reluctantly the gracious gift
was subjected to destruction by fire.
The incident was cause Of profound
regret. Those who were the donors were
able to indorse the wisdom of the deed and
have manifested their approval by this
supplemental GIFT to replace the de-
stroyed trees.
Letter From the Mayor.
CAS- for the first lot of trees which we
sent you three years ago. writes Mayor
Y. Osak, In letter announcing the
shipment of tho present gift Of trees.
I'VE are moro than satisfied that you
dealt with them as you did: for Il would
have panied us endlessly to have them re-
main a permanent source Of trouble. The
present trees have been raised under the
special care OF scientific experts. and are
reasonably expected to be free from the
defects Of their predecessors"
The letter of the mayor of Toxic Is
addressed to Col Spencer Crosby OF the
office of public buildings and grounds, as
the proper official custodian of the gift.
The letter. dated February 2. tells Of
the proposed shipment Of the trees Feb
ruary IA
TT is my pleasant duty" writes Mayor
OsaH. Ito inform you that the city Of
Toxic. which have the honor to repre-
sent, has now practically completed prep
arat1ons for Shipping on board the Ava
Moru. which leaves Yokohama the 14th
instant, 5000 young cherry trees, ad
dressed to you. Although very small
token of the high esteem in which the
people of this country hold your great
country, 1t gives them boundless pleasure
to think that the trees may, in meas
ure, add to the establishment Of your
magnificent capital.
Acknowledgment was sent by COL
Cosby, who expressed a sense OF the
appreciation of the gift and the good
feeling which prompted it.
A special agent Of the government
was sent to Seattle to receive the
shipment. The Treasury Department
waived the duties under the tariff.
There were five big boxes. each weigh
ing 600 pounds.
In especially heated cars the trees
were shipped east They arrived Wed
nesday and were Immediately subjected
to examination by expert entomolo-
gists from the Department of Agricul
ture. Practically every tree was found
free from any pest of any sort.
Busy With Plans for Planting.
The office Of the superintendent of
and grounds has been busy
with plans for the planting The
scheme, as evolved, was submitted to
Mrs. Taft and received her approval
She has expressed her great pleasure,
with the intention to follow the Japa-
nese idea Of the decorative value of
the trees as an adjunct to the water
front.
A number of the trees, Of every va
riety given, has been put aside and