The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1915-04-01
ARB0R AND HIGHWAY DAY
The Governors Letter To The Boys
and Girls Of TlaryIand.
My Dear Children:

My Dear Children:
1t is the duty of the Governor once a
year to proclaim and set apart a day
to be observed as Arbor and Highway
Dav.
This year have felt desire greater
than ever before to get more closely in
touch with each boy and girl in Mary
land, and to urge you to study and learn
to love the beautiful things in nature
which surround us. l cannot hope to
meet you face to face, but we can get
together in another way, so am going
to have little talk with you through
the medium of this letter.
want you all to realize that each
one of you, even though still young, lis
partner in the well-being of our State,
and that each partner should do his or
her share to add to the fair tame of
Maryland" by building up character at
school. and creating in yourselves and
in others love and appreciation of
kindness, usefulness and beauty.
An old proverb says, What you
would have appear IN the nations life
you must put into the public schools. "
So you will all see how important 1t is
that you should now, while in school,
learn to do your part in making the
world in which you live more attractive
and pleasant, so that everyone around
you will be glad to know you Be faith
full in your studies, show cheerfulness
and kindness in your intercourse with
your playmates. and when you pray for
the blessings from nature remember
that you can often put some part of
your prayer into work which IN time
will grow so as to become the answer
to your own prayers.
Arbor Day is essentially the day when
we should study nature, and do some
act to help her, while at the same time
laying plans to OeautifV our homes, our
school and improve our streets and
highways. Nothing creates or holds
our love for home as much as beauty
and attractiveness of surrounding. 1t
is for you children to begin now to
plant flowers and trees, and to protect
and be kind to birds and animals. Study
all about them and learn to care for
them. Plant trees at your school, at
your home and along the roadside. 1t
takes many years for tree to become
great, but plant one now so that you
and it may grow up together. and in
years to come you can say with pride,
THAT is nv tree" If you have a
home in the country make friends of
the birds, learn to know them and
their ways. Study the many things
they do that are helpful to man. Give
them nest boxes and protect their little
ones from cats and other enemies.
For the material well-oeing of our
State, your fathers have nearly COM
pleted the foundation or backbone of a
splendid system of Good Roads, con-
Meeting each county with all the others.
1t will be for you to take up this work
and extend and carry it on until Mary
land shall be the peer of any State; until
the easy access of one friend or neigh
Dor with another shall create pleasure
and sociabllity and happiness, thus max
ing Maryland most enviable place to
live in. All these new roads should
have trees to make them more beautl-
full and more pleasant to travel over.
1t is for you and your generation to
study this question and do what you can
to accomplish the best results.
Now my wish is that you should love
your home, sing in it, make it happy
and cheerful and hospitable; create
around it and your neighborhood beauti-
full surroundings, 80 that you and all
that know you cannot help loving it and
thanking you for what you have done.
If it were not left TO the few to carry
out this program, but the partners
would all take hold and help. just think
what results would be accomplished
leave with you my best wishes for
happiness to come.
Sincerely yours,