Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1916-02-21
BOYS AND BIRDS SHOULD
HAVE UNDERSTANDING
ladies' Home Journal Contains Arti-
close Valuable TO Youths.

(By r. o. Allen.)
There Ia an article In the February
Ladies' Home Journal that every boy
In the country ought TO read. II tells
how St Paul. MINI. has come TO have
more wild song birds In Il than any
other city In America. This has come
about because the boys OF the city and
the birds OF the city have had an un.
derstanding and have formed league
OF friendship.
This better understanding and
friendship grew out Of work done by
the boys in the manual training de-
partment OF the public schools. As a
part OF his manual training output.
every boy builds bird house. Some
loving heart and wise head conceived
the idea Of having an annual exhibit
ton. or exposition. OF these bird
houses. Now II has grown into an
affair which interests the whole city.
Results: 81. Paul has come to be
known as The City OF Birds" that
bird destroyer. the sling shot has been
banlshed by order OF the high court OF
boy bird protectors. and the Audubon
and Humane societies of the city find
that they might as well disband so far
as protecting birds Is concerned. the
boys have taken this matter In hand.
All this is In striking contrast TO
what saw on the streets OF Bryan
the other day. Two lads had string
OF yellow-tailed warblers yard long.
tied by their heads 10 cord. Boys,
what did you kill them fort" ven
tured 10 inquire. I'VE Just want to
sec how many we can KILL" came the
quick response. But those are song
birds. Aren't they protected by the
law" NO. sir. They don't do thing
but chirp. Hear that one over there
now?" And away they went. eager
to add one more little victim to the
long string.
Now. know something about boys |
"a great deal more than do about
birds. I'm proud to say. And do not
think boy wants to kill birds be-
cause he Is mean boy. This instinct |
in the boy that makes him want to
shoot something. is natural, Il Is an
age-old inheritance. II Is the same
instinct that drives Teddy Roosevelt
10 South Africa TO hunt lions. II is
the same thing that spurred Davy
Crockett and Kit Carson on ever
further into the wilderness; the same
thing that makes some OF Bryan's
famous hunters organize parties every
year to 20 to the big thicket" for
hunt. But tho lad can't go to South
Africa with Teddy there are no near.
by forests for him to invade; he can't
even 20 10 the ''big thicket" with other
brave Bryan hunters. Even the rab.
bits. the squirrels and the cartridges
have about disappeared so when the
instinct to shoot something. now
famed into a flame by the sight and
the feel OF that new air gun, can no
longer be suppressed. the boy falls
TO shooting redhlrds. hooking birds
and yellow warblers. Who is to
blame?
have put myself to some trouble
TO make my position clear. I'd rather
be a friend to one boy than to a thou.
sand birds Hut want TO be a friend
to both. have a boy, and bought
him a gun. don't know what ex. {
pected him to shoot Certainly ! am
not willing or him to shoot harmless |
song birds He and ! have argued 4
this question out. and hope we now l
agree.
Now. 10 sum up. have tried to ex. I
plain that the hoy instinct TO want TO '
shoot something is natural one and I
that the boy who gives way to II Is
not necessarily bad boy-far from Il. !
On the other hand. want TO say 7
with all the emphasis can command
that the killing OF our song birds land
just as all snakes are snakes, TO me
every harmless bird Is song bird
say the wanton killing Of these birds
can hardly be too severely condemned
our great government. state and M.
tional, has passed laws 20 protect
them. scientific men have assured Us :,
Of the great service these birds rem
der to man. the farmer and the gard.
ener need thin. we all want them In
our trees and about our homes Yet p
they are about to become extermi-
mated
During the past year some twenty
different kinds OF birds frequented my
lawn. Many Of these nestled there. u
watched them closely. and was sur.
prisei and grieyed to see how many
Of the young birds came to tragic y
end. Between the cats and the sling.
shots and the air guns and the storms .
and other perils. | am safe In saying
that not one young bird I'm five grew