Evening star., 1927-05-14
Women Urged to Help
Save the Capitals Trees
To the Editor of The Star:


The following news items appeared
in substance recently in two. consecu-
tive issues Of The Star:
/. A District Commissioner will
give an address tonight on forestry. in
honor OF the opening of National For
estry week.
2. sCity to fell 80 trees" These
will not be replaced for lack Of funds.
3. Officer So.and-So promises that
these trees shall be replaced, even If
those that remain go without care.
1t will take 80 years to replace that
which clearly should not be dis
placed. II you can reduce absurdity
to lower terms than that, take a
try at 1t.
Brought together as these contra
dictory items may be by virtue of
their common source at the seat of
the District Government, they re-
semble nothing else quite SO much as
material for comedy in the hands of
some cynic,bitten amateur playmaker.
The shade tree situation constitutes
an emergency that calls for the most
honest thinking, the heartiest general
cooperation, the finest ingenuity on
the part of all good citizens to avert
from washington an irremediable
catastrophe.
Calling upon the District Building,
I was told that lit can't be helped
now. The works been appropriated
for and it's too late" Too late for
what? Too late to right a wrong
that has not yet been actually COM
mitted? Too late for all public
spirited citizens to stand solidly
against the vandalism that threatens
this beloved city?
Whose city is this? Is it the sole
responsibility of an overburdened tri-
umvirate or of equally burdened legis-
lators? Is it the legitimate specula-
tive field Of the professional boom.
creator such as, for the time being.
wrecked Florida and has injured other
parts Of the country also under the
swift and deadly infection of spe-
ciously inflated land values? Are our
streets the natural race course of
thousands of motors, speeding reck-
lessly through them by day and park
ing upon them in long banked lines
the nights through? Whose city is
this? Unhappily it belongs in part
to these of marauding instinct, but
happily. too, 1t belongs to thousands
who love it's beauty, who look upon
it as the city Of the whole country
for whom it is, in a way, held in
trust by the best of it's citizens.
The pressing shade-tree emergency
goes back primarily to the automo-
bile. And this fact leads Immediately
to traffic plans and regulations. In
the present state of affairs it takes
no very long vision to see the pedes-
trians of Washington confined to up.
lifted pathways while on the street
level there are only cars, moving or
stationary. Then there will be no
sidewalks, no trees, no anything to
impede the progress or to take up
stable room for the thousands and
then thousands of motor cars. We
are on the way to that issue in so
far as the heart of the city is con.
cerned.
Traffic planning and regulation is,
in principle, a part of the art of
housekeeping - housekeeping and
stringent enforcement Of rules and
regulations. I've no doubt that there
are thousands of capable women in
Washington. any one of whom would
be of invaluable assistance in the
business of traffic. A resolute and
capable woman would not stand for
one lone conviction out of IS arrests
for breaking the traffic laws.
And, in the meantime, on Thurs.
day. there came another item in The
Star running to the effect that 20
more valuable trees are to be cut
down. About them Mr.. Lanham says,
rather pathetically, it seems to me.
that few of these are worth at
least $4,000. that some of them are
the very finest specimens of their
kind.
Women of Washington, the men
need your help. They often do. Why
not face your clubs and assemblies
and citizens associations actively
upon this matter? Why don't you ask
for a better publicity when such a
plan as this one Is to be projected? :?
Why do, not your preachers for a
memorial service tell their congrega-
tions the story of the menaced trees
of Washington, the story OF the long
roads OF remembrance dedicated to
those who gave up their lives for