The Washington times., 1938-11-15

1sSoAA aAlN1S NAlol lllC L lIlC al Ia
Commission already had actec
favorably and that only a handful
of cherry trees would be affected
He is an uncle of President RooSe
welt.
Conference Held
The ever swelling storm of pro-
test against destruction of approx
imately 500 trees to make way
for the marble memorial brought
Stuart Glbbony. a member of the
memorial commission Fastening
from New York to confer with
National Parks officials today.
In addition to the Federation
Of Womens Clubs and the Parent
Teacher Association, five citizens
associations, the Hotel Association
Of Washington and heads of two
outstanding trade groups have
put themselves on record against
the plan to cut down the cherry
trees.
The local Federation of Wom-
ems Clubs today reaffirmed a
resolution adopted in 1887 which
was later approved by the General
Federation of Womens Clubs,
representing women from all over
the country.
Secrecy Scored
The resolution "deploreS the
secrecy which surrounded the
meetings of the memorial com
mission, and its failure to take
the public frankly into its conf
dence as to why, with an unlimi-
ted territory to choose from, they
selected this beloved spot which
will be diSfigured and lost to us
for more than a decade to come. ;"
A plea was again voiced by the
Federation for construction of
memorial which will prove of
great use to the people of these
United States and not be a mere
pile of brick, stone and mortar" :"
The Federation suggested con-
struction of an auditorium.
Resolutions Passed
Each of five civic groups-the
Kalorama, Piney Branch, Stanton
Park, Hillcrest and West End Citi-
zens ASSociations-pasSed resolu-
tions to be sent to President RooSe-
welt. the National Capital Park
and Planning Commission. the
Fine Arts Commission. and the
chairman of the Senate and House
District Committees.
The business men. in the Board
Of Trade and the Merchants and
Manufacturers Association. raised
the issue that not only would the
destruction of the cherry trees be
a loss in beauty to the nation. but
also that Washington business
would take slump if one of its
principal sightseeing attractions
was liquidated.
PROTESTS BY WIRE
Francis c. Addison. jr.. presi.
dent of the Washington Board of
Trade, wired from Houston, Tex.
Il feel that all Americans
should strenuously object to the
destruction of the large number
of cherry trees as they add i'm
mensely to the incenti to visit
their National Capital.
Il appreciate any effort the
Patterson papers can make to
save them. The Washington
Board of Trade will join with
you to present this important
matter to the committee max
ing this far-reaching decision"
Ford E. Young. president of the
Merchants and Manufacturers AS
sociation, also made his feeling
plain.
On behalf of the association.
he said, Il wish to commend you
for your efforts to save the
cherry trees around the Tidal
Basin.
FOUGHT FROM START
when the attempt was first
made to locate the jefferson
Memorial on the site of the
basin. which would have re-
suited in the destruction of prac-
tically all of the cherry trees.
this association vigorously pro
tested against the location of
the memorial at this site.
THE bloSSoming of the cherry
trees in the spring has become
one of the great attractions of
the Nations Capital, and each
year many thousands of people
come to Washington from all
parts of the country to enjoy
this beautiful sight, and to make
occasion for seeing their Capital
City.
while this association is in
accord with the recognition of
Thomas jefferson with a suit
able memorial, it does feel that
the site of this memorial should
be selected so that it would not
be necessary to destroy or cur
tail one of the city'S outstand-
ing attractions.
Loss TO NATION
''To destroy these beautiful
cherry trees, we feel, would be
an irreparable loss to the city
aaA S,DO,Yld vNSIIlt in a wave of