10 Cbe Conservative *
HOW ARBOR DAY WAS SPENT IN
MONTANA.
Ou May 13 , 1901 , the touchers nntl pu
pils of the public schools of Butte , Mon
tana , celebrated Arbor Day by special
exercises. Mr. T. W. Kelly , editor of
the Inter-Mountain , in a very pleasing
address , among other things , said :
"J. Sterling Morton was the founder
and editor of the first paper over estab
lished in Nebraska. He entered into
the work of building up a great com
monwealth upon the treeless plains of the
now territory with enthusiasm. His
paper championed whatever he consid
ered best adapted to advance the newly-
formed community on its way toward
the higher levels of statehood , and he
was aggressive and fearless in the ex
pression of his views. Mr. Morton has
seen many years of public service , and
ho looks back with pride upon the long
campaign he made to have one day of
the year set aside for tree planting. To
him and to us the history of that time
cannot fail to bo of interest.
"Mr. Morton began the agitation for
the annual observance of Arbor , Day
under the same circumstances that at
tend all new movements. It was a nov
elty at first , his advocacy of the plan ex
cited nothing but curiosity. Then the
promoter of the novel scheme came infer
for a share of derision that all public-
spirited men receive in a large measure.
He was made to feel the cudgel of the
editorial critic and the keen lance of the
paragrapher. Mr. Morton's homo is
known as Arbor Lodge , and many a
pointed joke was turned upon this cir
cumstance. Mr. Morton was a conspic
uous figure in Nebraska politics at the
time he made his famous campaign for
Arbor Day , and he was considered fair
game for the opposition press. One en
vious rival in the newspaper business
spoke of Mr. Morton as having branched
out in the business of planting trees ,
and another sarcastic contemporary of a
rival political party , suggested that the
trees would at least leave every spring ,
while Mr. Morton never appeared to
know when to leave. "
In speaking of the beneficial results of
a day set aside for tree-planting , and
the fostering of forestry generally , Mr.
Kelly said :
"It has been said that in view of the
growing scarcity of trees , it will not be
many years before the forest monarohs
are put to new uses. It has been sug
gested that wealthy men who wish to
perpetuate their memory , and raise an
enduring memorial to remind the world
that they have lived , would do well to
select a mighty tree as their monument ,
and provide for its protection. It does
not require a long look into the future
to see the time when this custom may
obtain. If it does , nothing will be
more beautiful in the history of the
burial services of the world. Well may
the man who consigns his remains to
the guardianship of the silent trees , ex
claim , as he prepares for his demise :
'I've built a monument , my own , more durable
than brass.
Yea , kingly pyramids of stone in height it wil
surpass.
Rain shall not wreck , nor driving blast disturb
its settled base ,
Nor countless ages rolling past , its symmetry
deface. '
Tennyson gave expression to the
beauty of this sentiment , when ho callec
to the graveyard yew in 'InMemoriam :
Old yew , that grasping at the stones , that
name the underlying dead.
Dhy libers knit the dreamless head , thy roots
are clasped about the bones ,
And gazing on thee , sullen tree , sick from thy
stubborn hardihood ,
seem to fail from out my blood , and grow in
sensate into theo. '
"I believe that the mystic soul of the
universe has implanted in the heart of
man a deep reverence for the evidence of
ihat mysterious force , that in the spring
time beautifies the world. When the
world was young the races'worshipped
the sun ; the changes of day and night ,
and of the seasons are still mighty prob-
ems , to which science has addressed
tsclf in its search for the key to the
nysteries of life. There has always
) een something hidden behind the veil ;
ihere always will be ; it is delightful
not to know everything ; to be charmed
with a mystery that is enveloping the
world , and is yet unrevealed. " Butte
Mont. ) Miner , May 14.
The Anaconda Standard , speaking of
the same event , in its issue of May 12 ,
said :
"J. Sterling Morton , the author of
Arbor Day , is one of the pioneers of Ne
braska , and has for forty-six years been
one of the foremost citizens of that
state , always closely identified with the
social , political , and material life of the
commonwealth. He was one of the ter
ritorial governors of the state , and was
'requently honored by the democratic
mrty with nominations for important
jffices. During Cleveland's second
term as president , Mr. Morton was Ms
secretary of agriculture. In Nebraska
Mr. [ Morton is familiarly known as 'the
sage of Arbor Lodge , ' his beautiful
country home near Nebraska City , be
ing named Arbor Lodge. Mr. Morton
is a farmer , a lawyer , and a journalist.
He has been in the newspaper business ,
in one way or another , over since he ar
rived in the west , in 1854 , and has
edited a number of papers. He is now
publishing THE CONSERVATIVE , a weekly
paper , devoted to disousssions of politi-
3al , economic , and sociological ques
tions.
"In some of the states , legislatures
have appointed a bird day in connection
with their Arbor Day. Children in the
schools are taught the value of birds ,
and the necessity for their protection , as
well as the need of forests. The forests
afford shelter for the birds , and the in
sect life furnishes them food. With the
disappearance of forests their food be
comes insufficient , and they are driven
into the fields , where they become easy
prey to their enemies. With the disap
pearance of the birds , destructive in
sects increase , and they find their way
into the orchards , domestic trees , and
gardens. Half a century ago such fruit
pests as the San Jose scale , the Codling
moth , Woolly-aphis'and hosts of others
that are now so common , were practi
cally unknown , or gave very little trou
ble. Then- harmful numbers now are
generally recognized as due to the dis
appearance of the birds that had kept
them in subjection. It is rightly argued ,
therefore , that by protecting the birds ,
and increasing the forests , the insect
pests will gradually cease. "
The Anaconda Standard , of Tuesday ,
May 14 , 1901 , in speaking of Arbor Day
and its author , said :
"Mr. Kelly described the manner in
which Arbor Day had its origin , and
related the humorous incidents in con
nection with the campaign made by J.
Sterling Morton , of Nebraska , in his
lewspaper , to secure a tree-planting day
'or the state , The speaker said it must
je extremely gratifying to Mr. Morton ,
as the founder of Arbor Day , to observe
lie wide influence that is now wielded
jy the idea he originated and cham
pioned , while opposed by indifference
and ridicule. The speaker quoted an
ippropriate verse of poetry to give Mr.
Morton a suitable send-off and deserved
praise in establishing such a beautiful
custom.
"The speaker said that the wide
spread attention given to Arbor Day
proved that the youth of America were
ilive to the delights of sylvan beauty.
[ t showed that a love for the beautiful
lad a place in the thoughts of the stu
dent. 'They tell us that this is a pro
saic age , ' said the speaker ; 'deny it !
They say the scramble for wealth is
shutting out all freedom of thought , and
narrowing the sentiments of human-
cind. Prove it to be false ! Prove that
; he young men and women , who have
received the beautiful custom of Arbor
Day into the schools of Montana are
free to climb the heights of ambition ,
and are not held back by the burden of
. ' "
commonplace things.
BOOK LEARNING AND CHARACTER.
Prof. George Edward Woodberry of
; he Department of Comparative Litera-
; ure in the Columbia University is evi
dently a gentleman who does his think
ing for himself. He does not rely on the
wisdom of the past for all his inspira
tion. He interested and entertained
one of his classes the other day with a
talk on the importance of athletics in
the development of the college man , and
incidentally expressed some opinions as
to the importance of book learning. He
said : "The college man is fed with
intellectual life for four years , and is
trained so much in books that he is apt
to have a tendency to overestimate book
Learning. If he succeeds in after life , it
is rather on account of a peculiar and
personal genius than on account of what
he has learned in books. " Later in the
same speech he added : "It is perhaps
easier to study , as far as the strain on
character is concerned , than to train for
athletics. " These are the reported
words of the professor , and though the
report may not have been absolutely
accurate , it no doubt reproduces the
sense of the remarks.
And very sensible they were. Book
learning , when viewed in the light of a
mere accumulation of facts , is of very
little value in the struggle of life. The
peculiar and personal genius , of which
the professor spoke , is in the character
of the man who has the book learning to
use. There is probably no occupation to
which the lessons to be drawn from col
lege book learning cannot be applied , but
the men who see the application are few.
On the other hand , it is perfectly true
that the young man just out of college
greatly overestimates the value of his
scholarship. As a business man recently
said , "The college man is unwilling to
subordinate his education to his experi
ence. " He enters the battle of life in
about the same condition as a trained
T
