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VOL. IV. NO. 42. NEBRASKA CITY. NEBRASKA , APRIL 24 , 1902. SffleiE COPIES , 5 CESTS
PUBLISHED WEEKLY. |
I
OFFICES : OVERLAND THEATER BLOCK.
J. STERLING MORTON , EDITOR.
A JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE DISCUSSION
OF POLITICAL , ECONOMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL
QUESTIONS.
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.
One dollar and a half per year In advance ,
postpaid to any part of the United States or
Canada. Remittances made payable to The
Morton Printing Company.
Address , THE CONSERVATIVE , Nebraska
City , Nebraska.
Advertising rates made known apon appli
cation.
Entered at the postofflce at Nebraska City ,
Neb. , as Second Class matter. July 29 , 1898.
It is a , matter of
ARBOR DAY. extreme gratification
to the Conservative
to know that Arbor Day is observed
more generally each succeeding year.
To a pioneer Nebraskan , who iu
the early 50's saw the undulating ,
windswept prairies , dotted with the
little cabins unshaded in summer ,
and exposed to the full force of fierce
winds iu winter , and now sees
them adorned with hedges , groves
and orchards , which shade and pro
tect the comfortable homes , the
transformation of a barren wilder
ness into the lovely Nebraska of to
day seems one of the most wonder
ful works of the century.
. Nor lias Nebraska alone been bene
fited by Arbor Day , though to her
must go the credit for inaugurating
the beneficent work. As J. Sterling
Morton , editor of this paper , was
the originator of Arbor Day , as every
school boy knows , The Conserva
tive will perhaps be pardoned bv
friends , and not severely condemned
by enemies , for republishing the
following literature relative , to the
subject :
"What is now known almost
throughout the civilised world as
' Arbor Day , ' orig-
Arbor Day inated in Ne-
Its Origin. braska. At an an
nual meeting of
the Nebraska State Board of Agricul
ture , held in the city of Lincoln ,
January 4 , 1872 , J. Sterling Morton ,
of Arbor Lodge , introduced the fol
lowing resolution , which was unani
mously adopted , after some little de
bate as to the name , some present
contending for the term 'Sylvan' in
stead of ' Arbor. '
' ' 'Resolved , That Wednesday , the
lth ( ) day of April , 1872 , be and the
same is hereby especially set apart
and consecrated for tree planting
n the 'state of Nebraska , and
; he State Board of Agriculture
lereby name it Arbor Day ; and , to
urge upon the people of the state
the vital importance of tree plant
ing , hereby offer a special premium
of one hundred dollars to the agri
cultural society of that county in
Nebraska which shall , upon that
day , plant properly the largest uum-
Der of trees ; and a farm library of
twenty-five dollars' worth of books to
that person who , on that day , shall
plant properly in Nebraska the
greatest number of trees. '
"Mr. J. T. Allen offered the fol
lowing resolution , which was also
adopted unanimously :
" 'Resolved , That the newspapers
of the state be requested by the State
Board of Agriculture to keep the
resolution in regard to the an
niversary day for tree planting stand
ing in their columns until April 10th
next , and to call especial attention of
the people to the importance of the
matter from time to time. '
"The newspapers of the state wore
generous , and kept Arbor Day well
before the people. The result was
that over a million trees were planted
iu Nebraska on the first Arbor Day ,
April 10th , 1872. The day was agaii
r-
observed in 1878 with inoreasVd interest - | g
terest and results. " j y )
Since 1878 there has been no abate
ment of popular interest. On the
contrary the move-
Popularized , rnent grew and
spread until in
1901 nearly every state observed the
day , and this year many enquiries iu
regard to it were received from other
countries.
It would be impossible to estimate
the number of trees that have been ,
planted as a result of Arbor Day , and
now stand grand monuments to the
foresi { ht of early-day husbandmen
throughout the west. Those planted
iu later years are fast attaining
gigantic proportions , and many a
desolate place has been made glad ,
many a home and heart made cheer
ful as a result of this work.
Nor was the East or South far be
hind the West in taking up Arbor
Day , and in old New England and
the Sunny South observance is quite
general.
Tuesday , April 22ud , Nebraska
planted thousands of trees to enhance
the comfort , and add to the material 1
wealth of posterity ; upon different
days the various states do the same.
Can. anyone estimate the amount of >
good accomplished by the hordes of
tree planters during nearly a third
of a century ? Can the joy and com
fort of living in a country where
every house is a bower , and every
road a shady lane , be measured-
money ?
Abroad , interest in Arbor Day is
growing rapidly. Mr. Elliott Downs
Till , who was
A British awarded first prize
Enthusiast. by the London So
ciety for the Pro
tection of Birds , upon his essay on "The
Best Means of Establishing 'a Bird and
'
Arbor Day in the British Isles , " writes
as follows :
"J. Sterling Morton , Nebraska City ,
U. S. A.
"Dear Sir : I take the liberty of send
ing , for your kind acceptance , an essay
on the 'Best Means of Establishing a
Bird and Arbor Day in the British
Isles , ' and at the same time , I desire to
express my thankfulness for the example
set by the people of your country , and
my admiration ot your public spirit in
initiating so beneficent a movement as
that of the Arbor Day custom.
"I am pleased to .say that we have at-
