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Show III I e I TO HONOR THE CONSTITUTION -PLANT TREES! By ELMO SCOTT WATSON K I EXT year, "we the people of the United States," will l celebrate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of 'kS-J the adoption of the Constitution under which we have been governed as a nation for a century and a half and Wyf among other ways of observing that anniversary we're going to "say it with trees"! At least, it is so planned by the sesquicentennial commission which has charge of the celebration. In a recent report to congress the commission said: "A feature in the nation-wide ' celebration which will be a part of every sesquicentennial celebration cele-bration is the planting of trees. The general plans for the tree-planting tree-planting project in co-operation with the American Tree association associa-tion appear elsewhere in this report. re-port. It is customary for many women's organizations to plant memorial trees as a tribute to their founders or to distinguished personages of history. During this celebration these organized groups will join in the tree planting plant-ing in commemoration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the Consti- f - I CHARLES LATHKOP PACK j tution. Each state and local community com-munity will have its anniversary date when fitting ceremonies will be planned. Millions of trees will be dedicated to the memory of the framers of the Constitution. "When plans were being made for the celebration of the Washington Wash-ington bicentennial it was intended in-tended to plant 10,000,000 trees in honor of the event. But so popular did this idea become throughout the country that in the year 1932 some 35,000,000 trees were actually planted in the United States. Therefore, it is proposed to follow a similar program in celebrating the sesquicentennial ses-quicentennial of the Constitution. Constitu-tion. As in the case of the Washington Wash-ington bicentennial, the President Presi-dent of the United States will be asked to plant a tree in the grounds of the White House, and one will also be set out in the Capitol grounds. It will be highly fitting, too, that the chief justice be invited to plant a tree in the grounds surrounding the new Supreme Court building. "Thus inaugurating the movement, move-ment, it is planned to reach every city, town, and school. The activities of the commission will be greatly assisted by the co-operation of the American Tree association. This excellent organization will also co-operate in preparing a booklet explaining explain-ing the planting of trees and providing a program for the dedication. ded-ication. "The millions of 'Constitution Trees' thus set out during the celebration will prove a beautiful, beauti-ful, lasting and appropriate tribute trib-ute to the Constitution of the United States." The American Tree association associa-tion has already issued the booklet book-let mentioned in the foregoing report (it's called the Constitution Constitu-tion Sesquicentennial Tree Planting Plant-ing Book) and recently several million copies were sent to club and organization leaders and school teachers throughout the country. At the same time Charles Lathrop Pack, president of the association, issued this statement: Like a Great Oak "The Constitution stands like a great oak. It has weathered many storms. It deserves a place next to the family Bible in every home. What could be more fitting fit-ting than for the American people peo-ple to begin now to make their plans for marking the sesquicen-I sesquicen-I tennial, September, 17, 1937, by ! planting trees? We are ready to ! distribute to school teachers or organization leaders or anyone else, this Constitution Sesquicen-' Sesquicen-' tennial Tree Planting Book. In ' it is the Constitution and all I amendments with every impor- I tant date, as well as George I Washington's letter of transmit- i tal to the congress. With this, are given details on how to select, plant and care for trees and a suggested program for the dedication. "As the statement of the United States Constitution Com-mission Com-mission points out, nearly thirty - five million trees were planted to mark the bicentennial of the birth of George Washington. Washing-ton. Now we have another reason rea-son for planting. Then we honored the Father of Our Country Coun-try and now we mark the crowning crown-ing achievement of his great career, the binding of the nation together under a Constitution. Historians aD agree he made the Constitution possible. "In our planting plans we not only have the call of the commission commis-sion to heed but we have the cooperation co-operation of thousands of organizations. organ-izations. At this year's meeting of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, Mrs. H. G. Bo-gert Bo-gert of Colorado, national conservation conser-vation chairman, started a tree planting campaign reaching into every club. In the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mrs. Avery Turner of Texas, national chairman of conservation and thrift, has called upon all chapter chap-ter chairmen to push the program. pro-gram. "Every sesqui-year class in colleges and high schools as well as private institutions, is being asked to plant a sesqui tree as class activity. In the citizenship committees of various organizations, organiza-tions, tree planting will be a major activity. One of the tree planting books has been sent to every CCC camp. "In these days when we hear so much about dust storms, floods, and soil erosion causing hundreds of millions of dollars damages, the American people must become tree minded and realize the value of forests in flood prevention. The forests and their products support every industry. in-dustry. Commerce is impossible without these forest products. So let us plant not alone to mark this important date in our history, his-tory, maybe the most important date, but also to call the attention atten-tion of new thousands to the value of trees." Ratification Day Mr. Pack also has sent to the governors of the original states ratifying the Constitution the suggestion that "Ratification Days" in each state be marked l - , v ,v ' vr '! LAST OF THE 13 HORSE CHESTNUT TREES PLANTED BY WASHINGTON AT KENMORE. carser came to an end in Aug-gust, Aug-gust, 1923, when the whole trunk cracked and fell while ' workmen were pulling a dead branch from it. It was estimated that the tree was then more than 350 years old. Numerous "Grandchildren" But even though this historic tree is dead, it lives on in its "children" and "grandchildren" which are to be found in various parts of the United States. On May 1, 1876 a centennial tree, which had been produced from the seed of the Washington elm, was presented to the city of Cambridge by John Owen. Two "grandchild seedlings" from the Cambridge elm under which Washington took command com-mand of the Continental army are growing near his tomb at Mount Vernon, there is one in the yard of the governor's mansion man-sion in Annapolis, Md., one in front of the Memorial church at Valley Forge, and . another at Washington college at Chester-town, Chester-town, Md., which was named for Washington and which he once visited to receive an honorary degree. Another is thriving on the grounds of the D. A. 'R. Memorial Continental hall in Washington, D. C, and still ff 2' - "i ' '-nL if & " J - - GEORGE WASHINGTON "The adoption of the Constitution was the crowning achievement of his ereat career." by organizing state-wide plans for tree planting in anticipation of the big program in 1937. Among the thousands of trees which will be planted next year as a part of the Constitution Con-stitution celebration undoubtedly undoubt-edly there will be many elms. This will be especially appropriate, appro-priate, in so far as this celebration cele-bration also honors the memory mem-ory of George Washington, since an elm tree marked an important milestone in his life. It was under a tree of this species in Cambridge, Mass. that he took command of the Continental army on July 3, 1775 and started on the career which led to the establishment establish-ment of a new nation and his election as its first President under the Constitution. For nearly a century and a half this elm was a landmark and patriotic shrine, carefully guarded and with every effort made to save it from the ravages of time. Its long and honored another in the yard of the headquarters head-quarters of the Sons of the American Amer-ican Revolution in the same city. And clear across the country, on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle there is another of these "grandchild seedlings," brought there by an aluminus of the university. Besides the two Cambridge elms, the state of Massachusetts is rich in "tree memorials" to the Father of His Country. Just outside the town of Palmer, on the Boston-Springfield highway, stands another famous old tree known as the Mother Washington elm. It is claimed by some historians and the American Forestry association associa-tion that when Washington was on his way to Cambridge, he stopped beneath this particular elm to rest. Many "Washington Trees" Elm trees, however, are not the only ones which we associate with the name of Washington. Dccrhed, Mass., has a button- wood tree "where Washington watered horses." A horse chestnut chest-nut tree, planted by Washington, still stands in the yard of Ken-more, Ken-more, the Fredericksburg (Va.) home of Betty Washington Lewis, his sister. It is the last of 13 such trees which he planted there to represent the Thirteen Colonies and to shade the walk between the cottage of his mother, Mary Ball Washington, and Kenmore. Eight years ago a "Washington "Washing-ton Friendship Grove" of 13 horse chestnut trees was planted in the National Capital. They sprang from the seeds of a tree which for more than 150 years stood in Bath, Pa., as an emblem of friendship between Washington and Gen. Robert Brown. The latter lat-ter was a frequent visitor to Mount Vernon and at the end of one such visit, in 1781, Washington Washing-ton with his own hands dug from his garden two young horse chestnut trees which he presented pre-sented to his friend. Brown carried car-ried the young saplings across the mountains to his home where he planted them on the lawn. Only one of the tree's, however survived but it grew to a height of 70 feet and had an 85-foot spread of its branches. Tree of Two Nations On the grounds of the Capitol in Washington is an elm under which the first President is said to have sat while watching the progress in the building of that edifice. On the grounds of the White House stands a tree which is also associated with the name, of Washington and which links the past and the present in an unusual manner. This tree is the outgowth of an acorn brought from Russia, and because of this and its unique lineage it is known as the Russo-American Russo-American Oak. The tree from which the acorn was obtained stands in Leningrad. Lenin-grad. It grew from an acorn produced by a tree at the tomb of Washington, at Mt. Vernon. Ver-non. The Mt. Vernon acorn was sent to the czar of Russia by Senator Sen-ator Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, Massa-chusetts, and planted in the grounds of the imperial palace by the czar as a symbol of Russo-American Russo-American friendship. In 1898, the tree which had grown from Senator Sen-ator Sumner's acorn was located by Ethan Allen Hitchcock, then American Ambassador to St. Petersburg. Gathering and planting plant-ing some of the acorns from this tree, the ambassador sent a sapling sap-ling of the new generation to President Roosevelt for planting in the White House grounds. The planting took place on April 6, 1904, exactly thirteen years before be-fore the day on which the United States joined hands with Russia and other European countries in the greatest conflict the world has ever known a conflict which led to the destruction of the old Russia and the assassination of the royal family. The young tree was planted by President Roosevelt Roose-velt himself. In several parts of the country are trees famous for their association asso-ciation with Washington's friend, Marquis de Lafayette. One Lafayette La-fayette tree on Lhe battlefield of Brandywine derives its prestige from the fact that when the celebrated cele-brated French general was wounded at Brandywine his injuries in-juries were given first aid under this tree. At Annapolis is a tree under which a reception to Lafayette La-fayette was held, with a distinguished distin-guished company in attendance. In the form of trees planted by his own hand, General Lafayette left many mementoes of his travels trav-els in America. One of these is now standing at Concord, New Hampshire. Another is at York-town, York-town, Va., near a house in which are still to be seen cannon balls imbedded in the timbers during the siecie of Yorktown. C Wes:arn New-sparer Hnlon. |