| Show TREE SLAUGHTER christmas trees have not yet made their appearance to any extent thle this eason but the date to la drawing near when they will be in full fam fashion blon and it is if too much to that they will escape the annual slaughter we re gard eard it as a pity that the state has no officer whose business it to is to see that i this hia ruthless destruction of young trees is stopped every winter the butchers hut chere land and green grocers and proprietors of toy tay shops think it a part ol of their legitimate business ta to bedeck their places of traffic and ana adorn their windows window with young evergreens ever greens chopped from the hillsides hill bill sides aides and the elevated parka lying within these mighty mou Liftin ranges following the evil example parents eu encourage courage the spoliation of our all too scanty timber regions by buying the trees from hucksters who come into town every dy with great loads loada obtained in the OaD canyons year after year the senseless criminal proceeding goes or and meanwhile we are importing lumber for building purposes and will soon be importing firewood even from a distance while summer after summer a cry arises of lose less water for irrigation and the failure of the supply belore before the dry and heated part of the season arriver arrive at in n t time of year we all affect to be greatly interested in the matter of forestry and aad of preserving undisturbed and clothed with timber the sources of our water supply at another time of year we throw judgment to the winds winda and pay it a price for toe the defeat our own desires and for the certain dental denial of our own needs the NEWS would not detract one lots iota from the pleasure of the children ob ildren at the merry christmas season it would have them taught however that true pleasure la is rational and that wanton destruction of that which we most need Is 18 the part neither of childish amusement nor of adult prudence the law appears to be too abort armed to reach the evil to which we allude but public sentiment properly directed cao can accomplish wonders we should like to see the be children teach their elders el jen a letson by declaring that for their part they would rather not have ch christmas as trees at such fearful cost to the country and we should like to see their elders in turn carry the good lesson still farther by boycotting absolutely every shopkeeper whose patriotism was so feeble as to permit him the insane folly of bidding for and buying so great an injury to the public welfare |
