376 Presidential Addresses 



serving them in whatever part of the State they 

 may be found. All of us ought to want to see nature 

 preserved. Take a big tree whose architect has 

 been the ages anything that man does toward it 

 may hurt it and can not help it. Above all, the rash 

 creature who wishes to leave his name to mar the 

 beauties of nature should be sternly .discouraged. 

 Those cards pinned up on that tree give an air of 

 the ridiculous to this solemn and majestic grove. 

 To pin those cards up there is as much out of place 

 as if you tacked so many tin cans up there. I mean 

 that literally. You should save the people whose 

 names are there from the reprobation of every one 

 by taking down the cards at the earliest possible 

 moment; and do keep these trees, keep all the won 

 derful scenery of this wonderful State unmarred by 

 the vandalism or the folly of man. Remember that 

 we have to contend not merely with knavery, but 

 with folly; and see to it that you by your actions 

 create the kind of public opinion which will put a 

 stop to any destruction of or any marring of the 

 wonderful and beautiful gifts that you have received 

 from nature, that you ought to hand on as a pre 

 cious heritage to your children and your children's 

 children. 



