The Audubon Societies 



139 



ROOSEVELT MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN 



A Call to the Nature-Lovers of America 



The great spirit of Theodore Roosevelt, 

 an inspiration to naturalists, bird-lovtrs, 

 conservationists and sportsmen, today rests 

 upon the nation like a mighty benediction. 

 Men of the open loved him and the faces 

 about his campfire, whether black or yel- 

 low, white or copper, bent their gaze upon 

 him with that respect and affection which 

 men of towering nobility have ever in- 

 spired. 



He was a scientific collector of birds in 

 his youth and in manhood sought the 

 fiercest animals of the jungle and brought 

 his trophies to museums where the public 

 might look upon them and learn. As Presi- 

 dent he established the principle of govern- 

 ment bird-reservations, and created fifty- 

 one of these national wild-life sanctuaries. 

 He awoke the nation to the need of saving 

 its forests and other natural resources. 



He taught and practiced clean, straight 

 sportsmanship with a power that has 

 caused thousands of men afield to walk in 

 straighter paths. 



He discussed questions understandingly 

 with our greatest technical naturalists and 

 at the same time was president of the Long 

 Island Bird Club that feeds the wild birds 

 in winter and teaches little children to 

 love them. 



The man or woman who is wedded to 

 the open knows these facts and many 

 others. It is because of this knowledge and 

 of a desire to give some tangible expression 

 of esteem in which his memory is held that 

 the plan has been formed to erect at some 

 appropriate spot a memorial that speaks 

 of the wild bird-life in which he was so 

 deeply interested. 



The National Association of Audubon 

 Societies and affiliated organizations of 

 various kinds throughout the United States, 

 therefore, call upon the friends of their 

 great fallen leader to erect a Roosevelt 

 Memorial Fountain. 



The possibilities of such a work of art 

 are boundless and in the hands of some 

 great American sculptor there can be 

 wrought a fountain of such beauty and 



appropriateness that it will become one of 

 the landmarks of our country, and ever 

 serve as a reminder of the great American 

 nature-lover. 



When the first announcement of this 

 proposition was made, the committee pur- 

 posely withheld any suggestion as to its 

 location, with a view of learning the wishes 

 of those who contributed to the work. The 

 general sentiment seems to be crystallizing 

 around the idea that it should be located in 

 Washington, D. C, this being the one city 

 which belongs to the whole nation. 



It is hoped and confidently expected 

 that every Audubon Society, Bird Club, 

 Conservation Association, Sportsmen's 

 Club, or other organization interested in 

 the conservation of wild life in America 

 will feel a responsibility in contributing and 

 aiding in securing contributions from 

 individuals. 



The entire cost of the clerical work in 

 sending out circulars, attending to cor- 

 respondence and bookkeeping, as well as 

 several thousand dollars to be used in the 

 initial expenditures for circulars, postage, 

 etc., will be borne by the National Asso- 

 ciation of Audubon Societies and its friends, 

 with a view of keeping the entire fund in- 

 tact to be used exclusively for the Mem- 

 orial Fountain. A separate bank account 

 has been opened for this fund and the 

 interest accruing from the deposit will be 

 added to the principal. Thus the Asso- 

 ciation is showing its interest in the 

 Memorial Fountain, which, it desires to be 

 distinctly understood, will be erected by 

 the "lovers of wild life in America," and 

 not by the "Audubon Societies." 



The following committee has been 

 formed to aid in the collection of funds 

 and in the ultimate selection of a proper 

 work of art: 



National Committee on the Roosevelt 

 Memorial Fountain 



T. Gilbert Pearson, Chairman, 1974 



Broadway, New York City 

 William H. Taft, New Haven, Conn, 



