Creator
G[orge] P. Ahern
Recipient
John Muir
Transcription
P.S. at last I have a fine table top for you. Do you want it? Can ship it to Frisco via an Army Transport GPA
[letterhead]
June 18/13
My dear Mr Muir
Many thanks for you kind thoughtfulness in sending me the story of your boyhood & youth. It is a really wonderful story of hardship, perserverance & cleverness. Apparently you took it all without rancor. It should be an inspiration to boys who have neither money nor influence. It shows what can be accomplished against frightful odds. I am deeply interested because I am interested in several poor boys who have fine antecedents but now very poor. I am helping them to help themselves. After getting their confidence & interest in me my first move is to secure their promise to abstain from liquor & tobacco until 21 yrs old. Then I find some way for them to earn money to pay for their education.
05477
In my own Offices there are a large number of Telephone clerks - not one receives a promotion unless he receives a good report from night school. The best two receive prizes at Christmas & a letter of congratulation. I make them study English, bookkeeping, history & stenography. It works like a charm. How are you getting on? I wish you could spend another visit in the Philippines. We hve made progress - our Forest School is a success. The entrance class this year are almost all High school graduates. They take a 2 years course. We have several students from China - will take 4 a year & when the serice starts in China we may have something to say as to the organization & policy. when my graduates have had 4 years service I send them to their home provinces where I use them as missionaries to build up a sentiment in favor of conservation. What results this policy would have accomplished in the U.S.? If 10 native sons, graduates of best schools were running the California or Colorado services, there would be more enthusiasm
please write to me
sincerely
G. P. Ahern
Location
Manila [Philippine Ils.]
Date Original
1913 Jun 18
Source
Original letter dimensions: 26.5 x 20.5 cm.
Recommended Citation
Ahren, Gorge P., "Letter from G[orge] P. Ahern to John Muir, 1913 Jun 18." (1913). John Muir Correspondence (PDFs). 4020.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/muir-correspondence/4020
Resource Identifier
muir21_0518-let.tif
File Identifier
Reel 21, Image 0518
Collection Identifier
Online finding aid for the microform version of the John Muir Correspondence http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt0w1031nc
Copyright Status
Copyright status unknown
Copyright Statement
Some letters written to John Muir may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Owning Institution
Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.
Pages
2 pages
Keywords
Environmentalist, naturalist, travel, conservation, national parks, John Muir, Yosemite, California, history, correspondence, letters
