Teachers Weep Over the Ruthless Slaughter of Birds
A visiting conservationist urges Tacoma educators to abandon feathered hats in protest of plume hunting.
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With hats covered with bird wings, a couple of hundred women sat in the high school auditorium yesterday and cried over the ruthless slaughter of innocent birds by plume hunters as depicted by W. L. Finley, national organizer for the Audubon society, before the afternoon session of the Pierce county teachers' institute. Mr. Finley's address was full of interest and he made a strong plea for the women to stop using birds' plumage on their hats. The institute closed today and the teachers went home to take up their regular duties again next week. The sessions this year have been more largely attended than ever before.
“A couple of hundred women sat in the high school auditorium yesterday and cried over the ruthless slaughter of innocent birds by plume hunters.”
This event highlights the early 20th-century intersection of education and environmental activism. The critique of fashion-driven animal cruelty prefigures the modern awareness of ethical supply chains and sustainability.
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