The Camas Hot Springs Exchange

For the National Flower
Illinois Senator Paul H. Douglas
is a bold and persistent man. A
year ago he and Representative
Walter H. Judd of Minnesota intro-
duced a bill to name the corn tassel
the national flower. Last month he
staged a corn-tassel luncheon in
the Senate dining room.
We number ourselves among the
innocent of an older generation
which grew up thinking the golden
rod was already it. The 1915 edition
of a well-known encyclopedia says
"Many botanists and flower lovers
claim for the goldenrod the distinc-
tion of being called the national
flower." We were disillusioned three
or four years ago when a couple of
our congresswomen (bless 'em) in-
troduced legislation to name the
rose. It got some support, but ended
"withering on the vine".
All such have withered because,
it is said, every proposed
flower has a vested interest behind
it. And this, understandably, scares
congressmen. It also inspires a wag
to propose poison ivy as vested-in-
terest free.
Lacking cynicism of the wag but
possessed with some of Senator
Douglas' rashness, we are suggest-
ing the dandelion. Think of the
boon to the suburbanite! (And A-
merica is going suburban). He
could, with an easy conscience, let
the natural flower flourish in his
lawn. Dandelions are quite pretty
—look at one at a time. And the
leaves properly cooked, make good
eating.
—The Christian Science Monitor