Senate Doc. 84: Message from the President of the United States Transmitting A Report of the Secretary of Agriculture in Relation to the Forests, Rivers, and Mountains of the Southern Appalachian Region (Appendix E)

Senate Document 84
Message from the President of the United States Transmitting A Report of the Secretary of Agriculture in Relation to the Forests, Rivers, and Mountains of the Southern Appalachian Region

THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE MOVEMENT FOR THE PROPOSED FOREST RESERVE IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS.

The necessity for the preservation of the forests in the Southern Appalachian region in order to prevent the washing away of the mountain lands and the destruction of the mountains themselves has for many years been advocated by the geologists working in that region. Their position in this has met with the hearty approval of the forestry experts and even the lumbermen who have gone into that region. The growing prominence and recognized suitability of much of this region as a health and pleasure resort has added this element also to the movement for the preservation of these forests and rivers. The increasing violence and destructiveness of the floods during the past few years, and the general recognition of the fact that the continued clearing of these mountain slopes would soon result in the absolute ruin of all the interests of this region and of the adjacent lowlands in the several States—this has combined and strengthened this movement in the country at large, and has brought it to its present position before Congress.

On November 22, 1899, the Appalachian National Park Association was organized at Asheville, N. C., with a large membership, including citizens from Northern, Southern, and Western States. On January 2, 1900, memorials from this Appalachian National Park Association and the Appalachian Mountain Club of New England were presented to Congress, asking that measures be taken looking to the preservation of the Southern Appalachian forests. In response to these memorials, supported by the unanimously favorable press of the country, Congress incorporated in the bill carrying the appropriation for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901, a provision that a "sum not to exceed $5,000 may, in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture, be used to investigate the conditions of the Southern Appalachian mountain region of Western North Carolina and adjacent States."

The United States Geological Survey of the Department of the Interior cooperated with the Department of Agriculture in this investigation so as to have it include a study of the geology and topography and rivers of the region.

In January, 1901, the Secretary of Agriculture submitted a short preliminary report^a setting forth the result of these investigations up to that time. This report was transmitted to Congress by President McKinley in a brief commendatory message on January 16, 1901.

^aSee pp. 166-168.

On January 10, 1901, a bill was introduced in the Senate by Mr. Pritchard, of North Carolina, which provided an appropriation of $5,000,000, to be expended under the Secretary of Agriculture in the purchase of not less than 2,000,000 acres of mountain lands in the States of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. This bill was favorably reported to the Senate by the Committee on Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game, February 12, 1901.^a

^aSee p. 168.

This movement has from its beginning received the active support of both the general and the technical press of the country, and it may be said that this agency has done more than all others to awaken the American people to the importance of preserving the remnants of our forests before it is too late, and of educating them to a knowledge of the fact that these forests are for this generation to legitimately use, but not to destroy.

The list of papers and periodical publications that have contained articles favoring the proposed Appalachian forest reserve is too long to be enumerated here, but it may not be improper to mention especially two such articles which have recently appeared, viz, one by Prof. W J McGee, of Washington, D. C., in the World's Work for November, 1901, and another by Prof. N. S. Shaler, in the North American Review for December, 1901. On page 180 will be found brief extracts relative to the proposed forest reserve from a few papers and magazines.

The following papers, arranged somewhat in the order of their adoption, are here reproduced so as to make them more accessible to those who may have occasion to refer to them:

MEMORIAL OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB.

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America:

The petition of the Appalachian Mountain Club respectfully shows. That your petitioner is an organization of about 1,200 members, composed principally of residents of Boston, Mass., and New England, with scattering members throughout the Union, organized in January, 1876, and reorganized and chartered as a corporation by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in April, 1878.

That its object is to bring together for cooperation all those interested in the mountains of New England and adjacent regions. * * * To combine the energies of all those who are interested in efforts not only to preserve the present beauty and attractiveness of our mountain resorts—and in particular their forests—but also to render them more attractive by building paths, camps, and other conveniences, constructing and publishing accurate maps, and by collecting all available information concerning the mountain regions.

* * * in short, the club may be considered the representative in this part of the country of the interests of all lovers of the mountains, in addition to which it has made such substantial contributions to various departments of geography as to gain recognition as a representative of general geographical science.

It having come to the knowledge of this club that there is now on foot a movement for the establishment of a national forest and mountain preserve in the southern Alleghenies, to be known as the National Appalachian Park; and further, that there is now before the Congress a petition from an organization known as the Appalachian National Park Association, "praying for such action as will result in causing to be forthwith made such examination and surveys as may be necessary to determine the best possible location and the proper area for a national park in the southern Appalachian region, to the end that upon the coming in of the report of the forester, or of such reports as the Congress may desire, appropriate steps may be taken to acquire the title to the land to be comprised within the limits of the park; or that the Congress may take such other action as it may deem proper."

Your petitioners therefore state that they believe the movement is inaugurated at a most opportune time, being well aware of the increased difficulty that will attend the securing of suitable land for this purpose at a later date, when land values increase and timber and land interests combine against such a movement; that they are deeply interested in this movement, which they believe, if carried out, will result in untold health and recreation for future generations, and heartily concur in the above-mentioned petition; and they respectfully pray that the said petition of the Appalachian National Park Association may receive favorable consideration with the Congress.

ALBION A. PERRY, President.
ROSEWELL B. LAWRENCE, Recording Secretary.
JOHN RITCHIE, Jr., Corresponding Secretary.

MEMORIAL FROM THE APPALACHIAN NATIONAL PARK ASSOCIATION.

To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America:

The petition of the Appalachian National Park Association respectfully shows:

That your petitioner is an organization composed of citizens from many States in the Union, and was formed for the purpose of bringing to the attention of the Congress of the United States the desirability of establishing a national park at some place in the southern Appalachian region.

That the facts which led to the organization of your petitioner, and which are presented as reasons for the establishment of such a national park, are as follows:

RARE NATURAL BEAUTY OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION.

In western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee (or, more definitely, in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains, the Balsam Mountains, and the Black and Craggy Mountains) is found not only the culmination of the Appalachian system, but the most beautiful as well as the highest mountains east of the lofty western ranges. Forty-three mountains of 6,000 feet and upward in altitude, as well as a great number of inferior height, all clothed with virgin forests and intersected by deep valleys abounding in brooks, rivers, and waterfalls, combine to make this a region of unsurpassed attractiveness.

Standing upon the summit of one of these sublime heights the eye often seeks in vain for the bare mountain side—the evidence of the devastating ax—and before one stretches out a view magnificently beautiful.

If the national parks already established have been chosen for their unusual natural beauty, here is a national park conspicuously fine, awaiting official recognition as an addition to the number.

SUPERB FORESTS OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN SYSTEM.

No other portion of our country displays a richness of sylva equal to that found in the high mountains of the Southern Appalachian region in the variety of its hard woods and conifers. Professor Gray, the eminent botanist, is authority for the statement that he encountered a greater number of indigenous trees in a trip of 30 miles through western North Carolina than can be observed in a trip from Turkey to England, through Europe, or from the Atlantic coast to the Rocky Mountain plateau. Here is the home of the rhododendron and the kalmia; here is the meeting place of the mountain flora of the North and of the South, and the only place where distinctive Southern mountain trees may be found side by side with those of the North. Here, too, are found trees of from 5 to 7 feet, and even more, in diameter, which tower to a height of 140 feet, and, occasionally, much higher, and these patriarchal trees, though innumerable, are but the greatest in a dense forest composed of many other large, beautiful, and valuable varieties. In fine, here is the largest area of virgin forest in the South Atlantic region, and the finest example of mixed forest (by which is meant a forest of deciduous and evergreen trees) in America.

There is but one such forest in America, and neglect of the opportunity now presented of saving it may work irretrievable loss. The forest once destroyed can not be restored. Reforestation is a slow process; it is for subsequent generations. The experience of the old countries in this matter stands as a warning. The increasing scarcity of timber is causing the large areas of forest in this part of our country to be rapidly acquired by those whose one thought will be immediate returns from a system of lumbering utterly reckless and ruinous from any other point of view, and in a few years this forest will be a thing of the past.

The National Government, and it alone, can prevent this destruction, and, by the application of the methods of scientific forestry, preserve the forest as a heritage and blessing to unborn generations.

NECESSITY OF PRESERVING THE HEADWATERS OF MANY RIVERS RISING IN THESE MOUNTAINS.

At this late date the calamities of flood and drought resulting from the wanton destruction of forests are well known. The forest acts as a storehouse of moisture for the dry season, and tends to prevent floods.

Many rivers rise in these mountains, and the same causes which will destroy the forests will work irreparable injury to the sources of the water supply.

It is the duty of the National Government, as the guardian of the national interests, not the least among which are the rivers, to protect their sources and the water supply of the country.

HEALTHFULNESS OF THE REGION.

It is a well-recognized fact that the plateau lying between the Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge is one of the most deservedly popular health resorts of the world. The geographical location and the geological formation are peculiarly adapted to the production of those conditions which make for health in general.

Malaria is unknown. It rivals Arizona as a sanitarium for those suffering from pulmonary troubles. No better place could be found for the establishment of a sanitarium for the soldiers and sailors of our country.

CLIMATE IS FINE THE WHOLE YEAR.

By reason of its considerable altitude its summer climate is more agreeable than that of regions farther north. Those living in the South, but in regions of less altitude, and in increasing numbers others from the North and West, are learning to appreciate the advantages of its summer climate. For many years to those wishing to escape the rigors of a Northern winter this plateau has been a place of favorite resort. It has one of the best all-year climates in the world.

The existing national parks can only be visited in summer; snow and ice bar the way at all other times. If a national park were created in this favored mountain region it could be visited and enjoyed at all seasons of the year.

LOCATION IS CENTRAL.

This part of the Appalachian Range is but twenty-four hours from New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Toledo, and the Gulf States. It is, therefore, within easy reach of millions of people, and a park there could be in fact, as in name, a national park.

EASTERN STATES ARE ENTITLED TO A NATIONAL PARK.

There is no national park of the character of the one suggested east of the Yellowstone, which is considerably more than 2,000 miles from the Atlantic coast, nor is there even a forest reserve east of western Dakota, which is but a few hundred miles nearer.

The Chickamauga battlefield, though called, it is believed, a "national park," possesses none of the characteristics of such a park as is now under consideration, and was created because of the historical interest investing its locality and is of very limited area.

PARK WOULD PAY AS A FOREST RESERVE.

It is confidently asserted that no forest reserve of the country, with possibly one exception, would yield a larger return to the Government.

The forests are very dense; the timber of valuable species, such as tulip (poplar), oak, chestnut, hemlock, and pine, and of great size. The undergrowth is still to a large extent uninjured by fire, and the forest, when made accessible by Government roads and managed in a scientific manner, would yield an immediate, a constant, and a comparatively large revenue.

The Government is now about to institute methods of scientific forestry. No better place in the United States can be found for the institution on a governmental scale of forestry operations, and because of the fine climate, summer and winter alike, it would be the only forest reserve of the country where such operations could be carried on uninterruptedly throughout the year.

The forests and the climate, both incomparable, ordain this as the place for the commencement of forestry operations, and, perhaps, as the location eventually, of a national school of forestry.

THE TITLE TO THE LAND CAN BE EASILY ACQUIRED.

A site for the park can easily be chosen where the land is held in large areas and where the settlers are few. The land now sells for about $2 an acre, so that a comparatively large park could be secured at what would be greatly less than its value to the nation.

SUGGESTIONS REGARDING LOCATION OF PARK.

That the foregoing are the considerations which your petitioner deems of the most imperative nature and which it respectfully suggests should have the early attention of the Congress.

That your petitioner does not consider that it would be proper for it to suggest in anything more than a general way what should be the area or the boundary lines of a park in the Southern Appalachian region. In the opinion of your petitioner, this is a matter which could well be left to the decision of the forester of the Government.

Your petitioner is, however, of the opinion that it would be proper to express its conviction that whatever may be the decision respecting the area or exact location of such a national park, it should contain the highest mountains and the finest scenery in the whole Appalachian system, and this is found in the heart of the Great Smoky and Black mountains; and that the park should also embrace the largest area of virgin forest and the finest example of mixed forest in America, and this is found in the heart of the Balsam Mountains, and all of these are embraced within the limits of the tract hereinafter described.

The tract of land will be found to comprise two areas of land, each lying partly in Tennessee and partly in North Carolina, connected by a narrow strip extending along the line dividing those States and embracing land in each of them. In the eastern end of this tract will be found, with others, the following-named mountains:

	Altitude in feet.		Altitude in feet.
Mount Mitchell	6,711	Cat Tail Peak	6,611
Balsam Cone	6,671	Black Dome	6,502
Deer Mountain	6,233	Mount Gibbs	6,591
Roan Mountain	6,313	Mount Hallback	6,043
Big Craggy	6,068	Hairy Bear	6,691
Potato Top	6,393	Long Ridge	6,259
Black Brother	6,619

In the western part of said tract will be found Mount Guyot (altitude 6,636 feet), Clingman's Dome (altitude 6,650 feet), Bald Mountain (altitude 6,220 feet), and many other high mountains, as well as the untouched tract of virgin forest hereinbefore referred to.

Your petitioner therefore states that, in its opinion, by far the best land for the Appalachian national park lies between parallels 35 and 37 of north latitude, and between the lines 82 and 85 of west longitude, and within the tract described as follows:

Beginning at Joanna Bald Mountain, in the State of North Carolina, on the line dividing the county of Graham from Cherokee and Macon counties, and running thence easterly along said line and the line between eastern Graham County and Swain County to a point on the Tuckasegee River near Bushnell; thence up the Tuckasegee River to a point 2 miles west of Bryson City; thence due north 4 miles; thence east about 12 miles to the line dividing Swain and Jackson counties; thence south to the Tuckasegee River; thence east to the Plott Balsam Ridge; then along said ridge, crossing the line between Haywood and Jackson counties, to a point 2 miles west of Waynesville; thence northeastwardly to Pigeon River; thence down Pigeon River to Fines Creek; thence in a northwestwardly direction to French Broad River, at the mouth of Big Laurel Creek; thence due east to the line dividing Madison and Yancey counties; thence due south to a point 2 miles north of the Swannanoa River; thence easterly along a line parallel with and 2 miles north of the line of the Southern Railway Company to a point due north of Old Fort; thence due north to North Toe River; thence down North Toe River to the line dividing the State of Tennessee from the State of North Carolina; thence westwardly in the State of Tennessee to Big Butte, at the corner of Washington, Green, and Unicoi counties, in Tennessee, and of Madison County, in North Carolina; thence southwestwardly along the line dividing the State of Tennessee from the State of North Carolina to Rocky Ridge; thence southwestwardly in a straight line to the French Broad River, at the mouth of Paint Creek; thence down the French Broad river to the mouth of Rock Creek; thence westwardly to the southeast corner of Jefferson County, Tenn.; thence southwestwardly to Round Top, at a corner in the easterly line of Blount County, Tenn.; thence in a southwestwardly direction to the Tennessee line at the mouth of Abram or Panther Creek; thence south to the line dividing Cherokee and Graham counties, in North Carolina, and thence along said dividing line eastwardly to Joanna Bald Mountain, the place of beginning.

Your petitioner therefore prays that the Congress will take under consideration the matter herein set forth and cause the same to be examined into, and will take such action as will result in causing to be forthwith made such examination and surveys as may be necessary to determine the best possible location and the proper area for a national park in the Southern Appalachian region, to the end that upon the coming in of the report of the forester, or of such other reports as the Congress may desire, appropriate steps may be taken to acquire the title to land to be comprised within the limits of such park; or that the Congress will take such other action as it may deem proper.

And your petitioners will ever pray, etc.

GEO. S. POWELL,
President Appalachian National Park Association.

Dr. C. P. AMBLER,
Secretary.

ASHEVILLE, N. C., December 19, 1899.

RESOLUTIONS.

[American Association for the Advancement of Science, June 23, 1900, New York City.]

Resolved, That the American Association for the Advancement of Science, recognizing the importance of the preservation in its original condition of some portion of the hard-wood forests of the Southern Appalachian region, respectfully petitions Congress to provide for the establishment in that region of a national forest reserve.

[American Forestry Association, December 13, 1900, Washington, D. C.]

Resolved, That the action of Congress in making an appropriation to investigate the forest conditions of the Southern Appalachian Mountains meets with our cordial approval, and that we recommend that further steps be taken for the creation by purchase of a national Appalachian park in the high mountain region of the States of North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.

[National Board of Trade, January 23, 1901, Washington, D. C.]

Resolved, That the National Board of Trade respectfully urges upon Congress the establishment of the proposed Minnesota National Park and of the proposed Southern Appalachian Forest Reserve as a just and necessary measure of forest protection to those portions of our country which at present contain no national forest reserves.

[Memphis (Tenn.) Board of Trade.]

Whereas there is a widespread movement in this country looking to the establishment by the General Government in the high forest covered mountain portions of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina of a national forest reserve, which will perpetuate the forest of this region, forever protect the headwaters of many important streams in these States, and serve as a pleasure and health resort at all seasons for a large portion of the people of this country; and whereas the proposal that the Government establish such a forest reserve has been approved by the leading scientific societies and forestry associations of this country, and by the general press:

Resolved, That the Board of Trade of Memphis, Tenn., also heartily approves of the establishment of such a forest reserve, and respectfully asks the Senators and Representatives at Washington from this State to urge upon Congress the favorable and prompt consideration of this measure.

Similar resolutions favoring the establishment of the proposed forest reserve or park by the Government have been passed by the commercial organizations in Richmond, Raleigh, Wilmington, Charleston, Columbia, Savannah, Augusta, Atlanta, Mobile, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis, and in many other of the larger cities of the country.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE ON THE FORESTS OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN REGION.

To the Senate and House of Representatives:

I transmit herewith, for the information of the Congress, a letter from the Secretary of Agriculture, in which he presents a preliminary report of the investigations upon the forests of the Southern Appalachian Mountain region. Upon the basis of the facts established by this investigation the Secretary of Agriculture recommends the purchase of land for a national forest reserve in western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and adjacent States. I commend to the favorable consideration of the Congress the reasons upon which the recommendation rests.

WILLIAM MCKINLEY.

EXECUTIVE MANSION, January 16, 1901.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,
Washington, D. C, January 3, 1901.

The PRESIDENT:

The bill making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901, provides that a "sum not to exceed $5,000 may, in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture, be used to investigate the forest conditions in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region of western North Carolina and adjacent States." In accordance with this provision I have made a thorough investigation of the forests in a portion of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, as directed above, including an estimate of the amount and condition of the standing timber, an inquiry as to the suitability of this region for a national park, as proposed by the Appalachian National Park Association, and an examination of the validity of the reasons advanced by its advocates for the creation of such a park. In this task I have received generous and effective cooperation and assistance, through the United States Geological Survey, from the Department of the Interior, which recognized in this way the deep and widely diffused public interest in the plan.

The forest investigation was made to include a study of the character and distribution of the species of timber trees, the density and value of forest growth, the extent to which the timber has been cut or damaged by fire, the size and nature of the present holdings, the prices at which these forest lands can now be purchased, and the general and special conditions that affect the prosecution of conservative forestry on a large scale.

The hydrographic survey of the region, conducted by the United States Geological Survey, includes a general study of its topographic features; of the relation of the soils, forest cover, and rainfall; of the quantity of water flowing out of it through the various streams during different seasons, and of the influence exerted on the regularity of this flow by forest clearings. More than 750 stream measurements have already been made and much additional data of special value has been secured.

In addition to these investigations I have given thorough attention to the arguments advanced by the movers for the proposed park and to those of their opponents, and as a result I am strongly of the opinion that this matter is worthy of careful consideration.

I have the honor to transmit herewith a mounted original copy of a large map, which shows in detail the mapping of forests accomplished during the past summer over an area of nearly 8,000 square miles. A full report of the work and its results is now in preparation and will be submitted for your consideration at an early date. The following preliminary statement is made to bring before you without delay a summary of the facts sufficient to set forth clearly the principal features of the region and the plan.

The movement for the purchase and control of a large area of forest land in the East by the Government has chiefly contemplated a national park. The idea of a national park is conservation, not use; that of a forest reserve, conservation by use. I have, therefore, to recommend a forest reserve instead of a park. It is fully shown by the investigation that such a reserve would be self-supporting from the sale of timber under wisely directed conservative forestry.

Extensive areas of hard-wood forests within the region colored on the accompanying map are still in their primitive condition, and these are among the very best and richest hard-wood forests of the United States. The region, in general is better adapted for forestry than for agricultural purposes. It is located about the headwaters of numerous streams, such as the Ohio, Tennessee, Savannah, Yadkin, and Roanoke, which are important both for water power and for navigation. The general conditions within the region are exceptionally favorable for the carrying on of large operations in practical forestry, and the weather is suitable for lumbering operations at all seasons of the year. It contains a greater variety of hard-wood trees than any other region of the United States, since the Northern and Southern species here meet. It is a region of exceptional beauty and picturesqueness, and, although it would not be easily accessible to visitors in all parts at all seasons of the year, by far the greater portion of its area would be easily reached and climatically pleasant throughout the year.

It contains within the forest-covered areas no large settlements or large mining operations which would interfere with the management of such a forest reserve, and yet there is a sufficient population for the working and protection of the forests. Large lumber companies are rapidly invading the region, and the early destruction of the more valuable timber is imminent. Lands in this region suitable for such a forest reserve are now generally held in large bodies of from 50,000 to 100,000 acres, and they can be purchased at prices ranging from $2 to $5 per acre. It is probable that the average price would not exceed $3 per acre, in explanation of the widespread and urgent demand for the establishment in this southern Appalachian region of a national park or forest reserve, it may be added that it contains the highest and largest mountain masses, and perhaps the wildest and most picturesque scenery, east of the Mississippi River; that it is a region of perfect healthfulness, already largely used as a health resort both summer and winter, and that it lies within a little more than a day's travel of the larger portion of the population of this country.

The rapid consumption of our timber supplies, the extensive destruction of our forests by fire, and the resulting increase in the irregularity of the flow of water in important streams have served to develop among the people of this country an interest in forest problems which is one of the marked features of the close of the century. In response to this growing interest the Government has set aside in the Western forest reserves an area of more than 70,000 square miles. There is not a single forest reserve in the East.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully,

JAMES WILSON, Secretary.

REPORT OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON FOREST RESERVATIONS AND THE PROTECTION OF GAME.

[Fifty-sixth Congress, second session, Senate Calendar No. 2227. Report No. 2221.]

FOREST RESERVE IN THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN REGION.

[February 12, 1901.—Report by Mr. Beveridge, from the Committee on Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game, to accompany S. 5518.]

A majority of the Committee on Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game, having had under consideration the bill (S. 5518) to provide for the establishment of a national forest reserve in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region, reports the bill with the recommendation that it do pass and submits the following report:

An investigation of the forests of this region, authorized by Congress at its last session, has been conducted during the past year by the Department of Agriculture, with the cooperation of the United States Geological Survey. A preliminary report from the Secretary of Agriculture, transmitted to Congress with a brief commendatory message by the President, is herewith included. It is preceded by a letter from the Secretary of Agriculture, which declares his full approval of this bill. The plan to purchase a forest reserve or park in the Southern Appalachian Mountains has been favorably considered and is advocated by the National Board of Trade, by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, by the American Forestry Association, and by numerous similar organizations throughout the United States. Resolutions from the bodies named are presented in the appendix as showing that the movement for the establishment of this forest reserve is based not upon local or selfish interests, but upon the widespread, intelligent national appreciation of the importance of prompt and favorable action by Congress.

That such a forest reserve should be established in the hard-wood regions of the East is the general conviction of men of science, experts in forestry, intelligent lumbermen, and of men connected with the great business interests of the country; and this view finds frequent and emphatic expression in the technical and general press. Reckless cutting and the forest fires which follow are now destroying these hard-wood forests at a rate and to an extent which is already having serious results over wide areas. In addition to its probable effect on climate, it is causing irregularities in the flow of the streams, which are destroying their value for water power and navigation during the dry seasons, and during the rainy seasons are washing away the soils on the steeper hillsides and mountain slopes, filling up the stream beds with sediment, and destroying the agricultural value of the lowlands along the streams. Both the diminishing flow of water during the dry season and the deposit of sediment in the stream beds and harbors during periods of flood are becoming yearly more dangerous to navigation and are leading directly to increased annual appropriations for rivers and harbors.

The establishment of the proposed national forest reserve will tend to remedy these serious and growing evils, will protect the sources of many important streams, and, under the management of trained forest experts, will serve as a demonstration of the method of perpetuating forests and yet making them pay. Such an example will lead both States and individuals to encourage and practice forest management and restoration on all lands which are better suited to forest growth than for agricultural purposes.

The proposed national reserve for the protection and use of hard wood forests should be located in the Southern Appalachian Mountains for several reasons.

That region contains the greatest variety of hard woods to be found anywhere on this continent, because the northern and southern forest flora intermingle there. A list of the trees native to the region of the proposed reserve is given hereafter. We find there the largest remaining bodies of these forests in their virgin condition, the largest and highest mountains east of Colorado, and the largest mountain masses covered with hard-wood forests in the United States.

The slopes of these mountains contain the sources of the Tennessee, the Savannah, the Broad, the Catawba, and other rivers, and important tributaries of the Ohio. This fact is doubly significant because this region has none of the extensive glacial gravel deposits which serve in the more northern States as storage reservoirs for water, and so aid the forests to maintain uniformity of flow in the streams. Hence this measure stands on a basis of its own, and need not be regarded as creating a precedent for similar action in other cases.

This should be a national forest reserve, for the reason that the problems and dangers which it is intended to meet are national. It is true that a few States are now establishing State forest reserves, and it is believed that the measure now proposed will encourage such a movement on the part of other States. In New York large expenditures are being made to purchase reserve forest lands lying entirely within that State, about the headwaters of important streams which also lie within the limits of the State. But the great mountain masses of this proposed national forest reserve lie in several States, and the streams which rise among them flow through and are of importance to more than as many others. The combined annual income of the several States grouped about this region is but little greater than the appropriation carried by this bill.

It may be urged against this measure that it is a new departure for the Government. But the Western forest reserves have been set aside out of the public domain which was purchased by the Government at a time when the nation was composed largely of the Eastern States. Out of the lands so purchased nearly 50,000,000 of acres of forest-covered lands have been set aside as national forest reserves and parks for the purpose of perpetuating a timber supply in the Western States and Territories and for preserving forever the sources of their more important streams. Furthermore, the Government has recently been purchasing lands in the East for military parks and reservations and for other purposes. Hence it may be asserted in all fairness that what is now proposed is new neither in principle nor practice. In view of the importance of the measure now proposed in behalf of the hard-wood forests of the country, and considering the fact that there are no public lands covered with hard-wood forests, and that neither individuals nor the States adjacent to this region can reasonably be expected to establish such forest reserves as are absolutely essential, it is evidently the duty of the General Government to take the present step.

It will be asked how far the management and care of such a forest reserve will prove an annual expense to the Government. Attention is called, in reply, to the accompanying letter from the Secretary of Agriculture, in which he says: "I am entirely confident that very soon after its creation the proposed reserve would, under conservative forestry, be self-supporting from the sale of timber." Further, it may be said that many European forests, under government supervision, yield a net annual income from the sale of timber and other products of from $1 to $2 per acre or more. While no such income is expected to result from the proposed reserve in the immediate future, yet it is confidently expected that in the course of a few years this reserve will be self-supporting; and that subsequently, as the hard wood forests of other regions are cut away and the country more thickly settled, the sale of timber and other products from this reserve will yield a considerable net profit.

Other important questions connected with this measure which have been considered by the committee are fully answered in the statement which follows from the Secretary of Agriculture. The memorial of the Appalachian National Park Association and other documents are added.

The legislatures of the several States within which the proposed forest reserve may be located, with a single exception, have already conferred upon Congress the necessary authority to acquire lands within their boundaries. In the case of the exception a resolution which indorses the plan has passed both houses of the legislature, and further action may confidently be expected in due time.

This is a measure which has every consideration in its favor; and, in view of its importance and the beneficent results which will certainly flow from its adoption, it should commend itself to the wisdom of Congress, as it must appeal to the patriotism of every citizen.

APPENDIX.

FEBRUARY 9, 1901.

MY DEAR SENATOR: I am in receipt of your letter of this date, in which you ask for an expression of my opinion regarding Senate bill 5518, which provides for the purchase of a forest reserve in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. After a thorough investigation of the forest conditions of this region, I am heartily in favor of the creation of the proposed reserve and of Mr. Pritchard's bill. The region in which it is proposed to locate this reserve contains the finest hard-wood forests yet remaining in the United States; it is admirably adapted to the purposes of a public resort for health and recreation; the land may be purchased at a reasonable price; the preservation of the forest is essential not only to the well-being of the region itself, but to that of great rivers which flow from it and to the interests they subserve; and I am entirely confident that very soon after its creation the proposed reserve would, under conservative forestry, be self-supporting from the sale of timber.

Very respectfully,

JAMES WILSON, Secretary.

Hon. ALBERT J. BEVERIDGE,
United States Senate.

You will find a more detailed statement of my position in my letter to the President, transmitted by him to the Congress January 16. (See p. 166.)

LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTIONS AND ACTS IN THE SEVERAL STATES WHOSE TERRITORY EXTENDS INTO THE REGION OF THE PROPOSED FOREST RESERVE.

VIRGINIA.

AN ACT to give consent by the State of Virginia to acquisition by the United States of such lands as may be needed for the establishment of a national forest reserve in the said State.

[Approved February 15, 1901.]

Whereas it is proposed that the Federal Government establish in the high mountain regions of Virginia and adjacent States a national forest reserve, which will perpetuate these forests forever and preserve the headwaters of many important streams, and which will prove of great and permanent benefit to the people of this State; and

Whereas a bill has been introduced in the Federal Congress providing for the purchase of such lands for said purpose: Therefore,

Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the consent of the State of Virginia be, and is hereby, given to the acquisition by the United States, by purchase or gift, or by condemnation according to law, of such lands in Virginia as in the opinion of the Federal Government may be needed for the establishment of such a national forest reserve in that region: Provided, That the State shall retain a concurrent jurisdiction with the United States in and over such lands so far that civil process in all cases, and such criminal process as may issue under the authority of the State against any person charged with the commission of any crime without or within said jurisdiction, may be executed thereon in like manner as if this act had not been passed. And provided, That in all condemnation proceedings the rights of the Federal Government shall be limited to the specific objects set forth by the laws of the United States in regard to forest reserves.

2. That power is hereby conferred upon Congress to pass such laws as it may deem necessary to the acquisition, as hereinbefore provided, for incorporation in said national forest reserve such forest-covered lands lying in Virginia as in the opinion of the Federal Government may be needed for this purpose.

3. Power is hereby conferred upon Congress to pass such laws and to make or provide for the making of such rules and regulations of both civil and criminal nature, and provide punishment for violation thereof, as in its judgment may be necessary for the management, control, and protection of such lands as may be from time to time acquired by the United States under the provisions of this act.

4. This act shall be in force from its passage.

[For resolution of March 21, 1902, see p. 190.]

NORTH CAROLINA.

A RESOLUTION favoring the establishment of a national forest reserve in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region.

Resolved by the house of representatives, the senate concurring.

The general assembly of North Carolina hereby expresses its approval of the movement looking to the establishment by the Federal Government of an extensive national forest reserve in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region as a wise and beneficent measure, such as many other nations have already adopted, and which this country should adopt before it is too late, looking to the conservation of its forests and the protection of the sources of important streams; and

Whereas the proposal to establish this forest reserve has been approved and urged by the leading scientific societies and forestry associations of this country, and by the general press; and

Whereas this general assembly has passed an act granting its consent to the acquisition of lands in western North Carolina by the Federal Government for incorporation in such a forest reserve, believing the reserve to be one of great importance to the people of this State; and

Whereas a bill is now before the Federal Congress providing for the purchase of lands for this purpose:

Resolved, That the Senators and Representatives in Congress from this State are hereby requested to urge upon Congress the importance of prompt and favorable action in behalf of this measure.

In the general assembly, read three times, and ratified this the 18th day of January, A. D. 1901.

W. D. TURNER,
President of Senate.

WALTER E. MOORE,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.

AN ACT to give consent by the State of North Carolina to the acquisition by the United States of such lands as may be needed for the establishment of a national forest reserve in said State.

Whereas it is proposed that the Federal Government purchase lands in the high mountain regions of western North Carolina and adjacent States for the purpose of establishing there a national forest reserve which will perpetuate these forests and forever preserve the headwaters of many important streams, and which will thus prove of great and permanent benefit to the people of this State; and whereas a bill has been introduced in the Federal Congress providing for the purchase or by condemnation, with adequate compensation except as hereinafter provided, of such lands in western North Carolina as in the opinion of the Federal Government may be needed for the establishment of such a national forest reserve in that region: Provided, That the State of North Carolina shall retain a concurrent jurisdiction with the United States in and over such lands so far that civil process in all cases and such criminal process as may issue under the authority of the State of North Carolina against any person charged with the commission of any crime without or within said jurisdiction may be executed thereon in like manner as if this act had not been passed.

SEC. 2. That power is hereby conferred upon Congress to pass such laws as it may deem necessary to the acquisition as hereinafter provided for incorporation in sand national forest reserve such forest-covered lands lying in western North Carolina as in the opinion of the Federal Government may be needed for this purpose: Provided, That as much as 200 acres of any tract of land occupied as a home by bona fide residents in this State at the date of the ratification of this act shall be exempt from the provisions of this section.

SEC. 3. Power is hereby conferred upon Congress to pass such laws and to make or provide for the making of such rules and regulations of both civil and criminal nature, and provide punishment therefor, as in its judgment may be deemed necessary for the management, control, and protection of such lands as may be from time to time acquired by the United States under the provisions of this act.

SEC. 4. This act shall be in force from and after its ratification.

In the general assembly, read three times, and ratified this the 18th day of January, A. D. 1901.

W. D. TURNER,
President of the Senate.

WALTER E. MOORE,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.

TENNESSEE.

A RESOLUTION favoring the establishment of a national forest reserve in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region.

Resolved by the house of representatives, the senate concurring:

The general assembly of Tennessee hereby expresses its approval of the movement looking to the establishment by the Federal Government of an extensive national forest reserve in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region as a wise and beneficent measure, such as many other nations have already adopted, and which this country has already adopted in the West and should adopt in the East before it is too late, looking to the conservation of its forests and the protection of the sources of important streams; and

Whereas the proposal to establish this forest reserve has been approved and urged by the leading scientific societies and forestry associations of this country and by the general press; and

Whereas this general assembly has before it a bill granting the State's consent to the acquisition of lands in eastern Tennessee by the Federal Government for incorporation in such a forest reserve, believing the reserve to be one of great importance to the people of this State; and

Whereas a bill is now before the Federal Congress providing for the purchase of lands for this purpose:

Resolved, That the Senators and Representatives in Congress from this State are hereby requested to urge upon Congress the importance of prompt and favorable action in behalf of this measure.

Adopted February 1, 1901.

E. B. WILSON,
Speaker of House of Representatives.

NEWTON H. WHITE,
Speaker of Senate.

AN ACT to give consent by the State of Tennessee to the acquisition by the United States of such lands as may be needed for the establishment of a national forest reserve in the said State.

Whereas it is proposed that the Federal Government establish in the high mountain regions of eastern Tennessee and adjacent States a national forest reserve, which will perpetuate these forests and forever preserve the headwaters of many important streams, and which will thus prove of great and permanent benefit to the people of this State.

And whereas a bill has been introduced in the Federal Congress providing for the purchase of such lands for said purpose: Therefore,

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee,

SECTION 1. That the consent of the State of Tennessee be, and is hereby, given to the acquisition by the United States, by purchase, gift, or condemnation according to law, of such land in this State as in the opinion of the Federal Government may be needed for the establishment of such a national forest reserve in that region:

Provided, That the State shall retain the concurrent jurisdiction with the United States in and over such lands so far that civil process in all cases, and such criminal process as may issue under the authority of the State against any person charged with the commission of any crime without or within said jurisdiction, may be executed thereon in like manner as if this act had not been passed:

Provided further, That this act shall apply to lands in Tennessee lying within 20 miles of the North Carolina State line; that all condemnation proceedings herein provided shall be limited to lands now forest covered, and that in all such condemnation proceedings the right of the Federal Government shall be limited to the specific objects set forth in this act and in the laws of the United States in regard to forest reserves.

SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That power is hereby conferred upon Congress to pass such laws as it may deem necessary to the acquisition, as hereinbefore provided, for incorporation in said national forest reserve such forest-covered lands lying in the State as in the opinion of the Federal Government may be needed for this purpose.

SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That power is hereby conferred upon Congress to pass such laws and to make or provide for the making of such rules and regulations of both civil and criminal nature, and provide punishment for violation thereof, as in its judgment may be necessary for the management, control, and protection of such lands as may be from time to time acquired by the United States under the provisions of this act.

SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That this act take effect from and after its passage, the public welfare requiring it.

Passed April 16, 1901.

E. B. WILSON,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.

NEWTON H. WHITE,
Speaker of the Senate.

Approved April 23, 1901.

BENTON MCMILLAN Governor.

SOUTH CAROLINA.

A RESOLUTION favoring the establishment of a national forest reserve in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region.

Resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

The general assembly of South Carolina hereby expresses its approval of the movement looking to the establishment by the Federal Government of an extensive national forest reserve in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region as a wise and beneficent measure, such as many other nations have already adopted, and which this country should adopt before it is too late, looking to the conservation of its forests and the protection of the sources of important streams; and whereas the proposal to establish this forest reserve has been approved and urged by the leading scientific societies and forestry associations of this country, and by the general press; and whereas this general assembly has passed an act granting its consent to the acquisition of lands in northern South Carolina by the Federal Government for incorporation in such a forest reserve, believing the measure to be one of great importance to the people of this State; and whereas a bill is now before the Federal Congress providing for the purchase of lands for this purpose:

Resolved, That the Senators and Representatives in Congress from this State are hereby requested to urge upon Congress the importance of prompt and favorable action in behalf of this measure.

Ratified.

AN ACT to give consent by the State of South Carolina to the acquisition by the United Slates of such lands as may be needed for the establishment of a national forest reserve in said State.

Whereas it is proposed that the Federal Government establish in the high, mountain region of South Carolina and adjacent States a national forest reserve which will perpetuate these forests and forever preserve the headwaters of many important streams, and which will thus prove of great and permanent benefit to the people of this State; and whereas a bill has been introduced in the Federal Congress providing for the purchase of said lands for such purpose: Therefore,

Be it enacted by the general assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. That the consent of the State of South Carolina be, and is hereby, given to the acquisition by the United States, by purchase, gift, or condemnation according to law, of such lands in this State as in the opinion of the Federal Government may be needed for the establishment of such national forest reserve in that region: Provided, That the State shall retain a concurrent jurisdiction with the United States in and over such lands so far that civil process in all cases, and such criminal process as may issue under the authority of the State against any person charged with the commission of any crime without or within said jurisdiction, may be executed thereon in like manner as if this act had not been passed.

SEC. 2. That power is hereby conferred upon Congress to pass such laws as it may deem necessary to the acquisition as hereinbefore provided, for incorporation in said national forest reserve, of such forest-covered land lying in the State as in the opinion of the Federal Government may be needed for this purpose.

SEC. 3. Power is hereby conferred upon Congress to pass such laws and to make, and provide for the making, of such rules and regulations, of both civil and criminal nature, and provide punishment for violation thereof, as in its judgment may be necessary for the management, control, and protection of such lands as may be from time to time acquired by the United States under the provisions of this act.

SEC. 4. That this act shall be in force from and after its ratification.

GEORGIA.

A RESOLUTION concerning the ceding of the jurisdiction over certain lands in the State of Georgia to the United States of America for the purpose of establishing a national forest reserve or park.

Whereas there is a widespread movement in this country asking that the Federal Government purchase from the present owners certain forest-covered lands lying within the high mountain regions of the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, about the headwaters of the larger streams flowing through these and adjacent States, for the purpose of establishing in this region a national forest reserve, which will forever protect the sources of the rivers that furnish our water powers and navigation facilities, which will demonstrate to the people of the country how such forest-covered areas can be managed and perpetuated to the best advantage, and which will become a great national resort within easy reach, at all seasons, of much of the larger portion of the population of this country; and whereas this general assembly desires to place on record its interest in, and encouragement of, a movement which promises such great and lasting benefits to the people of Georgia and the neighboring States:

Be it resolved by the general assembly of the State of Georgia, That this general assembly hereby expresses its willingness to cede to the United States of America the jurisdiction of the State of Georgia in and over such of the forest-covered mountain lands in this State as may be needed for the purpose of establishing such national forest reserve or national park, when the land areas of such tract or tracts have been designated, and a plat or plats of the same deposited with the secretary of state in Atlanta: Provided, That the State shall retain concurrent jurisdiction with the United States in and over said tract or tracts so far that all civil and criminal processes issued under the authority of the State may be executed thereon in like manner as if this act were not in force: And provided further, That said cession of jurisdiction shall not take effect until the United States shall have acquired title to said tract or tracts.

The general assembly respectfully asks the favorable consideration of this measure by Congress.

CLARK HOWELL,
President of the Senate.

CHAS. S. NORTHEN,
Secretary of the Senate.

JOHN D. LITTLE,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.

JNO. T. BOIFEUILLET,
Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Approved December 18, 1900.

A. D. CANDLER, Governor.

AN ACT to give consent by the State of Georgia to the acquisition by the United States of such lands as may be needed for the establishment of a national forest reserve in said State.

Whereas it is proposed that the Federal Government establish in the high mountain regions of Georgia and adjacent States a national forest reserve, which will perpetuate these forests and forever preserve the headwaters of many important streams, and which will thus prove of great and permanent benefit to the people of this State; and whereas a bill has been introduced in the Federal Congress providing for the purchase of such lands for said purpose, the general assembly of Georgia do enact:

SECTION 1. That the consent of the State of Georgia be, and is hereby, given to the acquisition by the United States, by purchase or gift, or by condemnation according to the law, of such lands in the mountain region of Georgia as in the opinion of the Federal Government may be needed for the establishment of such a national forest reserve in that region: Provided, That the State shall retain a concurrent jurisdiction with the United States in and over such lands so far that civil process in all cases, and such criminal process as may issue under the authority of the State against any person charged with the commission of any crime without or within said jurisdiction, may be executed in like manner as if this act had not been passed: And provided, That in all condemnation proceedings the rights of the Federal Government shall be limited to the specific objects set forth by the laws of the United States in regard to forest reserves.

SEC. 2. That power is hereby conferred upon Congress to pass such laws as it may deem necessary to the acquisition as hereinbefore provided, for incorporation in said national forest reserve, of such mountain lands lying in Georgia as in the opinion of the Federal Government may be needed for this purpose.

SEC. 3. Power is hereby conferred upon Congress to pass such laws and to make, or provide for the making, of such rules and regulations, of both civil and criminal nature, and provide punishment therefor, as in its judgment may be necessary for the management, control, and protection of such land as may be from time to time acquired by the United States under the provisions of this act.

This act shall be in force from its passage.

Passed December 13, 1901.

EXTRACTS FROM THE PRESS.

The few extracts from the press given below will serve as an illustration of the extent to which the proposal that the Government establish a forest reserve or park in the southern Appalachian region has met with public approval:

[New York (N. Y.) Tribune.]

If no steps by the Government of the United States are taken, the entire tree system of these States will be obliterated, leaving the peaks and valleys of six great States of the Union divested of timber and foliage.

[Hartford (Conn.) Courant.]

The Appalachian Park ought in a dozen years from now to be one of the chief attractions of the United States. The decisions in its favor would be unanimous if the matter was left to those who knew the country and its possibilities.

[Boston (Mass.) Transcript.]

We hope the plan will fructify, for it would give us benefit and bring us credit as a people. * * * It is most sincerely to be hoped that this admirable scheme will be quickly and cordially taken up by Congress and carried to success. It is a case of now or never.

[Buffalo (N. Y.) Commercial.]

The United States Government has gone into the forestry business on an extensive scale, and it is believed that the future returns will more than justify the liberal policy adopted in this respect.

[New York (N. Y.) Times.]

The receipts from the French national forests altogether were about twice their expenses in the last year for which the returns are accessible.

The urgency in this case is greater than it was in the case of the Yellowstone Park, when it was laid out. Certainly no American citizen now grudges the expense of that public possession.

[Baltimore (Md.) Sun.]

Among the many measures that have come before Congress none merits more thoughtful consideration or commends itself more impressively to the consideration and approval of the two Houses.

[Providence (R. I.) Journal.]

As a mere measure of protection to the material interests which may be affected by the cutting of the timber and the drying up of streams, Congress ought to do something about this as a Federal question.

[Logansport (Ind.) Reporter.]

The General Government ought to step in before it is too late. * * * If the timber is all stripped from these hills the streams will dry up and the ultimate loss will be serious and widespread.

[Springfield (Ill.) Journal.]

It is certainly true that there have been few park projects that have had more to recommend them.

[Cleveland (Ohio) Leader.]

It is claimed with reason that such a park would not only be more accessible to the great majority of the American people than the Yellowstone Park ever can be, but it would also be available as a place of resort all through the year. * * * It is true, further, that the proposed Appalachian Park would contain far better specimens of typical American forest life than any which can be found in the Yellowstone Park. That is an important item to be taken into account.

[Providence (R. I.) Journal.]

There is but one such forest in America, and neglect of the opportunity now presented of saving it may work irretrievable loss. The forests once destroyed can not be replaced.

[New York Lumber Trade Journal.]

The Journal is heartily in favor of such a park and hopes that Congress will give it favorable attention.

[Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal.]

I can not believe that the next Congress will fail to allow an appropriation to carry forward this great work. The Government has already set aside in Western reserves an area of more than 70,000 square miles, while there is not a single Government forest reserve in the East.

[Forest and Stream.]

The Appalachian Forest Reserve measure must go over to another Congress. We believe, however, that this is simply a postponement, not a defeat, of the scheme. The reserve, there is abundant confidence for believing, will ultimately be established.

[Forester, Washington, D. C.]

It is safe to say that only the great pressure of other business prevented the House from voting in its favor this year. Some ground will have to be gone over again, but it needs no prophet to see that, though its friends failed of success this year, this reserve will in time be established.

[Farmer Advocate, Topeka, Kans.]

Everyone interested in having this beautiful region preserved from wanton destruction by fire and timber thieves should write at once to their Congressmen to vote for the passage of the bill establishing the park.

[The Medical Dial, Minneapolis, Minn.]

The therapeutical uses of such a national park are exceedingly great. The salubrity of the climate in this section of the country, and the everlasting hills and the giant trees, has no parallel in the world.

[St. Louis (Mo.) Star.]

It is to be hoped Congress will act favorably upon the petition. Such a park would be a proper twin for the Yellowstone.

[Davenport (Iowa) Democrat.]

There are very many reasons for it—none worth counting on the other side.

[American Field, New York City.]

The American Field urges every public-spirited citizen of this country to "put his shoulder to the wheel" and to work upon his representatives in both halls of Congress to obtain during the next session of Congress decisive action toward the creation of the Appalachian and Minnesota national parks.

[Harrisburg (Pa.) Telegraph.]

This country is gradually waking up to the destruction of its timber, and the Secretary of Agriculture does wisely when he advocates forest preservation and forest reservation.

[Pittsburg (Pa.) Commercial-Gazette.]

Such a forest reservation ought to prove a good investment of national money.

[Brooklyn (N. Y.) Citizen.]

Measures to stop the destruction of mountain forests which protect the water sources in the Appalachians and elsewhere will need to be taken some day, and they ought to begin now when the Government is in pecuniary condition to make the cost of condemnation and care a trifling matter.

[New York Herald, January 12, 1990.]

The efforts of the Appalachian Park Association are to be commended. Its promoters are moved only for the public good, and should this movement finally succeed, the thanks of the entire community will be due to them for their earnest efforts.

[Albany (N. Y.) Argus, January 7, 1900.]

It is sincerely hoped Congress will immediately take up the matter and establish the park.

[The Tradesmen, Chattanooga, Tenn.]

The movement to establish a national park in the Southern Appalachian Mountains deserves a general and hearty support.

[Knoxville (Tenn.) Times.]

If the Government wants to make an appropriation to encourage both the aesthetic and the useful, it could not easily do a better thing than to establish this Appalachian National Park.

[New Orleans (La.) Picayune.]

The Appalachian region is accessible to a greater number of the citizens of the United States than any other section where there is any likelihood of a national park reserve being established.

[Parkersburg (W. Va.) Sentinel.]

That such a forest reserve should be established in the hardwood regions of the East is the opinion of men of science, experts in forestry, intelligent lumbermen and men connected with the business interests of the country.

[Lynchburg (Va.) Advance.]

The merits of this scheme should commend it to the judgment of Congress and insure the speedy passage of the bill.

[Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser.]

The Appalachian Park will offer many substantial advantages which the Yellowstone lacks, and we hope the matter will not be allowed to rest until all steps are taken and all the laws passed necessary to carry the project to a successful termination.

[Hartford (Conn.) Courant.]

No part of the United States offers more attractions to the sight-seer. It is ideally fitted for a park and the Government will miss a great opportunity if it fails to avail itself of the present conditions and to secure the lands which can still be had for reasonable prices.

[Toledo (Ohio) Journal.]

This part of the Blue Ridge is recognized as the most salubrious, combining a dry and equal climate, attracting thousands of people from the North during the winter months, and drawing large numbers from the South during the warm season. It enjoys the best properties of a winter park and a summer resort. The climate is healthy, equable, balmy, yet exhilarating.

[Indianapolis (Ind.) News.]

The preservation of forests is a subject to which too little attention has been paid in the past and to which should be given much thought. Already the country is experiencing the bad effects of indifference.

[Tallahassee (Fla.) Tallahassian.]

The wildest and most naturally beautiful part of this country east of the Rocky Mountains is that region where North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia approach each other.

[Chicago Times-Herald, December 24, 1899.]

The Blue Ridge has a climate that is delightful at any season of the year, and as it is only twenty-four hours travel from Chicago, New York, or New Orleans, the mass of the population in the east, even those in moderate circumstances, could readily avail themselves of the advantages it offers as a health and pleasure resort.

[Cincinnati Yolks Freund, February 1, 1900.]

We wish the undertaking complete success.

[Newport (R. I.) News.]

The central location of the proposed park is undoubtedly a strong point in its favor. It is within easy reach of most of the great cities of the middle Western States and the Eastern and Southern States. Apart from these natural reasons, the Eastern States are entitled to a national park.

[St. Louis (Mo.) Globe-Democrat.]

There is every reason why the movement for the establishment of the Appalachian Park in North Carolina should succeed.

[The Harttord Courant.]

The wildest and most naturally beautiful part of this country east of the Rocky Mountains is that region where North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia approach each other. It is a mountain country with an average elevation of 4,000 feet and peaks running up to thousands of feet higher. The tallest mountain east of the Rockies is in North Carolina.

This wild region abounds in timber, and is still a natural and unbroken wilderness except as the lumbermen invade its quiet. They have come. Already traffic in forest land is on and the railroads of the vicinity are loaded with lumber for the market. Let the American people sit by with their accustomed optimistic apathy and before long the forests will be gone, the water courses left to dry up, the bears, deer, and other wild animals killed off, and nothing but a fading memory remain of what now is a great natural park.

The General Government ought to step in, before it is too late, and take possession of the whole region. The Yellowstone Park, far away and to all but a few inaccessible, should be supplemented by this natural reservation, which is easily reached by the great majority of the people of the United States. Take your map and you will find that from Boston on the east around by Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis to New Orleans, Jacksonville, and so on up to Washington every city on the imaginary circuit has railroad facilities bringing it within not more at most than one night's ride of Asheville, the central point in the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky country. Establish a park there and people from every large city this side of the Mississippi would be visiting it in large numbers at all seasons of the year.

As an opportunity for conferring on the citizens of the country a means of great enjoyment, this chance for Congressional action is unique. But that really would be only an incident of the work. In this elevated land are multitudes of clear, sweet streams delivering water to the Atlantic coast and to the Mississippi River. The divide is in the possible park. If the timber is all stripped from these hills, the streams will dry up and the ultimate loss will be serious and widespread. Leading citizens of North Carolina and other States adjoining have recently held a meeting and formed themselves into the Appalachian National Park Association to push the project. It ought to go without much pushing. All that is needed is to set people thinking about it.

Look at what the Government might do, and at what, on the contrary, will be done if the National Government does not come in and protect nature there. Once done the mischief could never be undone. The loss would not be local, but national. Everybody who fails to see the North Carolina mountains suffers a direct loss, whether he knows it or not. Open the region to the whole country and let these sights be assured and available at all times, and the park would be one of the most popular resorts in the United States.

Congress ought to jump at the chance to get possession of the great tract, at least 500,000 acres, said to be purchaseable now at hardly more than nominal figures. The cost of a single battle ship would give us this park available for future generations as well as for ourselves. It is to be hoped the committee will set the work going early and carry it to the success that the American people will wish for it and for themselves.

[The Scientific American.]

Within about a day's travel of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and most of the Atlantic seaboard, and quite as accessible to Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, and St. Louis there are vast stretches of virgin forests—along the line of the Great Smoky Mountains, on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina—that are thoroughly suited to the purposes of a great game and forest preserve. Going up from the lowlands of Walhalla, S. C., to the high plateau surrounding Highlands, N. C., a stage trip of about 30 miles, the late Professor Gray, the eminent botanist of Harvard, tells us that he encountered a greater number of species of indigenous trees than could be observed in a trip from Turkey to England through Europe, or from the Atlantic coast to the Rocky Mountain plateau. The region surrounding that described by Professor Gray, especially to the west, with the headwaters of the Tennessee, the French Broad, and the Savannah rivers, all within a few miles of each other, with fertile valleys and mountain elevations of 5,000 feet or more, and a density of verdure unapproached elsewhere, is an ideal spot for a preserve, where every sort of North American animal or fish would thrive, and where almost every tree or plant found within our borders, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, would grow uncared for.

[The New York Sun.]

A national forest reserve in the Appalachian belt can be established only by the purchase of land, for there is no public domain in that region. The bill now before Congress directs the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase not more than 2,000,000 acres of forest in the Southern Appalachians and appropriates $5,000,000 for that purpose. The lands must be situated within the States of Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. The purpose of establishing the proposed reserve is to introduce scientific forestry methods, conserve the forests, and at the same time permit lumbering in this large area of hard woods.

No one now doubts that it was wise policy to set apart the forest reserves which have been established since 1896 in eleven of our Western States and Territories. The idea was at first strongly opposed on the ground that the withdrawal of so much public land from purchase would retard the development of the States concerned and delay the discovery of new sources of mineral wealth. These misgivings, however, were not justified by our policy with regard to the reserves. The Geological Survey has been engaged since the summer of 1897 in studying the timber, mineral, and agricultural resources of these regions. All of them may be developed as fast as capital and labor seek employment there. In some of the reserves, as in the Black Hills, for example, large industries have long been established. But these large areas can no longer be stripped of all their timber without a thought of tree replanting. The propagation of timber must hereafter go hand in hand with its utilization; and destruction by forest fires that have swept large areas will at least be diminished by proper regulations.

But in our forest reserves the hard woods that have so prominent a place in our lumber industry and agricultural implement, furniture, and cabinet manufactures are scarcely represented. The cedar, tamarack, canon live oak, and tan-bark oak are the only hard woods of commercial importance found on the reserves. Our walnut, maple, ash, locust, hickory, cherry, and beech timber are as yet derived almost wholly from the Central States, mainly east of the Mississippi. Timber planting has not kept pace with timber cutting, and the supply is diminishing. Furniture makers already complain of the scarcity of black walnut.

The only other source of these hard woods is the Appalachian belt from the southern part of New York to Alabama. They grow in largest numbers on the slopes of the southern half of these mountain ranges. On the neighboring lowlands spread away the forests of long-leaf, short-leaf, and loblolly pines, which make the great lumber industry of our South Atlantic States. The hard woods above them have as yet scarcely been touched, but with the diminishing supply of hard woods on the central plain from the Mississippi eastward, lumbermen are beginning to look to the mountains.

The question is whether this large source of supply shall also be depleted or whether, by the methods of scientific forestry, the timber shall be renewed, so that later generations, as well as ourselves, may have the benefit of it. These forests can be protected only by Government regulation, and if the States do not take steps to conserve these large sources of wealth the question whether the National Government should not acquire the right to do so at a time when it is asserted it may be cheaply acquired is certainly worthy of serious consideration.

[The New York Times.]

One of the most interesting matters now before Congress, and one which should attract general attention, is the proposition for the establishment of the Appalachian forest reserve, for which a bill was introduced in Congress a few days ago. This proposed measure directs the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase not to exceed 2,000,000 acres.

[The Wilmington (Del.) Star.]

The efforts of the Appalachian National Park Association are succeeding far beyond the anticipation of the most urgent supporters of this great movement. * * * Prominent and influential men in every part of the country have given their aid, numerous newspapers have advocated the project, and as yet no adverse or unfavorable criticism has been heard or written, and it seems practically certain that with a united movement the park can be secured. * * *

[Washington Post, January 3, 1900.]

The location in western North Carolina of a great national park would be a cause of more pleasure and benefit to more people than any other public institution we can think of at this moment.

[Brooklyn Eagle, January 14, 1900.]

It ought to go without much pushing. All that is needed is to set the people thinking about it.

[Prof. N. S. Shaler, in The North American Review, December, 1901.]

It may be charged that the legislation which established these reservations is, in its tendencies, socialistic, but the most inveterate enemy of that political theory, if he be open to reason, will not be disposed to contend against such action. He will have to acknowledge that these gifts to the community are very helpful to its best interests, and that they could not have been secured by private or corporate endeavor or even by the action of individual States. They can be obtained by national action alone. * * *

Although a national reservation in the southern upland will, perhaps, most commend itself to the people from their interests in the noble forests which it will permanently preserve, there are economic considerations that would of themselves warrant the undertaking. The effect of such a forested area on the streams which have their headwaters in this mountain district would be considerable and most advantageous. Properly located, this park would include the tributaries of rivers which flow to the Ohio, as well as streams that course to the Atlantic. It is evident that, in the future, these water courses, like all others in settled countries, are to be extensively utilized as sources of electric power. Owing to the form of the country, it will not be possible, as it is in New England, to hold back the stream water in reservoirs for use in the dry season of the year; the only economical method will be to have the water stored in the spongy mat which naturally forms in an unbroken forest, and which to a great extent prevents the water courses from becoming beds of torrents in rainy seasons and in other times dry channels, in proportion to its area and rainfall, in relation to the whole of the drainage of the rivers flowing from it, such a forest reservation would serve to diminish the floods which, year by year, become more destructive to the tilled grounds and towns along the lower reaches of our great waterways, and more injurious to their value for navigation. This evil, already great, is constantly becoming a more serious menace, as the steep sides of the mountains are further stripped of their woods. * * *

It is, or should be, an accepted principle that the Government is to provide for public needs when private enterprise, for any reason, can not be induced to make adequate provisions. * * *

Such truly imperial gifts have greatly enriched a part of this country; it will be well, before the remnants of primeval nature have vanished, that the other parts of our realm should have like share in them.

[Prof. W J McGee in the Worlds Work, November, 1901.]

The geographer in studying the Appalachian region perceives that in the wooded wilderness nature provides a vast reservoir system for the storage of storm waters—a system at once so perfect and so economical that all the year's rainfall (and light snow fall as well) is first appropriated to the uses of plant life, then conserved for a time in the subsoil against drought, and finally carried by subterranean seepage to the lower levels, where only the excess above local plant needs and animal demands is allowed to flow through spring and stream and river down the long way to the distant ocean. * * *

Now he may turn another leaf to the closing lines of his lesson and read of that delicate interrelation of natural conditions which has resulted throughout the Appalachian region in the development of a floral mantle to stay the storms, and thus at once to sustain the flora itself and to stop destructive erosion. These final lines run deep into earth science and into plant science and need not be followed save by the specialist. Yet the ultimate axiom is simple, so simple that he who runs might read, so simple as to make it a marvel that observant men did not grasp it at the beginning of knowledge rather than wait until the end—it is the simple axiom that life prevails over death, that plant power is stronger than rock power. Nor can the geographer in the Appalachian region fail to apply the axiom. He may call the application theory, argument, policy, cause; he may whisper it in private council, may announce it in scientific conclave, may proclaim it in legislative halls, may send it ringing through the world and up the corridors of future time to benefit all mankind; he may smother it cravenly in coward breast, or he may sacrifice it to paltry greed, yet if he is honest with his facts and with himself he can not fail to realize that the forests must be preserved, else the mountains will be destroyed.

Only a generation ago science plodded wearily along one side of the pathway of human progress, while statecraft flitted airily along the other side of the straight and narrow path, both led in part by hereditary theories. But within the work time of men now living science and statecraft have drawn well into the main pathway of practical humanity, and in this country at least, they have joined hands firmly; to-day science stands in the Federal Cabinet in all the dignity of an executive department, while the leading statesmen are grasping that modern geography which seeks to assimilate science. So it is but natural that the mountaineers of the Appalachian region, a virile and farseeing race, and various representatives of public interests have come to read alike the public lesson of conservation, the conservation of forests, in order that the very mountains may be conserved. Naturally, too, the applications of the lesson first came home to the hearts of the mountaineers amid their beloved ranges and rivers. They first noted the gullying of hillsides, with the accompanying loss of soil and clogging of valleys and polluting of streams, when clearings were pushed too far up the valley sides. They first observed that the carelessly set forest fire produced, although more slowly, effects as disastrous as those of injudicious clearing. They first noticed that reckless lumbering robbed the land not merely of trees but of soil, of welling springs, and of the trout-filled brook, which were converted into muddy. freshet-ridden streams, running dry in mid summer. They first realized that the stripping of the chestnut oaks for tan bark was but the first step in a cumulative desolation. They were the first to realize the gradual change of brook and river from crystal streams flowing steadily all the season round to dirty danger lines mapped out by disastrous wrecks with every storm, only to lose themselves in mud between storms. Naturally, then, the agitation of a policy began among the mountaineers, and their voices were heard first in local conventions, then in the legislative halls of several States, and finally before Federal Congress and Cabinet. Such, in brief, is the history of the movement toward an Appalachian forest reserve, a movement which may lag or lunge according to the firmness of the alliance between science and statecraft, but which is manifestly destined for ultimate success, to the immeasurable benefit of mankind.

RESOLUTION OF THE LEGISLATURE OF VIRGINIA.

Resolved by the senate of Virginia, the house of delegates concurring, That the general assembly of Virginia, hereby expresses its approval of the movement looking to the establishment by the Federal Government of an extensive national forest in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region as a wise and beneficent measure, such as many other nations have already adopted, and which this country has already adopted in the West and should adopt in the East before it is too late, looking to the conservation of its forests and the protection of the sources of important streams; and

Whereas the proposal to establish this forest reserve has been approved and urged by the leading scientific societies and forestry associations of this country and by both the general and technical press; and

Whereas the general assembly of Virginia has already passed an act granting the State's consent to the acquisition of lands in Virginia by the Federal Government for incorporation in such a forest reserve, believing the reserve to be one of great importance to the people of this State; and

Whereas a bill is now before the Federal Congress providing for the purchase of lands for this purpose:

Resolved, That the Senators and Representatives in Congress from this State are hereby requested to urge upon Congress the importance of prompt and favorable action in behalf of this measure; and that copies of this resolution be sent to the Senators and Representatives from Virginia.

Passed unanimously by the legislature of Virginia, March 21, 1902.

PARTIAL LIST OF PAPERS THAT HAVE MADE FAVORABLE COMMENT ON PROPOSED APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE.

Boston Herald.
Boston Transcript.
Hartford Courant.
New York Times.
New York Sun.
New York Herald.
New York Lumber Trade Journal.
New York Mail and Express.
Great Round World, New York City.
New York Tribune.
New York Evening Post.
Engineering Journal, New York City.
Ithaca Journal.
Albany Times.
Albany Argus.
Buffalo Commercial.
Turf, Field, and Farm, New York City.
Jamestown (N. Y.) Journal.
Brooklyn Eagle.
Brooklyn Citizen.
Times Union, Albany, N. Y.
Outing, New York.
Recreation, New York.
Brooklyn (N. Y.) Standard-Union.
Washington Star.
Washington Post.
Washington Times.
Forest and Stream.
American Gardening.
Southern Field.
Detroit Free Press.
Baltimore Sun.
Baltimore Herald.
Baltimore American.
Philadelphia Call.
Harrisburg Telegraph.
Philadelphia American.
Philadelphia Inquirer.
Pittsburg Dispatch.
Pittsburg Post.
Pittsburg Press.
American Field.
The Forester.
Country Gentleman.
Field and Stream.
Chattanooga Times.
Memphis Herald.
Savannah (Ga.) Press.
Parkersburg (W. Va.) Sentinel.
Roanoke (Va.) World.
New Orleans Picayune.
Louisville Dispatch.
Louisville Courier-Journal.
Citizen, Berea, Ky.
Birmingham (Ala.) Age-Herald.
Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser.
Newport (R. I.) News.
Providence (R. I.) Journal.
Indianapolis News.
Indianapolis Sentinel.
Logansport (Ind.) Reporter.
Terre Haute Gazette.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
The Taxpayer (St. Louis, Mo.).
Lynchburg (Va.) Advance.
Inland Printer.
Engineering News (New York).
Nashville American.
Asheville Gazette.
Atlanta Constitution.
Atlanta Journal.
Richmond Dispatch.
Knoxville Sentinel.
Knoxville Times.
The Observer (Charlotte, N. C.).
Raleigh (N. C.) Observer.
News and Courier (Charleston, S. C.).
Journal (Daytona, Fla.).
Tallahassee (Fla.) Tallahassian.
Standard (Bridgeport, Conn.).
Cincinnati Enquirer.
Cleveland Leader.
Toledo Journal.
Chicago Times-Herald.
Springfield (Ill.) Journal.
Joliet (Ill.) News.
Chronicle (Chicago, Ill.).
Tradesman (Chattanooga, Tenn.).
American Israelite (Cincinnati, Ohio).
Forest Leaves (Philadelphia, Pa.).

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