The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-06-14
THE MARKET VALUE
Of KILLARNEY

A proposition has been made by wealthy
Irishmen in New York to buy the Lakes
of Killarney. The properly is owned by
Herbert and Lord Kenmore 1t is said
the lakes and 1900 acres of land may be
bought for s15O,OOO.
The Lakes of Killarney are situated near
the center of the county of Kerry and are
surrounded by what are called in the guide
books lofty mountains They are greatly
resorted to by tourists and pleasure seekers
and have been made the subject of song
and story, and yet the famous water and
1900 acres of land are offered for $150.OOO.
and of this sum it is admitted that con-
siderable amount is for associatio
It may be said that if American
wishes to purchase real estate for the
scenery this offer of the Lakes of Killar-
ney furnish something like an approximate
standard. If lake, or more accurately
speaking, three lakes the total length of
which is some eleven miles and the aver
age width two and a half miles, together
with 1900 acres of land, the said property
lying and being situated in the county of
Kerry, Ireland, may be bought for sl50,0GO,
how much should an American like SINH
larly located as to mountains, etc, be sold
for?
Without desiring, In the least, to dispar-
age Ireland, it may be said that within the
vast area of the United States there are
at least one hundred lakes possessing
every charm Of mountain, rock and river
that belongs to Killarney. There are not
only those known to the world, as Lake
George, but in the remote woods of Maine
and in the heart of the Rocky mountains.
and in all the wide way between, lakes
upon lakes, as long, wide, and as pic
turesque in every surrounding as Lake Kill
larney. What is the money value of these?
Is anyone able to see wherein the attrac-
ton of a lake in Ireland is greater than
that of a lake in America to the extent,
at. least, that company Of American citi-
zens should invest their money in Irish
rather than in American waters?
Many Americans speak of natural objects
abroad of superior antiquity. But there
is no evidence that Lake Killarney was
created before Lake Tahoe, or that the
mountains of the Emerald Isle rose be-
fore the Green mountains of Vermont. The
North American continent with a history
of four hundred years now show the
works OF man aS old most that is seen
in Europe. and to the relative age of the
works of God in the two continents that
is a question for the biologists.
The works of nature in the old world are
supposed TO have a greater human inter-
est than anything in the scenery of the
United States, but why? Can anyone give
a reason why the field of Marathon should
be visited with more interest than the field
of Bunkel Hill? Why should the battle
ground Of Waterloo possess any superior
drawing power to the field of Gettysburg?
Ddscarding comparisons the United
states possesses lakes, mountains and riv-
erS which reveal every conceivable charm
of color and outline, light and shadow, and
the treasures of the country are not yet
fully discovered and made known. There
Is many jewel of a lake set in Hgon-
drous framework of cliffs and hills and in
the autumn days rejecting the gorgeous
ness of such forest as spreads its boughs
nowhere else in the world, that is not even
called lake, but is designated as Smiths
or Jones pond. There are streams in
America which in other countries would
ripple on immortal canvass, which are
called Crooked Run and Rock creek, I'M
known to artists and to fame Whatever
the present price of American scenery may
be, it is bound to rise.