The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-07-12
For a New National Park.


At the suggestion of John s. Cooper
of Chicago, President Hill of the Great
Northern railway, Governor Roosevelt,
IL. II. Kohsaat and other prominent
lovers Of nature and of sport, an ef-
fort will be made before the next con-
gress to have steps taken for the erec-
ton in northern Minnesota of ma
tional park or forestry reserve of about
100000 acres, to include all territory
around the headwaters of the Mississ-
ippi river and to be an asylum for
the rapidly disappearing fish and game
of the prmeval northwest.
This" says Governor Roosevelt,
''is doing for the common people what
rich men are now doing for them
selves. 1t is an evil of our times and
of this nation that rich men and rich
mems clubs are buying up choice
tracts of game and forest land and
shutting out from them the common
people The promoters of the pro-
posed new national park have no
other object in view than to try to save
the unrivalled natural beauties of this
great game and fish area from de-
structioE at the hands of careless or
reckless men. The Times Herald Of
Chicago thus gives the history and
purpose of the movement:
Colonel John S. Cooper, a respect
ed and prominent attorney of Chicago,
a man of wealth and a lover of sport,
has hunted over the lake region of
Minnesota for years. More than
eighteen months ago he conceived the
idea that the vast wilderness of the
state north of Brainerd might we'll be
converted into a natioanl park or for
estry reserve. He was influenced by
two motives in revolving the project
in his mind-frst, the duty of the ma
tional government to take such action
as should forever make the headwaters
of the Mississippi common property;
second, the preservation for historical,
educational, sport and pleasure pur-
poses of a region which otherwise. left
alone, is doomed in a short period of
time to become a vast, barren waste,
denuded of timber, crossed by dry
water ways, unfit for agriculture, and
the home of the timber fire. Colonel
Cooper gave his opinion on the subject
| to prominent Minnesotians, and later
| to citizens of Illinois and other states
He found so many enthusiastic over
the project that he finally took
the embryonic plan to President Hill
| of the Great Northern railway, and
| has been that matters have progressed
so far that u national organization is
certainty,
THE plan Of reservation as now
| formulated does not precisa,y fix tho
boundaries Of the proposed park. That
must eventually be done by congress
But as a feeler of public sentiment or
the subject it is proposed that the
reservation shall take in the better
| portion of the counties Of Cass, Hub,
bard, Beltrami and Itasca, and thu
source of the Mississippi river. TIL,
size Of the tract would be practically
about 14O by l25 miles. In the entire
| region there are more than 1000 lakes
The tract does not include the White
Earth Indian reservation, but it doei
include six large and small Indiar
reservations, whose territory is al
ready under the control of the nationa
government. Within the section IL
the state park of Minnesota, whicl
surrounds the headwaters OF the Miss
issippi. OF the whole amount of lane
in the region the government own
100000 acres already the Indians
have 3,600,00 acres, and there are abou
100000 acres of merchantable pin
controlled by lumber interests.
THE physical beauties of the region
It is almost impossible to describe
The interminable chain OF lakes. o
little and great rivers, the standing
timber, the constant succession o
wierd and enhancing views, the dry
ness of the air, the abundance of game
the easy accessibility from civilize
points, form a combination Of clrcum
stances naturally selecting this spo
for forest reserve such as 1t is almos
impossible TO find elsewhere in tn
middle state country. The few VIII
have gone through the region eithe
by the gateway of st. Paul or that Q
Duluth or that Of Moorhead can at