The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-09-16
ABOUT A THIRD OF CONGRESS-
1T WILL BE REPRESENTED On
THE LEIGH LAKE
JUN[Ei
Col. Cooper Says That I3I Senator's
and congressman Have Signthed
Their Intention of Joining the
Party.

Arrangements for the trip to the Leech
Lake Indian reservation, to be taken
| by a large congressional delegation Sept.
% under the guidance of Col. John >.
| Cooper, of Chicago, have been COM
pleted and the trip promises to be one
of the greatest junkets of the kind ever
made in the Northwest.
Assurances have been received from 131
congressman and United States senator's
of their intention to take the trip to the
heart Of Minnesota pineries 1t is be-
Heved that within six months congress
will set aside the described district on
the Indian reservation as a great state
park, comprising 1900 square miles The
natural beauty of the region and the
great desirability Of setting aside part
! of the small forest area that now re-
mains have been fully exploited and dis
cussed, and the trip is arranged with a
view to demonstrate to the solons the
arguments that have been advanced.
Col. Cooper returned from Walker yes
| terday, where all arrangements were
made for the entertainment of the dis
| tinguished guests Sept. 29. He was &C.
companied by T. H. Shevlin. Charles
Cristadovo, F. l. Whitney, Henry S.
- -.
Green, Dr. c. A Schenck and Lieut.
Jamerson. The itinerary of the trip is
as follows: The party will leave Chi
cago over the Chicago. Burlington &
Quincy the evening of Sept. 2S on spe,
cial train consisting Of eight diners and
sleepers, arriving here the next morning
when the Great Northern will take
charge of the train and take it to Cass
Lake. Steamboats, will carry a number
Of rtio bo
tie river and lake, exploring the wonder
land of that section. At Cass Lake and
Walker ample accommodations and en-
tertainment have been provided for the
visitors.
Col. Cooper, in conducting the congress
sional party north, is further1ng the sub
ject nearest to his heart He Is a true
sportsman and a lover of nature in "all its
primeval simplicity" as he expresses it.
He was colonel in the One Hundred and
Seventh Ohio volunteers, which was COM
posed of three companies from President
McKinley's home, and 1t was perhaps the
encouragement given the project at it's
inception that led Col Cooper to such
a great undertaking, that of getting the
national government to set aside 1,5OO
square miles Of valuable timber lands
as a state park. Col Cooper, discussing
the project yesterday, said:
On my first trips through the Indian
reservation I looked about me and saw
the beautiful rivers, lakes and virgin
forests and realized that it was all rap
| idly passing away. The thought was
| suggested to me to reserve a tract that
would be protected as a public park
where the man of limited means could
go and enjoy all the glories of nature
At present wealthy people of large
means cooperate and organize sports
man clubs, lease and purchase tracts Of
| land, to such q degree that 1t would not
| be long until they would have everything
| fenced up, and as much of trust on
recreation and sport would exist, as in
the economic world. We therefore have
right to ask the government to set
aside a little tract of land that everyone
may be on the same basis, the rich and
poor alike. The Mississippi valley, the
best pastoral and agricultural valley in
the world, should be recognized by our
government.
The matter was first brought to the
attention of President Mckinley in a let
ter which I wrote during the "tubilee"
in Chicago last year. I received a very
| favorable reply from the president, al
! though he did not at the time commit
| himself. 1t was finally determined to
| get together as many of the congressman
as possible and bring them up here to
view the section on which we propose to
| ask congress to reserve as a great park
1t includes five Indian reservations, and
any one who has been over the ground
will agree with me when I say that it
contains the most beautiful body Of
| White and Norway. pine in the coun-
| try.