The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-07-05
THE APPALACHIAN PARK.
The Bill in Good Shape for Congress
 in December.

Washington, July 4-(special)-C gress has adjourned without making ! law the Appalachian Park Bill" which provides for the purchase of lands In ths Southern Appalachian Mountains for . national forest reserve. The bill Is now on the House calendar, on the list knowr as privileged bilis." or those to have the right of way at the next session o' Congress Introduced by Senator Pritch' ard of North Carolina, it was passed by the Senate with the following amendment offered by Senator Bate: That this aet shall not take effect until the Secretary of Agriculture has reported to Congress, with proper plats of each reservation showing the metes and bounds. attitudes of mountains. sources and courses ot rivers and streams, areas cultivated ana uncultivated, acreage, and such features of the country which will properly de- fine and exhibit its character"
 The House Committee on Agriculture, to which 1t was then referred. agreed to the provisions of the original bill, strik- ing out the amendment.
 The cause has won many friends. though the very charm of the region at- fected by the bill has itself made it hard for the average legislator to realize the economic advantages to be gained by establishing there @ national forest re- serve The fact that these mountains are the water shed of so many States Is so easily lost sight of in the memory Of enchanting scenery in which mountain tops, like minerets reaching upward, re- mind one of the Cathedral at Cologne ''all its lines aspiring toward the heav- ems and seeming to be supported from above rather than from the earth be- low"
 Skyscape rivals landscape, reflected In sparkling lakes and streams and coquet- tish little pools lurking here, there, and everywhere, in the mountains. or in the valleys.
 The beauty of the flora and the variety of the midicinal plants, make this region school of botany unrivalled In the world. It is a statistical fact that in no forest trees be found. Many of them have attained such majestic size as to be called Kings of the forest
 It Is a school of mineralogy as well. Though no great mines have yet been opened, nearly every known gem has been found in North Carolina alone. A resicent of Washington, an enthualast familiar with the region. predicts that it will prove the eighth wonder of the world. Certainly nowhere else has na- ture provided such a school of forestry, botany and mineralogy, so accessible and in such environmentl
 The Southern Railroad and it's connec- tons intersect the Appalachian Park like a checkerboard. bringing every salient point into view. and will make of the national forest reserve an object lesson to thousands of tourists already habitues of the route from North to South. where tens will visit the more inaccessible na- tional forest reserve of the West.
 The report of Secretary Wilson to the Senate Committee on Agriculture. Is now in the hands of the public printer. It is an exhaustive treatise on the subject from a scientific standpoint. It will be profusely illustrated. and wilE antlcI- pate many questions thereby allaying any remaining objections.