The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-12-13
THE LATE NIAGARA FALLS.
Protest Against Its Forcible We'd
ding to Utilitarian Purposes.

FROM the toronto ilObe
| Civilization is passing over the face
| of the continent as resistlessly as the
movement of the glaciers. denuding 1t
of forests, slaughtering its wild ami
mails and birds. obliterating every
touch OF natural beauty, degrading the
grandeur of natures handiwork,
Strengthening out streams. squarinS
ponds and bays. leveling hills and VAL
! leys, and diverting cataracts to power
tunnels. Even the cataract of Niagara
will soon be chasing it's tail in tur-
bine wheel like a Gagged squirrel, as far
degraded from the grandeur of its ma
jestic pluneing over the precipice iuto
| the roaring gorge as the squirrel with
worn toenails and denuded scalp is de-
graded from the fascinating and grace
full freedom in which he bounded and
sailed from limb to limb. Pitfalls are
opening for Niagara as traps are set
for the squirrel, and in a little time the
once majestic water will be running an
endless race in the revolving cage. We
have not yet reached that pitch of civil
iza;ion in which the bronze that per-
petuates beauty and power is melted
and rolled into shoe-pegs and window
fasteners. But hope springs eternal
Already we have learned to destroy the
unapproachable and irreparable works
OF nature that they may grind pulp and
run street cars. And progression is the
law of the raceA If the destruction OF
the Niagara cataract can make a. town
grow up that grew up somewhere else
before or would otherwise have grown
up somewhere else, if it can so modify
the struggle for existence that some
will be able to lie a little longer in the
morning while others will have to rise
a little earlier, the achievement will be
hailed as q success But how about
the property rights of those who have
gone over the cataract in barrels and
through the whirlpool in fool-killers?
That is the only claim or protest which
can have any legal standing. The fame
of those who went over the falls or
through the rapids will disappear with
the cataract itself, and their prospects
as magazine writer's and fall fair at
fractions will be blighted forever. They
will certainly assume grounds for legal
action on account of the destruction or
the value of their property without
compensation.
The men who have bought cameras or
invested in merry y-go-rounds may also
feel that they will have claims for
damages. There may be some SYM
pathy even for the few who like to hear
the roar of the cataract and feel the
presence of it's majesty. But to avoid
legal actions, or at least mitigate dam
age claims. it would be stroke of
genius to make provision for certain
Niagara days in all future concessions.
1t would he a splendid thing to be able
to announce that the Niagara Falls
would he turned on from a. m. till
1910 p. m. on q certain date, when en-
cursionists would have an opportunity
of seeing the great wonder of nature in
it's original condition. OF course it
would destroy all revenue from skating
rink, stone quarry and other franchises
In the bed of the river, but that loss
might be no greater than the loss
through damage claims If no provision
were made for an occasional Niagara
day. If all future concessions contain
n stipulation that once Il month the
tunnels he closed and the great river
made to pour over the American and
Horseshoe Falls, there could be perl
odical Niagara days, and the glory of
the barrel and boat heroes and hero
ines would remain undimmed, We could
even organize a Niagara Old Boys as
ISOLATION. At present the people who
saw the falls before the gorge was pro-
famed by trolley lines are afraid TO visit
the place for fear the picture in their
minds would be irreparably daubed and
spotted. But with a regular Niagara
day arrangements might be made for
the suspension of all concessions. The
cataract could also be turned on to well
come and honor distinguished visitors.
But, in spite of all these advantages,
the value of the wasted power and the
river bed concessions will no doubt out
weigh all arguments in favor of per-
manent Niagara days. Macaulay fore
saw the destruction of Britain and the
naked fisherman washing his nets I'm
the Thames The cataclysm may come
in another form, and instead of the
barbarian fishing in the river of ten
thousand masts, we may see the man
wearing factory-made diamonds run
ming his automobile along the ledge
where once the Niagara torrent plunged
over into the gorge.