Idaho Springs siftings., 1903-04-11
WHAT THE PARK BILL MEANS.

We do not believe the people of Idaho
Springs realize the amount of good that
will be accomplished for the city and dis
rict in the event the Jackson Park bill be-
comes law. No matter what the resources
of a section may be if the outside world
knows nothing of them it remains the same
as if it was barren of every resource and
God forsaken in every sense. Nature fur
nishes the raw material but it requires the
application of capital, brain and Drawn to
bring something of beauty and utility and
added value from these.
Idaho Springs is the place where gold
was discovered in the Rocky Mountain reg
ion-this is fact that has not been dis
puted but when the legislature of the state,
by its enactment, sets its seal upon this
claim there can be no further question.
That point alone means a great deal
When it can be said that the little gold
bearing area around Idaho Springs is the
Oldest producer of gold in the Rocky noun
tains it is saying a great deal. And when
it can be further shown, as it easily can.
that for the past forty or forty-hve years
the same district has produced as faithfully
and as steadily as any agricultural section
ever produced corn or wheat it is saying a
good deal. 1t means that the Idaho Springs
district cannot be classed with the mush-
room camps that rise in a night and are
withered by the sun of the following day.
And by this statement we do not mean to
be narrow enough to say that some camp
that opens up tomorrow may not be greater
than Cripple Greek or any other in the
world, for such might be the case. 1t does
mean however, that there is a certain stabil-
ity about the Idaho Springs district that
must command respect and attention from
the investing public. 1t is known value
and has been proven as such.
But the park will mean more. 1t will
mean that the representatives elected by the
people are cognizant of the great resource
for which the state has become famed over
the entire world. 1t means that the birth
place of this great resource and industry is
respected by the people and that their re-
presentatives are willing to build a monu-
ment and locate park to perpetuate the
memory of the old pioneer-the diamond in
the rough-who was the first to find the
precious metal in the Rocky Mountains and
give the world an opportunity to enrich it
self from the treasure locked in the eternal
vaults of granite.
Such park can be one in which not
only Idaho Springs but the entire state can
feel an interest and a pardonable pride.
Idaho Springs is the park, the breathing
spot for the people of the states capitol.
1t is the place where they come in summer
to enjoy a vacation. They will be pleased
to enjoy the benefit that might be derived
from such park. They will take pleasure
in showing the younger generation the
statute of the man who braved the hard
ships of the mountain wilderness in the
days when there were no residents and
peril, hazard and hardship were the princi-
pal features of life.
The park can be plated out, trees can be
arranged in good shape, water can be had
in abundance and on the very spot where
the discovery was made the happy people
can enjoy rest and comfort 1t will not
only become a great feature for Idaho