The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-31
TO SELECT CAMPS
SITES FOR TENTED CITIES ARE
 DISCUSSED.
Pennsylvania and Maryland Both Want Eastern Camp, California
 Has Two Rival Locations.
 Chickamauga is Opposed.
Advertiser Bureau,
 Colorado Building,

Washington, Jan. 30.-
 What promises to be one of the liveliest fights ever known before the House Com mittee on Military Affairs opened Thurs day with the question of selecting sites for military encampments in the North South, East and West. =
 Pennsylvania and Maryland ciashed- over site for the eastern camp: Califor- mia will follow with two rival sites, Texas with two, and the North with nopooy knows how many. . ..
 Sometime ago Congress authorized the War Department to investigate eligible sites in the four corners of the United States with the result that the special board. of which Lieutenant General Miles was chairman and Major General Brooke, Ottis and Yuong and others were mem bers favored other sites-"one in the vicinity of Chickamauga Park, Georgia; one at Fort Riley, Kansas; one in the Conewago Valley in Lebanon. Dauphin and Lancaster Counties. Pennsylvania; and one on the Nacimiento Ranch in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, California"
 But all these sites did not find favor in the eyes of the members of the House Committee on Military Affairs and Rep resentative Eschi of Wisconsin. introduced bill providing for the purchase of sites as follows: The Conewago Valley site in Pennsylvania; the Nacimiento Ranch in California; Camp Douglas. in Wisconsin and Camp Sam Houston in Texas; and on this bill the first of series of hear ings was given Thursday. The question of an eastern site was first discussed and Pennsylvania presented the Cone wago Valley site in the eastern part of the State and the Somerset site near Pitts burg, while Maryland offered one near Oakland. Backed by the recommendation of the army board the representatives of the Conewago Valley put up a strong argument. The bulk of their testimony was presented by Brigadier General. Goblin. Adjutant General of the Pennsyl- vania State militia, whose name was be- fore the public in connection with the settlement of the strike in the anthracite coal regions.
 Representative Olmstead, in whose dis trict the Conewago Valley lies, also pre- sented MT. A. D. Smith, president and general superintendent of the Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad Company of Leba- non. Pa, who argued In behalf of the Conewago site. Presenting the claims of the Conewago site, MT. Smith analysed the report of the army board in detail. At Mt. Gretna. which is at one end of the railroad which runs through the site rom end to end there is a summer resort of 6OO oF~mOFe, cottages, an absolutely nealthful site, seven hundred and fifty Feet elevation and water Hike all water rising In sand stone. absolutely pure. It's rivers are fed from springs in the hills" He pointed out that Susquehanna, a mile wide, nearby, afforded excellent practice in 'pontooning." There were trout streams and where you find trout you find con- stant water and pure water" On this site there has been established for the past sixteen years q rifle range for the Pennsylvania State National Guard, one of the best in the country and the only artillery range in the East, affording practice for the United States artillery up to two miles which could be ex ended to three miles if necessary. He thought this ground could be obtained for $40 per acre or total of $7OOOOO for lS,OOO acres. It is easily accessible from the Pennsylvania railroad on the one side and the Philadel- phia Reading on the other. while the Cornwall and Lebanon railroad runs through it from end to end It was much more available to troops from the Eastern States than either the Oakland or the Somerset sites. In addition they had ex- perienced in handling large numbers of troops in the Conewago Valley During the Spanish War they had mobolized 1s 900 Pennsylvania troops at Gretna hand ling them without difficulty. As many as 10000 persons had been handled in one day being loaded on six trains at one time, going in different directions.
 W. A. Smith, Jr., of Pittsburg, repre- senting a real estate syndicate which has options on the Somerset site, introduced Brigadier General John A. Wiley of the Pennsylvania militia who attacked the Cnnewago site and favored the Somerset After a most glowing description of the advantages of the Somerset site, Briga- dier General Wiley came to the subject of the price of the property There is no doubt. about the price of this site," he said. adding emphatically. flor We hold the option" His friends wanted $175 per