Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-11-03
THE APPALACHIAN RESERVE.
President Made Strong Plea on I'm.
nortant Subject

That th,. establishment uf Il uariun-
al forest rrS,.rv,. in tiI.. southern Ap-
palarhian mountains is Il matter Of
national concern MAS dwrlt upon with
emphasis by President RunS,.vrlt in
his ;lldrr$S at Raleigh. y. G.. "n
October ~ Iit puintrh out how vi
tally Sruihr.ru forests affect southern
industries and thus the "ntir" r"un-
try Ills remarks "n this point fol
low in full;
Il want tn say Il word To you on
Il special subject in which all thu,
country is rnrrrrnrd but in which
North Carolina has Il special concern.
Th, preservation of the forests L. vi
tai To tn" w"lfar" of every country.
China and the Mrditrrr:inrin roun-
tries offer examples "f the terrible
effect of drfnrrStHti"n upon the phySi-
cal geography. and therefore ulti-
matrly upon the national wrll-brinS
of the nations. one nf the most OBJ
viouS duties which our generation
owes Ia the generations that are 10
come after US is Ia prrScrv" the tX-
listing forests. The prime difference
between civilized and unririliZrd pep
plies is that in civilized pe0plrS each
generation works not only for its own
we'll being. but for the wrllbriug Of
the generations Yet unborn. and If We
permit thu natural resources Of this
land To be- destroyed So that We hand
over tn our children heritage di-
mniShrd in value W. thereby prove
our unfitnrSS To stand in the fore
front "f civilized peoples.
zone of the greatest Of these heri-
tagrS is our forest wealth. 1t is the
upper attitudes of the forrStcd noun
tainS that are most valuable to the
nation AZ Il whole. especially because
of their effects upon the water sup
ply. Neither state or nation can af-
ford Ia turn these mountains over To
the unrcStraincd greed Of those who
would exploit them ut the expense of
the future. We cannot afford To
wait longer before assuming control
in the interests of the public. of these
forests: for if We do wait. the vested
interests of private parties in them
may become so strongly intrtnchrd
that il may be- a most expensive task
10 Dust them. If the eastern states
are wis., then from the Bay of Fun
dy To the gulf We will see. within TN"
next few years Il policy set on foot
Ill, Ia, that fortunately carried
out in the high SirrraS of the west
by the national government. All the
higher .AppalachanS should be- re-
served. either by the states or by tn"
nation. ! much prefer that they
should be- put under national control.
but il is Il mere. trIiSn To say that
they will not b. Reserved either by
rhr states or by the nation unless You
y,.nrl, uf tn" south show Il strong
interest therein.
such RESERVES would br Il paying
investment. not only in protection 10
many interests. but in dollars anu
cents tn tn" government. The I'M
pnrtamcc tn the southern people ot
protecting the southern m"untain tor
rSt$ is nhvinuS. These forests are the
best drfrIS.. against the floods which,
in the r"c"mt past. have. during II Sin-
gle twr!vr-munth. destroyed property
uilirially valued III nearly twic" what
il would cost To buy the southern APP
ptachiHn RESERVE.
"Thr maintrnaucr of your southern
water powers j. not less important
than ih.. prevention "f Hoods. because
if they are injured your Manufacture
ing interests will suffer with them.
The prrIrtuatun Of your forests.
which have done 81 much for the
south should b,. un- nf the first OBJ
jrctS "f your public men. The tw"
senators from North Carolina have
taken an hnnorablr part in this
movement. E}ul | do not think that
the I,.uIpl, Of North Carolina. ar "f
any other southern state. have quite
graSIn.i the Importance "f this move
mrn To- thr commercial development
ami prosperity of the south"