Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1908-03-06
THE |NTERSThTECLU
Organization Near Chattanooga
Is For Whole Nation.
BOTH FOR LIONS AND LsmES
Prominent Men ef All Parties on Its
Rostsr-spisndid Property viii Cost
Millions and Be Miles In Extent.
Preserves For Game and Fish.

Walden's ridge, near Chattanooga,
Tenn, will. If certain large plans now
afOot go through, become within a year
or two the home of the greatest coun-
try club in America. If not in the world.
The organization, which will be
known as. the Interstate club, has al
ready been formed and is founded on
the idea that there is room in the
United States for great nonpoitical,
nonsectional association to which citi-
zens, big and little. of every state in
the Union may repair for recreation
and friendly Intercourse.
The club will have distinguished
membership. Senator j. C. S. Black
burn of Kentucky Is president, and
President Roosevelt, Vice President
Fairbanks. former President Grover
Cleveland and William J. Bryan are
members. Some of the vice presidents
are Secretaries Root and Taft Speaker
Cannon, Leslie NJ. Shaw, Truman H.
Aldrich, Joseph Sibley, Nicholas Long
worth. Charles s. Towne, Robert ].
Lowe and Senator McLaurin.
The club Is chartered under the laws
Of Tennessee and has acquired large
tracts of land on Walden's ridge. COLI
tiguous to the Tennessee river and In
the vicinity Of famous Signal point.
The site for the clubhouse Is on a
high plateau overlooking thirty miles
of beautiful country. The extensive
plans contemplate the erection of an
amphitheater and the maintenance of
fisheries. game preserves. golf links,
polo grounds and trotting track and
the building of an electric railway from
the level of the Tennessee river TO the
clubhouse doors.
Engineers are now at work laying
out within the club grounds an auto
mobile boulevard that will be thirty
two miles long and eighty feet wide.
BY reason Of the vast tract owned by
the club and the tableand formation
the curves OF the boulevard will he 50
few and so gradual as to be hardly
curves at all.
Another plan is to make the club
members profit by certain locks and
dams now being built across the Ten
nessee river. The clubhouse site has
been fixed at point that will overlook
what will be three mile lake whan
the locks and dams are complete. By
means Of the lake II will be possible
for members to 60 from New York and
other places clear to the club aoat in
yachts.
The initial outlay for improvements
will run into the millions. The club
house alone will cost S1,0O0,GO0 and the
automobile course $600.000.
The club will be inaugurated on June
25 at banquet on the tllb psoi.'"ty,
Men Of prominence will We present.
There is to be nothing exclusive about
the Interstate club. Founded with the
idea that it should be nonparti%an and
nonsectional, It will seek to attract
men from the country over. The ex-
penses Of membership will be small,
$50 initiation fee and about the same
amount yearly dues.
With a membership of from 250,003
to 100000 it is expected the club will
nave uO uluCuilS III the way VI hLdL'N
ing itself. All money received as initia-
tion and dues will go to, defray club
expenses and to the reduction of such
debt as the organization may assume
at its beginning.
Although the club is nonpartisan ana
nonpolitical, its projectors believe 1t
will WELD large influence In national
and industrial affairs through its op-
portunities of informal discussion. Men
| Of prominence and influence can meet
there, talk there and obtain the opin-
ions of others there without fear Of
committing themselves to anything and
without fear of what they may say
being considered official.
Work on the clubhouse will probably
be commenced next summe.. When fin
ished, 1t will on account of its south
erly position be convenient all year
| round resort for its members.