The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1908-05-14
HApooop OF PERU
Boston Globe Writer Dcvotes Much
Space to Him.

Space to Him.
A recent issue of the Boston Globe
contained long writeup Of Marshall
J. Hapgood, the sage OF Peru. The ar
tlcle which contains some fact and
some dream talk is as follows:
Not to every man Is II given to own
a mountain and when one is 30 for
tunate and he elects to give his noun
tain, with It's waving forests, Its leap
Ing brooks, and Its sequestered lakes
TO his fellow citizens, without money
and without price, In perpetuity, there
ID naturally considerable interest in
his identity.
That is why the whole state of Yer
mont, for several months past, has
been talking about Hon. Marshall Jay
Hapgood, OF the town of Peru, who
has offered to make Mount Bromley
one of the peaks of the southern ridge
OF the Green mountains, a public do.
main, for the purpose OF promoting the
forestry movement and encouraging
his neighbors and the state to do like
wise, says the Boston Globe.
Mr.. Hapgood's Is an interesting and
notable personality, and, long before
this last manifestation Of his peculiar
faculty for making folks sit up and
take notice, his various enterprises
and activities have made his name
familiar one to Vermonters.
| Whether as member of the state
legislature. blocking needless legisla
ton with an impalacable hand; wheth-
er championing the cause of the deer
and the trout against the extermina-
ting hunters and fishermen; whether
warning on "nabobsv and automobile
lists who invade his mountain simple
lty; or whether dealing straight from
the shoulder blows at race suicide by
the simple expedient Of Offering a f.
nancial bonus to every infant that de-
cides to make Peru the place OF nat
ivity, he Is unique figure.
III President Roosevelt, his term of
office over, should decide to : accept
Mr.. Hapgood's invitation and take a
rest among the Rutland county hills
and toast his shins at the famous out.
side fireplace, which Mr.. Hapgood
claims to have originated, the name
and fame Of Peru and the Peruvians
would be still further spread abroad.
The village of Peru consists of q
church, general store, schoolhouse
summer hotel and half a dozen
dwellings and cottages.
Take to the meadow for couple OF
hundred yards or so and you can catch
II all on a single film OF your camera
II Is smart and cheerful looking
, and It's location, 1000 feet above Sea
. level. Is at the foot OF Mount Bromley
which rises 2400 feet higher to 1t,
wooded summit There are gloriou.
: views and the air is surcharged will
: ozone. No wonder that the octogen
, arians and nonogenarians are common
, in the towns memory. Perhaps 4
was Peru that Simeon Ford had IL
mind when he said that II man diet
/. there before he was 70 they hung
, white ribbon on the door knob and Sc
up a marble lamb over his grave.
Here In the house In which he wa
born. 81 years ago. lives Mr. Hapgood
I He owns many thousand acres O
2 woodland In Peru and adjacent towns
but, although his business is lumber
ing. and he runs three sawmills, be
side being interested in others. h
never allows so much as sled-stak
to be cut In his own woods. He buy
!. from those who are bound to cut, any
I. way, and would sell to other mills
! he refused to buy. Even then MI
Hapgo0d always insists that In cuttin
1 the young trees shall be spared a
I, much as possible.
) He is one OF the most ardent propa
d gandists OF forestry In Vermont, an
). loses no opportunity of impressing tn
e vital necessity of preserving the fol
ests upon his fellow-citizens in tn
> Green mountain state. II was in fu
therance of this idea that he concei,
ed OF presenting the 1000 acres a
ready mentioned to the people.
This tract OF forest land lies In
solid body upon the top and sides {
e Mount Bromley. The larger part {
s 1t Is practically virgin growth an,
e with the exception Of small part this
It was cut over many years ago. has me-
er felt the ak of the lumberman. A
IS land measure Is always estimated O
D. the basis OF a plane surface and TIL
a particular area Is on q steep mountai
II side, II actually embraces much MOI
II than 1000 acres In superficial exten
e II contains the head waters of sever;
" serviceable streams. including the Ba
e tenkill river. which flows to the HUI
" son, and West river which empties
If to the Connecticut at Brattlebor
" Still another, a creek, reaches the
Lawrence by way of Lake Champlai
Mr.. Hapgood offers TO give this te
ritory outright to either the nations
L n of a MOI Ars.vs IN he.
,. hold for all time. The vehicle
lr means Of which this transfer is to |
q accomplished is either an amendmel
:. to the bill now before Congress, or
'' ating national forest reserve in Il
he White mountain and southern Appa
Is achian regions, or the Currier bill no
A pending which authorizes the seer
tary Of agriculture to administer ar
'e direct smaller tracts like this on M
m Bromley for the purpose OF exemplif
Or ing scientific forestry methods and
II. protect watersheds.
:, II is specified In both these propos,
~ measures that the owner OF the Lar
II from whom the title passes, shall ha
en- the right, under the regulations nj
As restrictions Of the government fore
y. try service to cut and remove me
!" charitable timber The object of III
ne provision was doubtless to lessen &
.ly opposition of the great lumber opel
tors In the mountain regions.
Mr. Hapgood pledges himself not
take advantage OF Il In his own ca
= and says that any income deriv
from this source shall be devoted
ns school and road purposes, or, bett
yet, to the maintenance OF Carnel
of library in Peru, which he has set
"a, heart on obtaining from the steel kir
~, The three-fold objects Of Mr.. II;
lai goods offer are these: To provide
In object lesson in modern forestry me