Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-10-31

wonderful, would be SAFE from ueSpolld
ton, for this instance would be point
ed out as an example where the ma
ton had sanctioned a most destruc-
tive trespass upon one of the greatest
scenic wonders of the world.
"It is difficult to convey to those
who have not visited it an adequate
idea of the Importance and grandeur OF
our great national park. Most persons
confuse it with the Yosemite valley
whereas that portion of the park en-
bracing the Tuolumne watershed is by
far the finer half This portion of the
park includes the Hetch Hetchy val
ley, the grand canyon of the Tuolumne
and the Tuolumne meadows.
One of the Greatest Canyons
1.-THE grand conyon OF the Tuolumne
is one of the greatest and most stu
pendous canyons in the world. Let
anyone take a topographic map of the
Yosemite quadrangle and one of the
grand canyon of the Colorado and COM
pare them. He will find that in the
case of the grand canyon of the Colo
RADIO there Is a vertical drop of nearly
5000 feet from the hotel on the rim
of the canyon to the river at the bot
tom. But this is in a horizontal dis
lance of two miles. There are places
in the Tuolumne canyon, however
where there is q vertical depth of al
most 5000 feet in a horizontal distance
of one mile. While the Tuolumne
canyon lacks some of the sculpturing
and celebration which the Colorado can
yon possesses, it has other charms
which are none the less attractive and
wonderful Spires, domes, castellated
promontories, lace-lake waterfalls
pouring over sheer walls Of dizzy
height, the mighty, laundering cas-
cades of the river with their water
Wheels which cannot be matched even
in the Yosemite, and a hundred les
ser charms of forest and fowery mead
ow All this drains directly into the
Hetch Hetchy valley, and is not sep
arated from it by a distance of TWEEN
ty miles, as one of our opponents would
have us believe, but Is q part of those
twenty miles. While now somewhat
inaccessible, except to the hardy
climber it can easily be made ac-
cessible at not a great expense, and
in time the government undoubtedly
will make it so.
The TuoIumne Meadows
'"Then Just above and on the same
river are the Tuolumne meadows. Pro-
feSsor Joseph LIE Conte, the late emil
nent scientist, described them as a
beautiful grassy plain of great eX-
tent, thickly enameled with flowers
and surrounded with the most mag
nificent scenery. To anyone wishing
really to enjoy camp life among the
high Sierras, know of no place more
delightful. The scenery is nc
where more glorious
when we keep in mind the fact that
John Muir, Stewart Edward White and
others who have camped in all parts
of America, and, in fact, the world
agree that our Sierra is the finest camp
ground of them all, we can commence
to gain some faint idea of what this
means
The Artificial Lake Idea
'The city's advocates say that dam.
ming the Hetch Hetchy will make a
beautiful lake of it and enhance the
scenery. 1t ought to be sufficient an
swer to say that John Muir, William
Keith and those who know the valley
best deny this. It is sophistry invented
to mislead the uninformed. Camping or
living on the floor of the valley oil
anywhere in the immediate vicinity
would be rendered impossible and one
of the great scenic camping grounds
in the park absolutely destroyed. This
fact has been overlooked. Five thou
sand people could be accommodated
in the Hetch Hetchy valley in camps
the Tuolumne meadows and Yosemite
1.-THE state road from Mono county is
now built up the eastern slope of the
Sierra and was recently completed tC
it's connection with the old Tioga min
ing road, and will be one of the great
highways of travel across the Sierra
which will pass through these mead
ows and cross the main river. 1t Is
certain that any one of the other avail
tt
tected by forest reserve, will be sub
ject to less liability of contamination
than will the Tuolumne supply with
the constantly increasing trave
througout its source in the Yosemite
national park.
Congressional Action
"The public lands committee of the
house of representatives was evenly
divided in it's report on this use of the
Hetch Hetchy after the hearing during
the last session. The chairman of the
committee prepared an adverse report
which was signed by four others, In
which he said:
"I am of the opinion that the city
has failed to establish it's contention
that the Hetch Hetchy is the only rea-
sonaly available source of water sup
ply in the Sierras, and that, therefore
the interests of the people of all the
country should be waived on behalf OF
San Francisco in its claim to the eX-
elusive use of this valley
"a majority of the senate committee
was opposed to granting this right tc
San Francisco, and if a vote had been
forced at the last session the grant
would have been defeated The reso-
luton was not brought to vote
Strenuous efforts will be made by the
city to get this grant confirmed by the
next congress, but there is a sentiment
throughout the nation which is grow
ing more powerful every day to bring
about a revocation of the grant. II
may not be this year and 1t NAV not
be next, but the day is bound to come
long before the valley can be mutilated
by the damming.
Esthetic VS.. Unitarian
1T take issue with those who say
that the esthetic must give way to the
unitarian. The millions of dollars in
vested in city parks and public gal
leries and museums are a refutation OF
this statement. 1t is not all of life to
eat and drink and sleep and be clothed
The wage earners and wealth pro-
ducers may not all be able to visit the
Yosemite national park, but many OF
them have already done so and more
will follow. In time, / predict that the
wage earners of this state will be doing
as the citizens of Germany now do,
who deprive themselves of luxuries
and save throughout the year that they
may spend few. days of rest and rec
reatioin with their families in the
scenic regions of Europe.
'sVVhen that time shall have arrived
those wealth producing pilgrims to the
Yosemite national park will revere the
name of John Muir and call him