Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1911-12-16
STATES NATURAL BEAUTY
A COMMERCIAL FACTOR
Argues Mrs. Helen D. Long,
street in Card

The attention of the railroad COM
mission in its consideration of the
Georgia Railway and Power Company
for a fifty million dollar bond issue
in the midst of their destruction of
the states property at Tallulah, is
airsced to he fac that permiss on
for this bond issue will implicate the
railroad commission with the corpo-
ration, in defrauding not only the
people of Georgia, but the innocent
public beyond the borders of our
state.
Millions of dollars pour into
Switzerland every year, attracted by
the scenic beauty of the country. 1t
is literally true ha a large measure
OF the steady prosperity enjoyed by
the Swiss people is due to this enor-
nous volume of money flowing into
their country year by year from for
eign tourists. The Swiss people have
recognized the value of this by care
fully preserving the scenic beauty
which attracts these people, by the
building of good roads to make the
more attractive points accessible, and
the maintaining of good hotels at
, which travellers can be accommodated
No people on earth emigrate less
than the Swiss; no people love their
. country more devotedly, and there is
a distinct connection between this
intense patriotism and heir pictures
que mounain country.
, Northern Italy, Norway and Sweden
also enjoy a measure of the income
which flows through Europe as a re-
suit of scenic beauty. In our country
Yellowstone Park is a national reser-
vation, the white mountain district
of New Hampshire is carefully pre-
served. But in all the white mountain
region there is nothing which remote
approaches in grand beauty, Tallulah
Falls, in the mountains of Georgia.
AS a business proposition it is wise
to preserve our heritage, the natural
beauties of the land. But there are
those who do not measure everything
lby the almighty dollar, even in the
degenerations of this commercial age;
and tehy find a meaning of larger
:, value in the conservation of the
scenic beauties of our state, than ey-
en- the resultant profit. The people
favored by naure in respect to the
scenery of their countries, are always
devotedly patriotic; and not only so,
but they emigrate less than he people
whose countries are less attractive.
The only exception to this rule is Ire
land, and the emigration from that
country has been the ersult largely of
ian does not emigrate; he loves his
country too well; the Southern Ital-
ian, less attractively situated, moves
by multiplied thousands. The Appa-
lachian region of our own great coun-
try, has produced patriots who during
all the years of our national struggle
have stood for the things that are
best worth guarding in our republi-
can civilization. The people of this
romantic region more than a hundred
years in our French and Indian wars
stood for American rule in the west
ern hemisphere At Kings Mountain
and on the Kanawaha they illustrat-
ed the valOr of the conquering races.
They had imbibed love of country,
many of them within sound Of Tallu-
lah's roar. The men who would con-
tribute to the destruction of the nat
ural beauty of this region are vandals,
however, polished they may be on the
surface. They are as Napoleon said
of the Russians, Tartars under the
, skin; vandals under thes kin.
Today we have in Georgia the spec
tacle of water power trust, which
F, for the sake of piling gold into the
hands of a few, would destroy the
great natural beauty of the state. If
! the whole state was to benefit by his
it might by some people be consid
cred pardonable-but when this is
done in order that few speculative
promoters may reap unearned mil
lions, it is absolutely objectionable.
HELEN D. LONGSTREET,
Prest. Tallulah Falls Conservation
Asso.