St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-07-12
PRESS COMMENT.
Development of our Natural Re-
sources.

Development of our Natural Re-
sources.
The fact that thirty-five members
OF the Appalachian Mountain Club of
Boston are at the Inn for ten days
stay for the purpose of visiting the
mountain resorts in this locality
| Cancels Hump and Mt. Mansfield
certainly means much not only to this
locality but to Vermont as a whole.
1t is a fact that our own people
are just beginning to realize what we
have in the way of natural resources
for summer resorts. The develop
ment of our mountains as peasure
spots is simply IN its infancy.
If one-half the energy expended on
the New Hampshire mountain resorts
were applied to the mountains of
Vermont the latter would be just as
we'll patronized as the former.
| The time is near at hand when our
Vermont mountains will all have
modern hotels, which will be built
by out-of-the-state capitalists who
can see future for our mountains.
We would not be surprised to see
some of the large railroads take a
hand in bringing our green hills to
the front, which will mean large
| hotels and trolley lines extending to
Hump and Mansfield. The future
| looks bright Waterbury Record.
A Vermont Attraction.
A feature of vermont's attractions
has been brought to notice again by
the feat of several St. Johnsbury
boys who have explored cave in the
town of Peacham, on the Houghton
/ farm so-called, and told about it
through the newspapers. Probably
| the same performance has been done
many times before; but people in
general throughout Vermont were
not aware that there was a cave of
such magnitude in Caledonia county,
so that the exploration. of the boys is
of fresh interest. Entering assure in
the rock, the boys descended 26 feet
with the aid of ropes and then de-
scended ten feet more to a rock
shelf, where the expedition stopped,
although the hole in the earth reach
| ed much further inward and down
ward, as they were able to ascertain
| by hurting stones into the darkness,
to hear them strike water many feet
beneath, perhaps as many as one
hundred feet. In addition, there
were many side caverns, which were
not explored because the youths were
dlIOdQy dnu QIOWSy WILL lie
cold; and we are left in doubt as to
the size of the opening in the earth.
However, the main cavern is won
derful enough to interest explorers in
the interior of the earth's crust, and
Vermonters need not go to Virginia
or other distant sections of the coun-
try to see a miniature Mammoth
or Luray cave. Furthermore, let it
be announced that there is such an
interesting natural cleft in the earth
and we shall add to the repute of
Vermont as a wonderland worth Wis
iting. If we were real circus per-
formers we would seize upon this OPP
portunity to hawk our wares.-I The
Barre Times.
A Splendid Tribute to Vermont.
1t is not impossible that the Ros-
sitter libel may prove to be an eventu-
al benefit to Vermont, although a tre-
mendous effort will be necessary to
counterfeit the harmful results of that
undesirable publicity. 1t has stirred
up our people and the habit of talk
ing to the country as whole may
become so firmly established We will
keep at it after the Rossiter article is
forgotten.
Another benefit will result from the
operation of the spirit of fair play
in connection with the Rossiter libel.
A host of papers throughout the
country are taking up the cudgels in
behalf of the Green Mountain state,
and some gratifying publicity is re-
Sulting. ~
The Providence Journal, one of the
most influential papers in New Eng
land, printed the following on July 6
Nearly year ago correspondent
of New York newspaper, who may
well have been a graduate from one
of that city's numerous bureaus of
misinformation, sent a story to his
paper to the effect that inside infor-
nation regarding census returns dis
closed the fact that Vermont had lost
in population during the decade;
that all except a very few of it's cities
and large towns had lost in numbers;
and so on, all going to show that the
state was in rapid decline and was
soon likely to attain moon-like dead
ness--minus the moonshine. The story
was sheer fiction. It was Immediate
ly denied by the Vermont census SUI
pervisor, who was in a position to
know. He declared the state had not
| lost in population.
1T is an old saying that "a lie will
travel a leagne while truth is
putting on its boots Upon the pub
| lication of the New York story, ed
| itorial comments appeared all over
the country condoling with the people
of Vermont and sagely commenting
upon the unfortunate conditions
which did not exist. Comments of
this kind have continued ever since.
The Vermont papers are kept in a
constant state of protest. They call
attention to the census figures, in re-
| SD 49, oE
ulation, and they give facts which
prove that Vermont's industries are
generally in healthy condition,
while its citizens are reasonably pros
porous. The denials avail nothing.
The original lie is still in circulation
and is still believed The impression
that Vermont is dying state seems