The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-04-02

49, - 0SGA - -
ofom Country Can Best Be Dev,
Of Go
WASHINGTON. April There are
a good many Yankee notions that
are really worth while. and the most
Q fthem are OF very practical sort.
For example, something over twenty
i've years ago the United States min
lister to Switzerland was New Eng
lander who was an enthusiastic be-
lever in the out Of door life. He
thought that every man ought to go
out into the fields and lanes and wash
his lungs with pure air and lift up
his soul with views Of the open coun-
try with its marvellous variety OF
growing things and the vastness Of its
stretches Of hills and valleys and for
ests and streams. all held under the
undesirable bowl OF the heavens as
II 1t were In the hollow OF the Al
mighty's hand. He had been a friend
OF Thoreau and practiced what he
preached. The opportunity for out OF
door recreation was so great in Switz-
erland that he asked fellow towns
man, young engineering student in
that country, to make walking tour
OF Switzerland and write his expert
ences for number of New England
newspapers. For three months the
young man footed 1t over the roads
from Appenzell down by the lakes of
zurich and Lucerne over into the st.
Moritz valley, to Como and Lugano,
back again to Lake Lucerne and then
to Chamonix, through the valley of
the Rhine, over to Grindewald and
Thun to Berne. Everywhere a COM
Portable inn, or tavern, made the even
tngs as pleasant as the days were de-
lightful; everywhere men Of distinc-
ton were encountered tramping along
leisurely and enjoying a kind of life
that was a revelation to the young
American. At times his walking COM
panions were famous German profess
sors, for several days high officer
OF the Union Pacific railroad journeyed
over the same paths with him, two
of the leading physicians Of Boston
kept company with him at another
time, and men well known in English
professional and manufacturing life
were with him on many stages Of the
tour.
Good Roads Necessary.
All this would not have been pos
sible without good roads. The Amer
lean would not have had any compan-
ions on the road otherwise. He would
have found 1t impossible to look up
unto the heavens" or to view the en-
trancing landscapes had he found it
necessary to pull his feet out Of the
mud at every weary step, and there
would have been neither health nor
enjoyment in the long tramp through
mountain passes and sheltering for.
ests and by the side OF beautiful lakes
hidden in the heart Of Alpine fast
nesses to hospitable inns at the close
OF day. As Samuel johnson wrote:
There Is nothing which has yet been
contrived by man by which so much
happiness is produced as by good
tavern or inn: and It was in the inns
Of Switzerland that the pedestrians
found his sweetest solace after his
days in the open twenty-five years ago
even as today they stand with open
doors to welcome the passing stranger
to hospitable fare. They were run
then, as they are ruin now, to height
en- the delights of tourists on the
tramp cor when journeying by other
means. They were not only built to
take care of creature comforts but
they were all, even the humblest Of
their kind, bureaus Of intelligence for
the information Of their guests as to
the best way Of seeing the country
with the. least expenditure Of effort.
This little tour into the heart of the
world was made quarter OF century
ago and many thousands Of other
Americans have followed the same
itinerary in all the years that have
followed; and some of them at least
have brought back to their dear
America" suggestions of. how the I'M
equalled beauty and resources of their
own land might also be made an open
book for the entertainment and profit
of a teeming population that would
like to live out Of doors. 1t is only
within the last few years, however,
that any effort has been made to de-
velop the scenic glories of the United
States, and the more the subject has
been studied the greater the enthus-
iasm with which it has been received.
During tho present year committees
and promoters of one sort and an
other have been flocking to Washing
ton with stories Of the wonderful
lands Of promise lying within a few
days journey Of all parts Of our great
domain, mountains Of majestic height,
forests Of illimitable reach, waterfalls
Of exquisite beauty. canyons Of al
most unfathomable depths, fields Of
everlasting snow, slow moving gey-
sers, miles of flowers and herds Of
well nigh forgotten creatures of the
wild, all inviting the world. weary of
the artificial ways of men, to the open
spaces where nature revels in its
widest moods. At the White House,
for the entertainment of the .presi-
dent; in the theaters, to the great de-
light OF packed audiences; IN the clubs
for the enlightenment of the scientists
who do not know how It. was all done
because there is nothing in their
theories by which It can be measured,
and to the newspaper folk with the
hope that they might be able to in
termit Mutt and JEFF" for one day
at least for the people who take an
Intelligent interest in substantial
things, and before committees OF Con-
gress that they might appreciate the
importance Of opening the wilderness