Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-10-29

HHHE proposed and planned conser.
walton of the power of the Po-
tomac river above Washington
the submergence of many localities
and topographic features long familiar
to Washington people. and the CONVEX
sion of the river from Great Falls to a
point near the Little Falls into a lake
call to mind plan for conserving the
high wooded lands along the river. II
was a plan to which considerable pub
licity was given at and following the
National Conservation Congress held al
st. Paul, Mimi, in 1910.
Former Ambassador Bryce, in speak
ing on the future of Washington city,
said:
1.-The Potomac has two kinds of beau
ty-the beauty of the upper stream.
murmuring over a rocky bed between
bold heights crowned with wood, and
beauty of the wide expanse, spread out
like a lake below the city into a vast
sheet of silver. On the north, east and
west sides of Washington, and on the
Virginia side also, the country is sim
guarly charming. quite as beautiful as
that which adjoins any of the great
capital cities of Europe, except. of
course, Constantinople with it's wonder
full Bosporus. No European city has
so noble a cataract in it's vicinity as
the Great Falls of the Potomac, a mag
nif1cent piece of scenery which you will
of course, always preserve. Nature has
done SO much. and you have yourselves
already done so much, that you are
called upon to do more. You have such
a chance offered to you here for build
ing up superb capital that it would be
almost an act of ingra titude to Provi-
dence and to history and to the men
who planned the city here if you did
not use the advantages that you here
enjoy.
William NJ Ellicott of Baltimore, a
delegate to the st. Paul Conservation
Congress, suggested the creation of
great national park bordering on the
District of Columbia. 1t was pro-
posed to accomplish this by acquiring
reservations along the Potomac, Patux-
ent and Anacostia rivers, covering
territory between Washington, Annap-
oils and Baltimore. and preserving the
palisades and banks of the Potomac
from Mount Vernon to and beyond the
Great Falls. A committee of the
American Institute of Architects on
the conservation of natural resources
Glenn Brown. William NJ Ellicott,
James Knox Taylor and Cass Gilbert
drew up a report on this proposition
and said:
THE people of the United States need
an object lesson on forest conserVa-
ton. 1t will be a benefit not only to
the people around Washington, but it
will be an example which will be fol-
lowed by all the states of the Union.
Your committee wishes the institute to
indorse this measure and desires the
officers of the institute to actively
participate in securing the necessary
legislation to make 1t realization"
The committee said that a forest res
eryation in this location would be I'M
der the eye of the Department of Agri-
culture directly in charge of the for
estry bureau, accessible to all who
visit the capital, whether from this
country or abroad. 1t would be, a means
of educating the people in the advan-
tases of forestry, and it would present
an object lesson to members of Con-
gress, furnishing Information and data
fer them to carry back to their dis
tricts and states.
In iso7-lslo F.W. Besley. state
forester of Maryland, made a survey OF
the Maryland counties included in the
proposed national forest He said that
in establishing such a national forest
il would be desirable to include as far