Evening star., 1928-03-01
Defends Great Falls
For Natural Beauty


There Is much In Mr.. Kernodle's pro-
gram for Capital improvement which
meets general approval, but the point
which apparently was the chief occasion
of his writing cannot, in my view, be so
spoken Of. Mr.. Kernodle wishes to see
the Potomac Valley from Chain Bridge
to Great Falls utilized for the produce
ton of power. and In order to make
that view acceptable enlarges upon the
esthetic attractiveness of that plan. A
high dam would be more impressive
than Little Falls, and, though the bulk
of the valley is to be taken up with a
vast mass Of water, still he sees room
for the development OF magnificent
park. Some people have little feeling
for natural scenery, and / dare say
there are many residents OF Washington
who would be more impressed by big
work of man than they are by palisades.
islands and diversified flats.
So far as the esthetic result Is con-
cerned. however, the facts are against
Mr.. Kernodle and his party. I have no
doubt the dam project could be so car
ried out as to secure some impressive
and pleasing result but the net result
would be a vast loss. I believe that 10
out of 10 landscape artists would agree
with this statement, as well as a large
majority Of persons at all qualified to
Judge. The key to Mr.. Kernodle's plea
is found in the last paragraph: "The
immense water power going to waste
near Washington" The like Is true of
all other pleas on that side OF the ques-
ton. Practically no one really be-
lieves that. from the point of view from
which parks are created, the flooding OF
<1,n "a q
were any money In the scheme We
should be told what beautiful place
Rock Creek Park would be If only some
one would build a dam across and fill II
up with water.
There are many situations in the
country where the presence of dam
adds greatly to the beauty of the scene
In the southern Alleghenies and Blue
/, Ridge there are almost no natural bod
les OF still water, and excellent results
can be obtained by impounding the
water of a stream. Probably many
Neutrality-suspicious. the coming Summer
will visit by auto the Deep Creek Res
ervoir. near Oakland. Md, which
stretches out many miles through the
hills. and adds much more to the scene
than It takes away. / know, however,
a case of very different kind.
visited the dells of the Wisconsin River
at Kilbourn. where the river has worn
winding canyon throgh the sandstone
rock. It was one of the finest pieces OF
scenery east of the Mississippi. l visit
ed the spot again in 1911. A high dam
had been built for the benefit OF Mil
waukee. piling the water up around the
base of the cliffs. The scene Is still pic
turesque, but no one would dream of
saying that its charm has not been
diminished. Something is gone that
can never return while the dam re-
mains.
The case of the Potomac is Of the
latter order. Washington has already a
liberal allowance of waterscape, but
We have nothing else like the Potomac
Valley with Its high cliffs. running water
and falls, It's islands and wooded flats.
Forty years ago. Great Falls was long
way of to most Washingtonians. and
even Cabin John was not very near. Now
our population stretches with little inter-
ruption up to Cabin John, and the whole
area Is at our door. 1t is our natural
playground and ought to be made q
thing of beauty. not alone for our graft
fication, but for the entertainment OF
innumerable visitors.
The real question Is not whether II
would be a sacrifice OF beauty to flood
the valley, but whether the sacrifice
ought to be made on economic account
/ beg to call attention to fallacy In
the economic argument. Immense
power now going to waste" sounds as II
| this power could be had merely by going
and scooping 1t up AS matter of fact
the power can be utilized only by the
expenditure Of millions Of dollars. When
the figures for the general scheme were
presented few years ago. unless my
memory Is much at fault. II was not
claimed that the investment would yield
more than a moderate return. or pos
sibly 9 per cent. There are other ways
Of investing money, but. granting that
there would be a moderate loss. the
country can we'll afford to meet 1t for
the end in view An ideal treatment
OF the valley would yield perpetual
satisfaction. the value of which cannot
be estimated in dollars A while ago
some one suggested the use of Frank
lin Park as public garage! The city
could better afford to lose S25. 1000, 900
than give up Franklin Park. It would
be a national disgrace TO surrender the
Potomac gorge to an industrial plant,
Finally. the development OF water
power at this point would encourage
the industrialization OF the region. and
that Is Incompatible with the creation
OF an ideal capital All arguments To
the contrary are OF the same order as
those IN favor Of the proposed dam.
EDWARD S. STEELE.
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