The Sidney herald., 1956-05-10
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<fsf $50
Our Native Land
DV Jean Packard
National Parks Association. Washington Z DC

broke ground for the canal o.
July 4, 1928. This was the frs
sustained effort to connect tn,
country west of the forested Al
leghenies with Philadelphia, Bal
timore and Washington. 1t was q
years before the waterway reach
ed Cumberland, Md, where i
stopped. BY that time the cana
company was out of funds, anS
growing railroads had cut into it:
business.
But the canal served usefully
for many years, carrying the pro-
duce of farms and mines of west
ern Maryland to tidewater mar
kets. In 1871 some $40 horse
drawn bargeS used the canal, car
rying $4,000 tons of commodi-
ties.
In 1924 the canal was aban-
doned and became the property
of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail-
road. From the B&O the federal
government acquired the right
of-way in 1888. Since that time
restoration has been made in a
few spots, but no concerted eff
fort has been made to rebuild
the canal, the locks and gatekeep-
ers' houses, as a vivid reminder
of a colorful part of our early
history.
Those who know the canal in
timately consider it a wilderness
refuge where people can escape
the trials and tensions of modern
civilization. Justice Douglas said:
Zone who walked the canal its
full length would get to know
muskrats, badgers and fox; he
would hear the roar of wind in
thickets; he would see strange
islands and promontories through
the fantasy of fog; he would dis
cover the glory there is in the
first flower of spring, the glory
there is even in a blade of grass;
the whistling wings of ducks
would make silence have new
values for him. Certain it is that
he could never acquire that un-
Outstanding going so, or even Is,
miles an hour"
Nor is this strictly a local or
even national controversy. On his
return from a recent visit, JUS
lice Douglas said he found peo-
pie in both India and Russia
who knew as much about the
co Canal as he did, and who
we're intensely interested in the
subject. The Russians, however,
we're somewhat confused. They
wondered why a Supreme Court
Justice would have to spend so
much time and effort convincing
others that this highway should
not be built. In their country a
government official would
merely state, "You will not build
this road" and that would end it.
Dissenters would conveniently
disappear.
The National Park Service
(who has jurisdiction over the
undertook a resurvey Of
Is entire length recently. under
he craftsmanship of Ben Thomp-
on. The committees recommen-
lation withdraws the Services
ormer plan of building a park
way close to the canal along its
PIPER lengths, and they are now
eeking legislation to turn the
rea into a national historic park.
'inal plans have not yet crystal
zed, but the recommendations
all for the highway to be 10
ated on the bluffs just above the
anal, with occasional feeder
pads so campers and mixers will
ave access to the curving tow
ath along the bank. The canal
nd its immediate surroundings
'ould he left in a natural-un-
,uched state. Locks would be
the canal refilled in spots
here it is now empty, and the
locale will provide a
sautiful wild area in an historic
,tting that has been termed
,me Of the loveliest countryside
lst of the Rockies.
Studies are being continued on
Ie lower stretch between Great
alls and Washington to deter
inc the best location for a hi
ay that will not impair the
sauty of this part, which is the
ost widely used recreational
ga in the nations capitol.
'oh0vah W1tnocenc