Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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Senator Pritchard's Speech

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  • Southern Appalachian Forest Reserve. SPEECH OF HON. J. C. PRITOHABD Mr. PBITCHABD said: Mr. President: I desire to briefly discuss the bill authorizing the purchase of certain mountain lands in the Southern Appalachian region to be used by the Government for the purpose of a national forest reserve. This bill at present appropriates $2,000,- 000, with a proviso that later on $8,000,000 additional are to be used for the purpose of purchasing the lands in question. Mr. President, it is the well-settled policy of the Government to appropriate money whenever it becomes necessary to do so in order to facilitate commerce and transportation in those States along the coast, as well as those through which our large rivers flow. This policy has had the sanction of a majority of the people throughout the country, upon the ground that any expenditure which facilitates transportation and encourages the development of commerce is legitimate and proper. The people of the section embraced within the Appalachian region have not in the past been the recipients of the benefits arising from legislation of this kind, and this is the first proposition which has been offered that has had the slightest bearing upon their welfare as a people. The region embraced within the territory referred to in the pending measure comprises the highest mountain peaks east of the Rocky Mountains. The mountains and hillsides in this territory were originally covered with dense forests. The ruthless and indiscriminate cutting of timber by the lumberman, as well as the forest fires, have tended to denude many of these mountains of a great per cent of the original growth of timber. The cutting of timber by the lumbermen at first was confined to the more rare and valuable trees, such as walnut and cherry, but after the railroads rendered this region more accessible the cutting of birch, locust, poplar, oak, chestnut, and other valuable species began, and the operations of the lumbermen have to-day extended quite beyond the main lines of transportation by the construction of tramways, short railways, etc. As a general rule, the lumberman who has operated in Tennessee and western Carolina has been a resident of other States. Such being the case, his interest in the region in question begins and ends with the hope of profit. The necessity for protecting these mountain forests from destruction has been recognized for a number of years, but until recently there has been no well-defined effort to secure the protection of this region against the wanton destruction of timber, which is having such a disastrous effect 5211 3
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).