PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 281 



be perverted, and one of which (as the old darky said about the water- 

 melon) you cannot have too much. It is a pleasure which lasts from 

 youth to age. Therefore there is nothing which in the interest of pure 

 enjoyment we ought more to desire and study to diffuse than the beauties 

 of nature. 



"Fortunately, the love of nature is increasing among us. It is one 

 of the tests of civilization that people should enjoy this simple pleasure 

 instead of those more violent and exciting pleasures which may become 

 the source, in extreme forms, of evil. The love of nature, 1 say, is hap- 

 pily increasing among us, and it therefore becomes all the more im- 

 poirtant to find means for safeguarding nature. The population is in- 

 creasing, too, and the number of people who desire to enjoy nature, 

 therefore, is growing larger both absolutely and in proportion. 



"But, unfortunately, the opportunities for enjoying it, except as re- 

 gards easier locomotion, are not increasing. The world is- circumscribed. 

 The surface of this little earth oif ours is limited, and we cannot add to 

 it. When a mian finds his house is too small, he builds more rooms on 

 to it, but we cannot add to our woirld; we did not make it, it was made 

 for us, and we cannot increase its dimensions. All we can do is turn it 

 to the best possible account. Now, let us remember that the quantity of 

 natural beauty in the world, the number of spots calculated to give en- 

 joyment in the highest form, are limited, and are being constantly en- 

 croached upon. 



"There are four forms that this encroachment takes. Theire is the 

 desire of private persons to appropriate beautiful scenery to themselves, 

 by enclosing it in private grounds around their houses and debarring the 

 public from access to it. We in England and Scotland have lost some of 

 the most beautiful scenery we possess because it has been taken into 

 private estates. 



"Then the enjoyment of natural beauty is largely encroached upon by 

 the operations of lumbermen. I do not blame them; tim'ber is wanted 

 and they want to drive their trade but the process goes on too fast and 

 much of the charm of nature is lost, while the interests of the future 

 are forgotten. 



"And lastly there is the question of water power. Fortunately you 

 have a great supply of splendid water power. I am far from saying that 

 a great deal of it, perhaps most of it, may not be very properly used for 

 industrial purposes, but I do say that it has been used in some places to 

 the detriment and even the ruin of scenery. It has been used in Niagara 

 for instance to such an extent as to change completely the character of 

 what was once the most beautiful waterfall landscape in the whole 

 world. 



"Taking all these causes together, you can see how many encroach- 

 ments there are upon the unique beauty of your country; and I beg you 

 to consider that, although your country is vast and has scope of natural 

 beauty far greater than we can boast in little countries like England or 

 Scotland, even your scene>ry is not inexhaustible, and with your great 

 population and the growing desire to enjoy the beauties of nature, you 

 have not any more than you need. Fortunately, you have made a good 



