40 Wall Street, New York 

 April 8, 1918. 



Honorable Swagar Sherley, 

 Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, 

 House of Representatives, 

 Washington, D.C. 



My dear Mr. Chairman: 



I beg to invite your favorable consideration to the estimate of 

 ^50,000 which I understand has been entered among the Na- 

 tional Park estimates for the ensuing year for the improvement 

 and protection of the Sieur de Monts National Monument (or 

 National Park) on the coast of Maine. I am very familiar with 

 the property and the considerations which surround the pro- 

 posal to improve and care for it as a part of the National Park 

 System. Mount Desert Island is unique in many particulars. 

 It is a mountainous isle, surrounded by ocean and bay, and 

 deeply indented by estuaries of the sea. In proportion to its 

 superficial area, it embraces more beauty and presents more 

 opportunities for healthful recreation than any place with which 

 I am familiar in the United States. There is a small fringe of 

 homes of the wealthy which girdles a part of its perimeter. On 

 the other hand, there is a vast expanse of property most ad- 

 mirably adapted for summer homes of people of very moderate 

 means. For that reason, it has been for years a favorite resort 

 of professional and scholastic folk from all over the country, and 

 the people interested in the movement to make it a National 

 Park are looking to the benefit of the large class of brain-work- 

 ers of small means who may find there a source of reinvigora- 

 tion and inspiration at small cost. In addition to that, the place 

 has great possibilities as a bird refuge, for the protection of the 

 wild bird life of the eastern country. 



There are, of course, great demands upon the national finances 

 in the present exigency, but the preservation of this island has a 

 national importance even in time of war, because it furnishes a 

 singularly appropriate resort for the thousands of our men who 

 may come home from across the water in need of the most fav- 

 orable influences for the upbuilding of body and mind. For these 

 reasons, I venture to urge your careful and favorable considera- 

 tion of this proposed appropriation. 



Very sincerely yours 



(Signed) Geo. W. Wickersham 



