Creator

John Muir

Recipient

R[obert] U[nderwood] Johnson

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Transcription

The .Advisory Board of Army Engineers "is of the opinion that there are several sources of water supply that could be obtained and used by the City of San Francisco and adjacent communities to supplement the nearby supplies as the necessity develops. From any one of these sources the water is sufficient in quantity and is, or can be made, suitable in quality."We are preparing data based on the reports of the Army Engineers which will demonstrate that San Francisco can obtain abundance of pure water from other sources than the Tuolumne Hetch Hetchy.So important a bill should not be rushed through Congress without mature consideration and time allowed for its opponents to be heard. Anything less would be unjust to the American people. Therefore,in behalf of all who appreciate our mountain parks and believethat they should be preserved, we call on you to aid us in postponingconsideration of this destructive bill until the next regular sessionof Congress.Ever since the establishment of the Yosemite National Parkby Act of Congress, October 8th, 1890,constants strife has been goingon around its boundaries and is likely to go on as part of the universal battle between good and evil however much its boundaries may be broken or its wild beauty destroyed.Over ten years ago when the first application was made forthe use of Hetch Hetchy as a San Francisco reservoir the Secretary ofthe Interior then holding office emphatically denied the right,sayingin part:"Presumably the Yosemite National Park was created such by law because of the natural objects, of varying degrees of scenic importance, located within its boundaries, inclusive alike of its beautiful small lakes, like Eleanor, and its majestic wonders, like Hetch Hetchy and Yosemite Valley. It is the aggregation of such natural scenic features that makes the Yosemite Park a wonderland which the Congress of the United States sought by law to preserve for all coming time as nearly as practicable in the condition fashioned by the hand of the Creator - a worthy object of national pride and a source of healthful pleasure and rest for the thousands of people who may annually sojourn there during the heated months."In behalf of all of the people of the Nation we ask your aidin putting an end to these assaults on our NATIONAL PARKS and to prevent this measure from being rushed through before it can be brought to the attention of all the millions of people who own this park.Faithfully yours,John MuirP. S. EDITORS are respectfully requested to write brief editorials and news items informing the Public and calling on them to write to their Congressmen and Senators and protest; and are welcome to publish the foregoing letter in whole or in part.[illegible]-2-

Location

San Francisco

Date Original

1913 Jul 15

Source

Original letter dimensions unknown.

Resource Identifier

muir21_0582-let.tif

File Identifier

Reel 21, Image 0582

Copyright Statement

The unpublished works of John Muir are copyrighted by the Muir-Hanna Trust. To purchase copies of images and/or obtain permission to publish or exhibit them, see http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections/Fees-and-Forms-.html

Owning Institution

The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.

Copyright Holder

Muir-Hanna Trust

Copyright Date

1984

Page Number

Page 2

Keywords

John Muir, correspondence, letters, author, writing, naturalist, California, correspondent, mail, message, post, exchange of letters, missive, notes, epistle

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