A meeting was held in the office of George S. Powell on this date, at which the following persons were present;- Mr. C. D. Beadle; Mayor J. E. Rankin; Mr. E. C. Chambers; President Good Roads Association; Mr. F. M. Weaver, President Board of Trade; Col. J. P. Kerr; Mr. Donald Gillis; Mr. Overton Price, and Mr. Geo. S. Powell.

Mr. E. C. Chambers was asked to occupy the chair, and called upon Mr. Powell to state the objects of the meeting, who stated that the main object of the meeting was to ask the Forest Commissioners to take such steps as might be necessary to make the National Forests of the Southern Appalachian mountains available to the people of the South for pleasure and health purposes.

Mr. Powell said; During the summer, when Governor Craig was here, this question was brought up, and we suggested to him that it was about time to start a movement to see if it were not possible to have the Government set aside part of the purchased reservations in parks, developing these parks by building good roads, so that they would be accessible to the people of the south for health and pleasure. The governor stated that he was with us in the movement, but that he was very busy and did not have time to take the matter up, but if we would develop a plan here to get this matter before Congress, or the Commission, he would endorse it, and we could use his name. This was very wise on the part of the Governor, because it has made us very careful about announcing or starting a plan to bring this about.

We have already held one meeting here of representative citizens, at which most of you gentlemen were present, when we discussed the matter thoroughly, and we decided, before asking the governor to take the initiative in the matter, to confer with representatives of the Administration, and get their ideas as to the best plan of inaugurating a movement, so a committee was appointed to push the matter, and it was arranged that this committee should go to Washington. Meantime Mr. Hall, Assistant Forester, came down here and we went over the matter with him.

Going back a little further than this meeting; it was thought it would be better to get it started by somebody out of the State- some Western Governor not so directly interested, but Mr. Hall thought we would make a mistake by doing so, for nobody would have the interest or enthusiasm in the matter possessed by the people of this section.

Mr. Bryan then came down, and accepted an invitation to go to Mt. Pisgah, and it was planned that Gov. Craig would be with us, but he was unable to get here. On the trip to Mt. Pisgah we got some additional ideas that we have developed, and this morning, when discussing the matter with Mr. Beadle and Mr. Price we decided to call this meeting, and to present to you the plans that have suggested themselves to us as being the most feasible, and we want you to take this up and consider it, and if it meets with your approval, to take such action as you think best.

The plan is about this; We will ask Governor Craig to write the Governors of the Southern States to come to Asheville some time within the next three or four weeks as his guests at Grove Park Inn for the purpose of conferring about the desirability of asking the National Forest Reserve Commission to increase its purchase of lands in the Southern Appalachians, so as to make larger areas of Forest Reservations available to the people of the South for health and pleasure.

Mr. Seeley, who desired to be with us to-day, but telephoned that he was unable to be present, is in hearty accord with us in the movement, said also that if we could get these Governors to come he would be glad to entertain them and their families at his own expense at Grove Park Inn.

This, in brief, is I believe the plan that we had outlined, and now submit to you, and as Mr. Price, who has been connected with the Forest Reservation for some time (and is in touch with the situation at Washington, is with us) I would like to have him speak to you and give you his views on the matter.

Mr. Overton Price said that there was practically nothing that he could add to what Mr. Powell had stated regarding the situation; the movement which you have originated in so public spirited a manner, is an admirable one. Your purpose is not to criticise the methods employed by the Appalachian Reservation Commission in the acquisition of Mountain Forest Lands in the South under the Weekes Law, but simply to suggest to the Commission that with the purchase of these lands for conservation and the protection of timber, the element of public enjoyment should also be a feature of their operations, and that instead of purchasing small detached bodies of land widely separated and also more or less inaccessible to the public they should be, from this on, of a nature that will constitute, altogether, one considerable area in the mountain section, so located that it will be available for the service of timber protection, and at the same time will be of great utility as a southern playground and recreation ground for health and pleasure. This he understood to be the object of this movement, and he was heartily in accord with it. He thought it would be advisable to confine the movement for the present to one that calls for a slight change in the attitude of the Commission; that in addition to the conservation of the timber and water supply the question of enjoyment should also be borne in mind, and that we should not ask at this time for special legislation but leave the matter in the hands of the Commission; thus it would be incumbent upon the Commission to urge the special legislation if it saw fit, and personally he would like to see this modification of the policy of the Commission take place soon.

As Mr. Price understood it, the appropriation to the Commission would be exhausted soon; it was a continuing appropriation of two million dollars a year for five years, with but two more years to run. The question of the continuance of that appropriation after the present one lapses is more or less problematical. So I would suggest to you that it be urged upon the Commission that it advocate the purchase of Park lands if the appropriation is continued, but also that they devote what remains of the total appropriation of ten million dollars to that purpose.

Colonel J. P. Kerr stated that since Governor Craig had come back from his vacation at Asheville he had not had time to talk over the matter with him, but he knew that Gov. Craig is in favor of any plan looking in the direction indicated by previous speakers, and that he would gladly do anything to further the project, however he was not in any too robust health and contemplated a trip to Hot Springs in order to get rid of rheumatism that had been causing him trouble, and if a meeting of the Governors were to be summoned by Gov. Craig it would be well to take the matter up at once so that this trip and the proposed meeting might not conflict.

Mr. Chambers suggested that probably the best time to have this meeting would be while the Governors were in attandance at the Appalachian Good Roads convention.

After some discussion it was agreed that it would be best to have the date of the meeting fixed so that it would not necessitate a second trip to this territory on the part of the governors, and it is especially desirable to have it early so that advantage might be taken of the good weather to take the visitors for a trip to Mt. Pisgah, but the invitation should be sent out independent of the Appalachian Good Roads Convention, and should be a private invitation from Governor Craig.

Mr. Price stated that about six million dollars had been expended in the purchase of Reservations, covering about 700,000 acres in the Southern Appalachians and 100,000 acres in the White Mountains, the average price of the Southern lands being $4.50 to $5, and somewhat higher in the White Mountains because of the purchase of virgin stumpage there. The Commissioners are bound to make the money go as far as possible in the acreage purchased, and that has forced them to the policy of buying small detached areas because these happen to be the areas that can be bought at the lowest prices. If the Commission were to realize that public sentiment is strongly in favor of the purchases of larger areas that would be available for immediate use and enjoyment by the people they would look with favor upon such a policy.

Mayor Rankin remarked that the suggestion was to have Gov. Craig invite the governors here for the purpose of consulting with them and showing them the country and to ask them whether the Appalachian region could be used for the purposes suggested.

Mr. Weaver moved that we advise Governor Craig of the facts connected with the meeting of the Appalachian Good Roads Convention, to be held Octr. 22 and 23, and suggest that he invite the governors of the southern states to come to Asheville as his guests to meet in conference on this Appalachian movement immediately after the Good Roads convention meetings are over, and all expenses attached to the meeting be borne by the local organizations. The movement was seconded by Mr. G. S. Powell, and unanimously adopted.

Mr. Powell remarked that this was going to bring us up to another proposition that we would have to be looking forward to, and that is a permanent organization to further this movement. He thought possibly it would be well to await the suggested conference of Governors and await developments before forming such an organization.

Mr. Weaver remarked that of course it would be necessary to have an organization to take care of this meeting, and this sub-committee would be perpetuated.

Mr. Powell moved that those present constitute a preliminary committee to carry on the work until after the meeting of the Governors. Seconded by Mr Gillis, and adopted.

The meeting adjourned subject to the call of the President.