When in Trouble, Head for the Hills.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. (KJV) Psalm 121:1

The hills of the Ozarks have been my companion throughout my life. They are part of the cypher and symbols that always call me back home. It usually doesn’t take over an hour to scale its’ crags and hollers; but, they can forever capture a my mind when I'm far from home or sitting on the front porch in the evening.

In the following article, an Ozark native also considered the Ozark hills as a haven during times of national peril. 

 

 OUR WASHINGTON LETTER

Washington, March 7

The removal of the capital of the United States to the Ozark Mountains in Southwestern Missouri is the startling proposal and in a memorial introduced in the House of Representatives this week by Mr. Shartel of Missouri. The communication comes from the editor of small Missouri paper located at a microscopically undiscovered point and instructs the Representatives in Congress of the “show me” state to introduce bill for the transference of the seat of government as proposed “for sanitary, economic, and other reasons. The Honorable Mr. Elliott, who is responsible for the petition urges the change especially for sanitary reasons, suggesting that a great deal of the inefficiency and crookedness at Washington is possibly attributable to the malarial condition of the atmosphere. Furthermore, he does not like the capital located on one edge of the country, open to the attack of what he calls “the unfriendly powers of the old world” adding that if it were located in the Ozarks such an attack and the consequent destruction would be impossible. Germany might bombard Washington with her war ships, but never a city buried in the mountains of Missouri. Congressman have been quick to appreciate Mr. Elliott’s thoughtful and sympathetic fears for their health and bodily safety but at the same time they seem to prefer the depressing conditions and dangers of Washington to the attractions of Missouri.  The petition has been buried in a convenient cubby hole of the Committee, and it seems to assume that the government will continue to do business at the old stand for a few years more at least. 

Work Cited:

“Our Washington Letter.”  The Bourbon News. Paris, Kentucky 26.20 (09 Mar., 1906) 3. Chronicling America. Library of Congress, Washington D. C. 1 Nov. 2010. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/