The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-01

valley looked like. Now it is practically adj
mitted by the same influences that scored
me in 1899
"The only thing deserving the name OF
Improvement that has been done this year
has been the placing at iSst Of needed guard
rails at several points.
''Stone walls. over which people may look
without danger. have been placed at
'CIarks Point over Vernal Falls, and at
two or three other dangerous points on the
trail to VERBAL Falls and Nevada Falls.
"One has been placed on the Glacier
Point trail. Gaspipe railing has been placed
at the head of Nevada Falls and people can
now 60 out and look down 500 feet. An
other railing has been erected al Valley
View Point, where enc can look down 1900
feet, and another at the head of Great
Yosemite Falls, $500 feet: above the valley
floor.
'They are saying now that $4,000 could
be spent with advantage on the river alone
now. ::
Advantage to which,. the river or the
ring? :
''They are talking about building faseines
in the MERGED River to protect its banks.
"The MERGED River is one of the most
beautiful streams on the face Of the earth,
and pow they propose to build stone walls.
turn it into ditch, and make 1t look like
the river Seine in Paris.
Look at these views Of the river. What
do you think of protecting with stone walls
such spots as those? - =
Then they propose to take out the cob
bleStone bars in the river. The cobb.estone
bars are not good enough forthe Yosemite
Commission, but they seem to be good
enough for the Almighty, who has been
doing the work so far.
"They have decided to tear out Clark's
dam that was built at the mouth of Mirror
Lake in 1889 to raise the water. There
were bars in the lake, and with their usual
sapieBcy. instead of digging the bars out
they decided to raise the water. Now the
lake has filed up with the deposits, and all
the beautiful trees and shrubbery that
! used 10 surround its edges have been killed
by the rising water. There are oak and
pine trees that had been growing 400 years
there undisturbed that are now unsightly
Stumps, and the lake looks like milldam
in forest But they don't know any
sbetter.
y. NJ. Hutchings did more with the
SO. coo under lis control IN 1880 and 1881
than has been done with all the money the
State has appropriated since.
1.-THE railroad ring gets from S125. 900 to
$4,000 gross receipts a year out of
Yosemite Valley aud all the improvements
made are on the Hotel del Monte plan and
all without exception for the exclusive
benefit of the Stoneman House. What they
call improvements other people call
destruction.
when leftthe valley recentIy,there were
herds of Coffman and Kinney's horses run
ming free all over it. These people, who
have the exclusive livery and saddle train
privileges 10 the valley, take practical pos
session of the grazing facilities Of the valley,
and campers who pay for privileges can
fad no good grazing places. Then the loose
herds roaming about eat and destroy things
generally.
"Coffman and Kinney used to pay $500
rent, but it was reduced to 500, and | un-
derstand further reduced to $3.50, Oh condI-
ton that they keep their stock up and stall
feed them. This has never been done and
the board knows IT thoroughly and ic0nnive
at it.
''It the Government had control it would
10 lCaN4 W oPNhN hipAOJ ~ manu- ~ ~
pleaSure-ground for all mankind, instead of
private farm. The United States would
spend more money than the State does and
in a far mere judicious way. The place
! would be advertised more widely, and it
would be run under a more broad-gauge and
liberal policy. 1t would make the roads
leading into the valley free and there would
be more of them.
'MaripOsa County has been trying for
years TO get free road into the valley. but
this stage company has always success
fully fought it of on one pretext or another.
Their toll-road and stage-line monopoly is
quite profitable. The fare by stage for the
round trip between Raymond aud the val
ley is said to be $40. and the distance is $50
miles. Between Visalia and Moore and
Smiths Mills, a round-trip distance of no
miles, the fare by stage is 81.
''The Government has made all around the
valley the largest public park in the world
and the valley should be Incorporated with
it. The terms OF the grant TO the State have
been violated in every clause. This state
ment can easily be substantiated and the
sooner the National Government resains
cont oil the better.
IAN article recently appeared In a morn
ing contemporary, evidently contributed to