The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-06-03
YOSEMITE VALLEY.
RECOMMENDATION OF CALI
FORNIA PRESS ASSOCIATION.
Would be More ERectually Nam
aged by the General Gov
eminent.

|
after an excursion to Yosemite Valley,
passed a resolution favoring the reced-
ing of $1,000 acres, known as the Yo-
semitic Grant, to the Government.
| This action of the newspaper men will
call forth divers expressions of opinion;
| but in the main, public opinion has
been forming in the direction indicated
| by the Press Association.
The Government granted the Yo-
semitic Valley to the State of California
for the purposes of preservation. The
State sought and obtained the cession
OF that great natural wonder on the
theory that the Government would part
with its title to private individuals, and,
in order to prevent the interposition of
a private ownership and to keep Yo-
semitic Valley open to the public as a
great recreation park, the State sought
and obtained concession of $4,000
acres of land comprising the valley.
! Conditions have wholly changed. 1t
is now the policy of the Government to
reserve such natural wonders as Yo-
semitic Valley and Kings River Canyon
| from private ownership. 1t is also the
! fixed policy of the Government to make
park and forest reservations. If this
policy had been in force at the time the
State asked for the cession of Yosemite
VALLEY, no such request would ever have
| been made. If it had been known that
the Government would not part with its
] title to the lands in the valley, the
State would not have asked nor ex-
pected any concession of the lands COM
prising all Of the valley to itself.
| The State achieved the reservation
from disposition to private ownership
| it desired, but it entered upon a costly
experiment when it essayed the task
of preserving" the valley, as it is
ltcalled. The State has been the victim
of more thieving schemes relating to
Yosemite Valley than to any other in
terest in its ownership or under it's con-
troll. Its management presents success
sive chapters of mistakes and plumbers.
1t permitted private individuals to con-
struct trails under leases. The tolls
charged on these trails were certain
| ly extortionate. Before citizen of this
State, or of the United States, or a
! tourist from any part of the world
could go up one of these trails. he must
I pay the owner of the trail dollar.
| He must pay So for the use of a horse
and he must pay So for a guide and a
guides horse. The trails were con-
structed on the most temporary possible
plan. They We're narrow, uncomfort-
able and dangerous. They were not
wide enough for persons riding in OPP
posite directions to pass each other, ex-
cept in few places. They were dusty
and the winter rains almost obliterated
/ them.
| Eventually the State acquired these
trails, at heavy expenditure, indem-
nifying the people who built them,
after the public had been Systematically
robbed by the owners of saddle-train
privileges and the owners of these
trails.
/ Misnamed turnpikes also came in for
their share Of public plumber. A stage
road built by way of Coulterville into
the valley received at the hands CT
the Legislature a donation Of $1,000
for that part of the road lying within
| the limits of the Yosemite reservation
/ The owner of this road at one time
sold all his right, title and interest tc
the Commissioners for the sum of 49,
coo, but, by the advice of an attorney
| he returned a portion Of the money
that had been paid, on the ground that
| higher reward awaited him at the
| hands of the Legislature. The COM
| mission actually accepted a return OF
the purchase price under the contract
| for the sale Of that road for $1,000, in
order to enable the owner of that road
to get $4,000 from the State Treas
! ury, and this result was accomplished
One session of the Legislature appro-
priated $50, eco for the purchase of old
ramshackle hotel buildings, trails priv
| ileges and other matters and things
pertaining to Yosemite Valley, all OF
which were vetoed by Governor Bart
| lett. -fef1
Another stage road in to the valley
! after its lease had expired and It's
road had become the property Of the
State, secured the passage Of bill
giving it $1,000 for it's proprietorship OF
| the grade The Controller refused tc
draw his warrant for the money on tbs
ground that the turnpike company had
| nothing to convey; whereupon the COM
mission, under the presidency of Gov
ernor Waterman, gave the turnpike
| company a. lease for ten years, openly
I declaring that the object of giving
| them the lease was to enable them to
secure another appropriation at the
/ hands of the Legislature and defeat the
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