Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1919-08-22
DEMANDS BEAUTY SPOTS
IN STATE BE SAVED

IN STATE BE SAVED
Stephen T. Mather, of Washing
ton, d. c., head Of the national para
service, who has been in this sec
tion docking over the national for
ests, scored the busihesp men OF
/ Portland for the manner in which
they have neglected Crater Lake
park at meeting of the Portland
Chamber of Commerce last week
Mr.. Mather said:
Want to see a neat sign on the
road to Crater Lake lettered thus:
Closed until more satisfactory
facilities are provided for tour
ists?"
Stephen T. Mather, director of ma
tional parks, admitted that he had
such sign in mind when he spoke
on a rather personal basis to some
80 business, professional and rail-
road men of Portland at the Cham
Der of Commerce Friday evening.
I'm not going to ask you to do
anything more for Crater Lake." he
added. "Tye done that until I'm
sick Of 1t.
Often I've sighed for some
means of swinging Crater Lake to
within SO miles of Portland. Then
the wonderful lake and the great
playground around it might be made
available to the tourist world with
the spirit of cooperation from you
men of Portland that is being man
ifested by the leaders of Tacoma
and Seattle toward Mount Rainier
national park.
Condl dltions Are Scored
iWth vigorous strokes, Mather
flagellated Crater national park
conditions. He complained of the
road leading to the lake. Every
body passing over 1t eats dust" he
averred. He criticised the inn. He
has worked hard but without sup
said that Prakhurst, the innkeeper,
port and without sufficient knowl-
edge of the tourist hotel game, either
to please his patrons or to placate
the national park administration.
He had discovered that on the re-
cent visit OF the members OF tho
National Editorial association to
Crater Lake, some of them had
slept four in bed. He had also
received. he said. a complaint from
wealthy woman, deHcately nur-
tured, who had been denied COM
fortable room with the statement
that the better rooms had been re-
served, only to find that the chauf-
feur of a subsequently arriving par
ty had been allotted the room for
which she asked.
Other Places Wide Awake
In sharp contrast, the director OF
national parks told of the support
being given by business men of San
Francisco and Los Angeles to i'm
provement projects of Yosemite ma
tional park. He spoke with equal
commentator of the men of Seat
tie and Tacoma, who have jointed in
building the Paradise Inn, 5000
feet up the slope of Mount Rainier,
Tacoma.
He made it clear that for other
national parks he had been able to
find friends who with unselfish pub
lie spirit and clear visionihg of the
future had done much to increase
the accessibility and the comfort of
the nations Fairgrounds. But Port
lahd, men, he declared, have not
been able to see or understand in
the same way the value of making
Crater Lake satisfying as well as
beautiful place to visit.
The government has gone to
much expense to build roads within
the Crater Lake national park, said
Mather, and it recently completed
1 the spectacular road entirely around
the rim of the lake. But the gov
ernment has not yet permitted thu
national park administration to
build hotels, leaving the lodging and
feeding of tourists to concession.
aires Hence the appeal to loca
pride and public spirit
"We simply will not permit con
ditions as they are to continue al
Crater Lake. was Mather's parting
shot. VIA ttI f4t.
| The upshot of the meeting was
the instruction given Secretary Dod-
son of the Chamber of Commerce
to draft resolution declaring that
necessary improvements should be
made at Crater Lake and that three
Portland business men should visit