Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-07-13
MORE HIGHWAYS
NEEDED TO MAKE
PARKS. POPULAR
Many Wonders Of Nature
Need Only Better Roads to
Be Accessible to Mo-
toring Public.
Bv WIN, E. METZGER.

by w NAs &c WI 61GNs
Scattered throughout the western
country rest the inviting areas of tn
national parks, forests and monu
rents, the Fairgrounds of nation
Here a lake of deepest blue in
setting fringed by snow, entices tn,
angler. There the home of a prehis
toric race intrigues the student o
history with its suggestion of mys
tic beliefs and customs. Extinct vol
csnos, slowly moving glaciers whicl
have ground down the earth for cen
turtles, spouting geysers, the ragge,
lines of peaks cutting fantastic cor
ners in the skyline will be found
All Of the lure of the open invites
the traveller, and as the world be
comes better acquainted with thest
strange areas the flow Of travel i:
increasing steadily.
Not many years ago it was Gus
tor1ary to think Of the tourist as {
tourist bent upon inconsequentia
wandering whose presence wa:
more or less of a nuisance. Today
we have come to recognize the trav.
eler as a purposeful individual bent
upon getting the most from his va
cation and performing a very decid.
ed economic function wherever he
goes.
Millions Spent Yearly.
Hundreds of millions of dollars
are expended in this travel each
year in the United States. Hun
dreds of millions more will be at
tracted in the future as our means
of ingress and egress to these
famous parks are improved and in
point of fact the business of at
tracing and entertaining travellers
promise to become the leading in
dustry in some of our states.
Perhaps no phase of government
has brought the need of a national
highway system more closely home
than has this one. Last year, despite
the war, 454,841 persons were regis
tered as visitors at the II
national parks. This year with the
pressure of conflict removed, hun
dreds of thousands of others will
seek relief from the strain of the
past years, in travel throughout the
west.
A picture of what this may smean
in automobile travel is obtained
from the report of Stephen D.
Mather, director of national parks
in which it is stated automobile
licenses were issued for 23,778 cars
in eight of the national parks in
1918, while a count of private alto
mobiles entering eleven of these
domains showed a total of 1886.
Because of a small road mileage or
the unimproved> condition of the
roads licenses were not required
in some parks and because of this
very condition, also travel was TN
questionably more restricted in
those areas despite the fact that
some of them are among the
spots of the world. =,
Roads Mean Development.
As in innumerable other instances,
he future development of these re-
areas rests only upon the
of transportation ia
:ilities, and not until the govern
nent has appropriated funds which
will make possible the construction
# interstate highways between
hese centers, will travel reach it's
,eak.
Recognition OF this is found in
Mr.. Mather's report recommending
n inter-park system in which he
alls attention to the fact that there
S frequently a high road mileage |
through sparsely settled sections be-
ween the parks, which cannot BE- |
by local authorities. Since
he intent of such system is large
y national in its purposes it would
eem a legitimate part Of the gov
work to care for the con-
truction and maintenance of such
highways.
The national park and monument
ystem is one of Americas greatest
ssets. It should be made accessible |
o all as rapidly as possible. Ma
iona1 highways which would serve
s feeders to a national lnter-park
highway promise the earliest fulfill
nent Of this need.
Eizabethtown, KY, is one of the
ew places that have not been Ill
,aded by moving pictures. Mary
oickford and Charlie Chaplin are
lutte unknown here. The Elizabeth
own of today is the Elizabethtown
If 1860. 1t is town Of characters,
md the judges and the colonies
and the negroes all play their re-
;pective parts.-Automobile Blue
Books.
The first locomotive, which was
called "EIkbcrn," was obtained from
! small steam road which had been
opened in Louisville, in 1888. tu,
which had been enjoined from oper-
alton on the ground that it was
4 public nuisance, endangered life
destroyed property and injured
business" Madison, Ind, kindly
adopted it and ran it over the Il
miles of road constituting the state
line.-Automobile Blue Books.