Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1919-08-23

tOnal parks and popular science keep members
Informed concerning books American
travel, exploration, archaeological research, plant
and animal life, and the meaning of scenery; refer
travel and route inquiries from members to that
governmental other agency, railroad, or auto
mobile association which will give each inquiry
the kind of attention it needs.
The association has prepared elaborate plan
OF popularzing natural science through universities
and schools, public libraries, writer's and lecturers
and artists, and motion picture activities. fea
ture of its work will be the assembling of material
by intensively studying the parks, through COM
mittees, separately and a system, especially
their history, nomenclature folklore. geology
fauna and flora; by collecting this material in
ready reference shape the basis of practical
library; by compiling working photograph, by
park and subject. of material of every sort avail
able especially in the library of congress and the
scientific libraries of the government departments
The association will establish volunteer working
committees of scientists. professors, students and
other publicspirited members. and will utilize as
far as possible the machinery already established
and in operation by university and school organi-
cations, state and county educational organza-
TONS state park organizations, scientific insttu-
TONS the national government, public-spirited or
ganizations of all sorts automobile and highway
associations, business organizations like railroads.
automobile manufacturers and national parks con-
cessoners whose business will be helped by the
work of the National Parks association
The executive committee is assured of one sub
scriptlon of $4,000; it is planned to secure five
year pledges amounting to minimum of $4,000 a
year. 1t also expects at least 5000 members at
So year.
The association already reports results. The
University of the City of New York has prepared
sets of national parks lantern slides. The Uni
versity of Minnesota has been sending study
classes to the national parks for two years; Chi
cago sends one TO Rocky Mountain National park
this summer and Columbia will send one next
year. Columbia has also included lecture course
on the meaning of scenery in this seasons sum-
mer school. A prominent studio has arranged
film stories to show how glaciers work on Mount
Rainier how the Grasd canyon cut how
water carved the Yosemite valley etc.
If well handled. the National Parks association.
with n large membership may do great work ;
il has Il large field and great opportunity. 1t
may even succeed in forcing congress to adopt
n consistent park policy. About 100000 people
now visit the national parks every year and the
increase promises to be very large There is.
therefore, body of national parks enthusiasts
numbering several millions.
While the association is organized on n nonpo-
tieal basis, 1t will presumably have to go into
politics to accomplish its ends. since the agrcul-
tural department is waging campaign to secure
the control of the national parks from the interior
department and is setting up the national forests
and the forest service scenic and recre8 ton
rivals of the national parks and the national parks
service. Also, in its plans 70 increase the national
parks system 1t will encountsr both the omen and
secret opposition of the forest service the biggest
and smoothest running political machine In the
United States.