The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1920-08-12

which $4,000 expended last winter. Prob
ably there's nothing finer of its kind in the coun-
try. Yet Rocky Mountain makes gap; you can
get in by motor the east. south and west. but
you can't get through the park until the Fall River
road across the continental divide is finished
possibly this fall.
From Rocky Mountain it's easy travelling straight
north to Cheyenne, WyO, the Lincoln highway
Here you go northwest on the Yellowstone high
way via Casper. ThermOpoIis and Cody to the east
entrance of Yellowstone.
There are 300 miles of automobile highway in
Yellowstone, with exits on all four sides OF the
square. Mr. Westgard will go in at the east and
go out at the north From Gardner he will head
north for Glacier in the northwest corner Of Mon
tana. up against the Canadian line.
And it goes all around the 4,OOOmile circle
easy travelling here, hard going there and every
now and then gap There's one of these gaps
in Mount Rainier and another in Crater Lake
that is, Mr.. Westgard drive into both, but
can't drive through until projected roads built
He will be lucky If he gets into Lassen Volcanic
all. Congress established this park in 1915,
but with its usual hapzard national park policy has
appropriated no money for it yet. The roads into
the other three California parks are excellent
and being built.
From California the Santa Fe trail will take
the pathfinder back TO Denver, via Zion, Grand
Canon and Mesa Verde.
Director Mather of the national park service
is an enthusiast He gets salary of $4,000
year and has already spent more than 100000
the parks out of his pocket And of
his particular national park enthusasms is this
National Park-toPark highway. Last summer he
did over 1000 miles of pathfnding in his
In his 1919 report he has considerable to say
the question of inter-park tourist travel by auto
mobile. Here are some of the things he says:
1.-The prospects for the establishment of the Ma
tfonal Park-tO- Park highway as a great system of
interstate routes in the West have grown brighter
almost daily since the opening of the past touring
season. There is a wide demand for the
highway, where prior to this year its Importance
seen by relatively few communities, most of
which were on direct routes to the national parks
and had unusual opportunities to observe its
growing volume of motor travel.
MANY of the sections of any interpark highway
system are, of course, situated to naturally
require special designation, and in such cases
the roads are either being repaired or plans for
their Improvement under way. On the other
hand, in several states there numerous routes
that might be selected as sections of the system,
and 1t is necessary to choose one two routes
for special attention If the funds available are
not to be spread thnIy and ineffectively over all
such roads.
ct should point out again the fact that some
links of any dAmplete park-topark system of high
ways may have to be constructed by the federal
government without state cooperation. In GER
tain states through which the highway would run
most of the land belongs to the federal govern
ment. In such cases. particularly where the road
would be used principally by motorists en- route
to the national parks from all parts OF the United
States, 1t would seem that the federal government
would be under the obligation OF defraying the
cost OF such sections of the interpark system"
Last spring, long before his nOLSinatiOn at Chi
cago, Senator Harding in Denver and in an
address at Mile High club luncheon, March 10
he said in part:
ST like the slogan See America First We
ought to link national parks with the best Of
motor highways. 1 shall never be content until
I motor from this reckoning gateway to gIor-
ious America, portrayed in her national parks
circuit Of our national parks. We are so
vast so varied so physically beyond compare that
E0Ov
America first and do the practical things which
prosper America first