The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1920-06-18
ITS Accomplishments
Result Of Work Of Yellowstone
Trail Association in 1919.
More Than 100000 Expended On
Improvements and $12,Ooo,o 900
Provided For This Year.

After all the real test of any public
movement is whether or not 1t can
definitely show results. At the annual
state meetings Of the Yellowstone
Trail Association. held in each state
in January and February Of 1920, the
officers Of the Association showed
what had actually been accomplished.
These reports showed that more
than $4,000, 100000 had actually been
expended on improvement programs Of
the Yellowstone Trail in the year Of
1919, and that during the same year
more than $11, 900, OO0.O had been
provided for 1920 work. This, of
course, is wrapping it all up in a sin
gle package. The expenditures of such
a large sum Of money on a single pro-
ject, part Of 1t in Wisconsin, part in
Indiana and part in each state west
to Washington, shows the result of a
single line Of effort and a single line
Of thought with a common purpose
back Of it. A thing is only national
because it is national in thought, and
because it is men who are thinking
nationally instead Of locally. Really
the greatest result is from the fact
that men in Ohio are meeting in com
mon purpose from Washington and
Montana, and through the agency of
the Yellowstone Trail these men are
being unified into national thought.
However, there was a result in 1919
through touring over the Yellowstone
Trail that can be exactly expressed in
dollars and cents. BY registration at
the free Information Bureaus of the
Yellowstone Trail Association in 1919,
and across the Missouri River at Mo-
bridge. the habits Of touring people
have been closely studied, and the fol-
lowing facts can be said to be cor
rect:
First: That the average touring
party consists of 81 persons.
Second: That they travel an aver
age distance Of $50 miles per day each
day.
Third: That the minimum daily
expense for party and a is $1,000
or hat each touring party left $1,000
on each $50 miles. The Yellowstone
Trial Association secured the actual
names, addresses and car numbers of
906S automobile parties that travell-
ed the Yellowstone Trail for a thou
sand miles or more in the year OF
1919. On this basis these touring par
ties delivered to the communities on
the Yellowstone Trail a total Of $780,
O52. 90. The entire organization ex-
pense for 1919 was $17,373.17, and
through the agency OF the Yellowstone
Trail Association this new touring
money was delivered to the territory
served by the Yellowstone Trail for
1.24 per cent. which all must agree
is a very low figure for such results.
And it should be noted here that
this business is exclusively Yellow
stone Trail business. The Yellow
stone Trail Association is the only ma
tionally organized highway touching
the Northwest that has its own en-
ployees east of Chicago talking about
touring. showing how easily it can be
done, and encouraging the public to
see America, and by giving the only
we'll marked road from the east and
through the Northwest, provide a rea-
sonable agency that promises even
better for the future. However, the
best result in the minds OF those
responsible for the Yellowstone Trail,
is not in the tourist end at all but
in the unifying OF public thought as
applied to road improvements. The
United States of America in its future
development work Of undeveloped re-
sources, must depend very largely upon
primary transportation. No country
In the world Is doing 50 much to de-
velop and provide rolling stock in the
way of automotive vehicles as our
people, and no people is doing 80 lit
tie constructive thinking about the
roadbed for this rolling stock to trav-
ell over. We are developing technical
engineers. it is true, but we are not
developing a class of men who are do
ing constructive, executive planning
for a national system Of primary trans
portation. and the Yellowstone Trail
Association first Of all prides itself
| that it Is teaching men In all sections
Of the country to think constructtvely
and in unison about this basic prob.
lem, as applied to the economic condi.
tions Of today sthrough the method Of
distribution BY primary Transports
ton systems.