The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1920-08-20

WhIcn $lIO,Ub was expended last WINTER tloo'
ably there's nothing finer of its kind in the coun-
try. Yet Rocky Mountain makes gap; you can
get In bv motor on 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.. on the Lincoln highway
Here you go northwest on the Yellowstone high
way via Casper. Thermopois and Cody to the east
entrance OF Yellowstone.
There 400 miles Of automobile highway in
Yellowstone. with exits on all four sides of the
square Mr.. Westgard will go in at the east and
60 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 so II goes all around the 4.0OO-mile 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. WestgarI can drive into both. but
can't drive through until projected roads built.
He will be lucky II he gets into Iassen Volcanic
ut all. Congress established this park In 1916,
but with Its usual hapzard national park policy has
appropriated no money for 1t yet The roads into
the other three California parks are excellent
and more being built.
From California the Santa Fe trail will take
the pathfinder back 10 Denver, via Zion, Grand
Canon and Mesa Verde
Director Mather of the national park service
Is an enthusiast He gets salary of $4,000 a
year and has already spent more than 100000
on the parks out Of his pocket And one of
his particular national park enthusasms Is this
National ParktoP Park highway. Last summer he
did 1000 miles of pathfnding in his own car
In his 1919 report he has considerable to say on
the question OF inter-park tourist travel by auto
mobile. Here some of the things he SAYS:
"The prospects for the establishment of the Ma.
tional Park-to-Park highway as a great system of
interstate routes In the West have grown brighter
tla 81 tbp
season. There is now wide demand for the
highway. where prior to this year its Importance
was 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 as to naturally
require no special designation. and in such cases
the roads are either being repaired or plans for
their Improvement are under way. On the other
manu- In several states there are numerous routes
that might be selected sections of the system
ami IL Is necessary to choose or two routes
for special attention If the funds available are
not tn he spread thnly and ineffectively over all
such roads
Il should point out again the fact that some
links OF any complete park park 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
Staies, II would seem that the federal government
would he under the obligation of defrayiny the
cos. "f such sections of the interpark system"
Last spring. long before his no,, nation at Chi
cage, Senator Harding was in Denver and in an
address at Mile High club luncheon March 10
he said In part:
Il Ike the slogan See America First We
ought to link our national parks with the hes, of
motor highways. l shall never be content until
can motor from this Reckoning gateway to glor.
'ons America as portrayed in her national parks
over circuit of our national parks. We are so
vast. so varied, so physically beyond compare, thar
II Is good to think OF America first and know
America first and do the practical things which
orosper America first"