The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1920-08-13

which $4,000 was expended last winter. PROB
ably there's nothing finer OF its kind In the coun'
try Yet Rocky Mountain makes a 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 the continental divide Is hnisheu
possibly this fall
From Rocky Mountain it's easy travelling straight
north to Cheyenne, Wyo., on the Lincoln highway
Here you 20 northwest the Yellowstone high
way via Casper Thermopolis and Cody to the east
entrance of Yellowstone.
There 800 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 so Ii goes all around the 4,000mile circle
easy travelling here, hard going there and every
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
at ALL Congress established this park in 1915.
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 to Denver via Zion, Grand
Canon and Mesa Verde.
Director Mather of the national park service
is enthusiast. He gets q salary of $4,000
year and has already spent more than 100000
the parks out of his own pocket. And one Of
his particular national park enthusiasms is this
National Park-to-Park highway. Last summer he
did 1000 miles of pathfndng In his own car.
In his 1919 report he has considerable to say ON
the question of interpark tourist travel by auto
mobile. Here some of the things he says:
"The prospects for the establishment of the Ma
tional Park Park highway a great system Of
interstate routes in the West have grown brighter
almost daily since the opening of the past touring
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 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, SO situated as to naturally
require special designation, and in such cases
the roads either being repaired or plans for
their improvement are 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 or two routes
for special attention II the funds available are
not to be spread thinly and ineffectvely all
such roads.
"I should point out again the fact that some
links of any complete park-to-park system of high
ways may have to be constructed by the fedora
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 roaC
would be used principally by motorists route
to the national parks from all parts of the United
States II 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 noI,ination at Chi
cago, Senator Harding In Denver and in al
ADDRESS at Mile High club luncheon, NDrch 10
he said In part:
81 like the slogan See America First We
ought to link national parks with the best Of
motor highways. l shall never be content until
/ can motor from this reckoning gateway to gior
ious America, as portrayed In her national parks
over a circuit of national parks. We sc
vast so varied so physically beyond compare tina
Ii is good to think of America first and know
America first and do the practical things which
prosper America first"