Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-10-11
FEARS IRRIGATION
PRIVILEGES WILL
HURT GREAT PARKS
Association Opposes Pro-
posed Leasing of Yellow
stone Basin.

The granting of even one irrigation
privilege in any national park will
mark the beginning of swift end;
"lthin hve years thereafter all our
national parks will be controlled by
iocal irrlgationiStS and complete COM
liberalization will inevitably follow.
l ms is the conviction expressed In
bulletin recently issued by the Ma
tionai Parks Association, with head
quarters in this city. and entitled
The War on the Yellowstone
RMS exhaustive bulletin deals with
the park situation generally. but more
specifically with the near passage of
bill by the last Congress permitting
irrigation reservoirs in the FaIis
river basin of the Yellowstone, and
with the actual passage of bill
mission with power to lease all pub
nc waters, including those in ma
tlonal parks and monuments. After
careful review of subsequent actlVi-
Ties for and against the commercial
izat1on of parks or parts thereof, the
bulletin states:
The summer has somewhat clari-
ned the situation. Some of it's reve-
iatlohs nave been encouraging; we
nave at least two far-sighted Rocky
Mountain states, Colorado and Wyo-
ming, with us, and also strongly
growing sympathy among the think
ing people of all western states. But
We have no idea how far politics
has been enlisted; we may meet with
some unpleasant surprises. With
strong sympathy in the west among
the quiet, thinking people, and q
practically unanimous sentiment east
of the Mississippi. one would think
our national parks safe. But they
are not; they are in great peril.
The problem is to bring the over
whelming sentiment of the nation to
the attention of Congress in an inn
pressive way. Congressman discard
propaganda They will not accept
the opinions of the shrewdest OBJ
servers. Each must hear from his
own constituents before he will be-
lieve.
Congress "Deafenedo by Few.
Our danger is this: The dissatis-
fled shout: those satisfied with what
is sit silent. Congress is deafened
by the noise of a few irrigationists
GLIDING. naturally perhaps, that the
sentiment of the country is not for
the national parks"
1t is the Yellowstone valley section
of southeastern Montana only. for in
stance, the bulletin points out, which
lowstone lake; but the shouting is
SO loud that there is doubt it has
been mistaken by many politicians
for the voice of the state. It is
improbable, also, that Wyoming will
join the assailants of the Yellowstone.
tically Wyoming's park. and strong
sentiment is growing against per-
hitting Montana and Idaho to ruin
it's beauty and prestige.
1t is understood, the bulletin also
states, that special effort will again
ha do 20 fl1 Enl1 o
river basin project. Although an
ominous silence has attended the
summer activities of it's proponents,
clever work has been done, neverthe-
less, because it is on this project
that a combination of interests de-
On the other hand, it goes on to
say. this project, which has the power
of all the others concentrated behind
it. has now lost one of the strongest
arguments in it's favor. for it will no
longer be possible for it's proponents
and get away with it. On the con-
trary, it is now known that it ia one
of the Yellowstone's finest recrea-
tional regions. which, as soon as it
can be opened by a road. will become
the playground of thousands of mo-
florists.
Yellowstone Attracts Many.
The spectacular increase IN yell
lowstone patronage from 62,261 in
1919 to more than $4,000 in 1920 shows
the Yellowstone at last marching into
her own" states the bulletin. with
in few years she should have 100000
visitors each season. The Falls river
basin already is needed to take care
of the increasing throngs evidenced
by the fact that the Department of
the Interior will ask Congress for an
immediate road appropriation to make
it accessible.
Perhaps the most insidious of the
movements started during the sum-
mer by the national parks irrigation
lists is the demand for a western Sec
rotary of the Interior. who will I'M
derstand and sympathize with west
ern sentiment. is point empha-
sized by the National Parks Associa-
ton. This suggestion" the bulletin
states, "has naturally proven popular,
but danger lies in the secret meaning
which those back of the idea may
have for western There are hun
dreds of broad-visioned western men
of cabinet caliber, any one of whom
would defend the parks as stanchly
as Secretary Payne is doing. and as
all his republican predecessors have
done. but these are not the irriga-
tionists' candidates. 1t is safe to as
sumo that the particular western
men they have caused to be suggested
to leaders of both parties are secretly
committed, il not actively pledged. to
the commercialization of parks and
monuments"