Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1920-02-06

to be head of the interior department Tor ahother
four years.
To be sure, Secretary Lane says that he has not
sent in his resignation to the president, and has
not even talked to him about 1t, as he does not
wish to add to Mr.. Wilson's burdens and worries
at this time. But he admits that 1t is his inten-
ton leave the cabinet So 1t looks as If the ma
uonal parks would lose their official head sooner
than anyone had reason to thnk-a prospect which
pIeases none of the hundreds of thousands of ma
rional park enthusiasts.
Doubtless most good Americans think well of Nh
Lane. His public life has established his reputa
ton for ability His long service the interstate
commerce commission and in the cabinet has made
him very well known. He has made for himself
an enviable name 100 per cent American who
has had a vision of Greater America and has
abored faithfully to bring that vision to his fellow
Americans.
The national park enthusiasts, however, have
viewpoint all their own; individually and collec-
lively they think well of Secretary Lane for his
attitude toward the national parks. They believe
that the phenomenal growth of the national park
movement in the last seven years is in no small
part due to his official cooperation and official
leadership.
rms nalional park movement is believed by its
supporters to be the Invest national which is
not primarily allied with reconstruction after the
great 1t stands among other things, for the
outdoor life for recreation amid scenic beauty;
for "See America First - for the development of
the national parks great national economic
asset for the keeping at home of hundreds of mill
lions of good American dollars; for the preserva-
ton of American fora and fauna for the estab-
lishment of magnificent public Fairgrounds for the
people forever for increased and better Ameri-
canism.
When Secretary Lane assumed his seat in the
cabinet rational park affairs in exceed
ingy bad way. The federal government regarded
the national parks liability rather than as an
asset Their administration, such as 1t was, was
considered a nuisance Though the department
of the interior was charged by law with their care
they were managed by half-a-dozen clerks in vari-
GUS subdepartments. working part time. No
body was responsible and nobody cared Congress
granted haphazard appropriations under protest.
new national park project an adventure in
politics.
And the American people six years ago scarcely
knew there any national parks. Yellowstone
and Yosemite were known scenic beauty spots
rather than as national parks. Railroad folders
were the one source of information. The public
still belieeyd that the Swiss Alps were the only
mountains worth seeing with the Canadian Rock
| les second choice.
| Secretary Lane had the vision to see that the
! national parks were a great national economic as
set instead of financial liability; that the "See
| America First" movement was a live national
| cause and that the NATIONAL parks had educa-
i tional and recreatonal mission for the Amer-
| can people,
! Ha at once began to put order into the national
park chaos. Then the world war gave him his op-
portunity by shutting Off American tourist travel
| abroad; before the war Americans were spending
something ike s50O090000 yearly In foreign sight