Marble Hill press., 1920-02-05

TO be head OF the Interior department for another
four years
To be- sure Secretary Lane says that be has not
sent In his resignation to- the president and has
not even tnlked to him about II. he does not
wish TO add to Mr. Wilson's burdens and worric.
al this time. But he admits that II is his ntenr
tion to leave the cubnet so Il looks II the ma
tiona parks would lose their official head sooner
than anyone had reason to think-a prospect which
pleuscs none of the hundreds OF thousands Of no
Iional park enthusiasts.
Doubtless most good Americans think well Of Nj.
Lane. His public life has established his repuia
tion for ability. His long service on the interstate
commerce commission and In the cabinet has made
him very well known. He has made for himself
an enviahe name rs loo per cent American, who
has had vision of Il Greater America and has
abored faithfully TO bring that vision to his fellow
Americans
The national park enthusiasts however. have
v'n',uo'nt all their own: individually and colIec.
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 Inst seven years Is In small
part due to his official cooperation and official
leadership.
.4., ,.,.ronal park movement is believed by It's
supporters to be the livest national which Is
not primarily allied with reconstruction after the
outdoor life; for recreation amid scenic beauty:
for "See America First - for the development OF
the national parks as great national economic
asset for the keeping ar home of hundreds Of mil
lions OF good American dollars; for the preservR-
tion of American fora and fauna for the estab-
lshment Of magnificent public Fairgrounds for the
people forever; for Increased and better Ameri.
cansm.
When Secretary Lane assumed his seat In the
nj porl. Ho irS tn op
ingly bad way. The federal government regarded
the national parks as a liability rather than as an
asset. Their administration, such rs II was, was
considered nuisance. Though the department
Of the interior was charged by law with their care
they managed by half-a-dozen clerks in vari.
ous suhdepartments working on part time No
body was responsible and nobody cared Congress
granted haphazard appropriations under protest
A new national park project was an adventure in
politics.
And the American people six years ago scarcely
knew there were any national parks. Yellowstone
and Yosemite were known as scenic beauty spots
rather than as national parks Railroad folders
were the source of information. The public
still belieevd that the Swiss Alps we're the only
mountains worth seeing, with the Canadian Rock.
les second choice.
Secretary Lane had the vision to see that the
national parks were great national economic as-
set instead Of financial liability; that the "See
cause and that the national parks had an educa.
tiohal and recreatonal mission for the Ameri-
can people.
. KIs at once began 10 put order into the national
park chkos. Then the world war gave him his op-
ortunty BY shutting Off American tourist travel
abroad; before the war Americans were spending
something like $5O0OO00O0 yearly In foreign ssgnt