, 1920-01-08
PHENOMENAL GROWTH OF PARK.
THE National Playground" Has Made
Mighty Strides the Past Year,
Says director of Parks.

OF all me national parks. mas adNauc-
ed with mighty strides during the past
year. says the 1919 report of the di-
rector of national parks. issued re-
Gently.
The action Of congress in granting to
the national park service absolute con-
troll of the parks affairs. including its
protection and Improvement, is chiefly
responsible for this progress, because
to develop the park in harmony with
the general policy of the department
and under "A permanent management.
Much was expected of this unified con-
troll. and although the permanent or
gani2ation is not vet complete, the new
order of things has much more than
justified its establishment. Its accom-
plishments. says the director. as OBJ
served on IL recent trip through the
park, were evident on every hand and
yet the intangible achievements con
nected with the operations of this great
reservation in II season of enormous
travel We're certainly very much great
cr and more far-reaching in their in
tluence than the physical improvements
and evidences of efficient protection of
the natural of the park to
be seen on II our of the reservation.
Yellowstone Park was toured during
it before in Il single season. The trav-
el record of 1915. the exposition year,
when 81. SaJ people visited the park.
was broken shortly after the middle
of August, and the total number of
visitors during the 1919 season exceed
ed $4,000.
The average travel per season for
the ten years Immediately preceding
1919 has been less than $4,000 and,
excluding the record year, 1915, the
seasonal travel of The past decade has
averaged about 10000.
This remarkable increase i'll travel
considerably exceeded our highest esti-
mate of the number who would visit
the park the past season. II no II
will contend that the coming of this
vast throng Of tourists could have
been foreseen. The travel by rail
could probably have been predicted,
but the largest portion of the total
number of visitors came by automo-
bile. and from every state in the union.
1t was the motorists who could not
be estimated in advance last season.
AS the travel tables in the superin-
tendent's office show. 21,215 visitors
came to the park by rail lines and no.
9S6 by privately owned means of con-
veyance-a truly remarkable record
considering the fact that Yellowstone
Park is remote from large cities and
in a relatively sparsely settled region.
Work mas already been undertaken
in the hotel camp at Yellowstone
lake, and this year these plants will
be operated to their fullest capacity.
The camp at Tower Falls, known as
Camp Roosevelt, in cOmmemoration
of the late ex-president's visit in 1908.
will be greatly expanded and improved
before the opening of next season.
Thus there will be four large hotels
and four permanent camps available
for the public this year. The Fountain
hotel, abandoned in 1917. when the
transportation of the park was motor
lied, is in II state of dilapidation that
probably places it beyond repair.
1t was only IL few years ago that
Yellowstone park seemed equipped
with hotel accommodations beyond all
future needs. Now it is clear that
very shortly all of her hotel and per-
manent camp establishments must be
expanded enormously and at large ex-
pense. 1t will he our policy to require
expansion of these plants each year to
m extent consistent with the main
%tenance of good service to the public.
Even more interesting than the fact
that over 62.0 o people visited the Vel
lowStone this season. is the report of
the superintendent that nearly half of
the tourists camped out. using equip
ment IN supplies brought with them in
many instances from states as far dis
tant us the Atlantic seaboard. Many
of the cars Outfitted for camping were
large and costly. During the greatest
part of the season from 5000 to 5000
people were enjoying motor trips over
the road system each day, while night
found them sitting around hundreds
of camp fires or forming the throngs at
the hotels and camps.
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