Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1920-06-03

Yellowstone, our oldest and most famous ma.
rional park-the first national park in the Worlo
never had been a success as a playground. Inc
truth is it is a wonderhouse of freak scenery
geysers, boiling springs, volcanic curiosltles anu
the ~ellowston Falls. Also it has its semi
domesticated bears and it's wonderful big game. In
the old DAYS of the stage coach the regulation trip
took five days. After that the tourist was READY
to leave. And he seldom returned TO see Inc
mark a second time. Now that the automopne
has taken the place Of the coach, the time OF the
regulation trip has been cut in two; otner"ise
the same conditions obtain. The Yellowstone AT
tendance figures tell the story. In 1918, the
attendance was s., 1896; in 1915 it was 35,S49; in
1917 it was IS, 400; in 1918 it was 21,27o; in 1918
if was 62.261. By way of contrast take the cor
responding attendance at Rocky Mountain Nation
al park, which is a play ground PARK Where peo-
nile STAY their entire vacation time ana there are
thousands of regulars who go every year: o.
600 and 1000 and LII, 1856 and lO1,49f anu Io9'-
1872. Rocky mountain has no freak scenery, put
its scenic magnifcence wears well ana q large
nronortion of its visitors regard it as their sum-
mer home.
Tn consequence the national park service Is pro-
noting the project of adding about a thousand
square miles to the south end OF Yellowstone IN
ending the Teton range, Grand Ietoh' Mouht
Moran Jackson lake and the Jackson Hole region
and the headwaters of the Yellowstone. Inns au-
dition will give the Yellowstone the kind OF seen
ery it lacks. Moreover, plans for the 1arher ue-
yelopment of the Yellowstone include large auto
mobile camps, golf links, tennis courts and the en-
enlargement Of fishing, mountain climbing and rid
ina Tn short. the Yellowstone is to be made q
nlavground sufficiently attractive to hold the tour
isl for a time and to induce him to return.
Another example of needed enlargement is Sc
quota National park in California. This park was
created in 1890 and contains 252 square miles.
RI was created largely for the purpose OF preserv-
ing tbe Big Trees (Sequoa gigantea)-the Dig
gest and Oldest living things on the earth. me
General Sherman tree, for example, Is ABOUT 90
feet in diameter and is approximately o'VuU years
old. Congress. with an eye to the big trees only,
emf the mark boundaries arbitrarily and LETT out
4 magnifcently scenic area which lies contiguous.
Features Of this contiguous area are the canyons OF
the Kings and Kern rivers and the summit OF
Mount Whitney (14,501), the highest mountain IN
cont:pental United States. 1t Is now purposed 10
add about a thousand square miles OF TINS con
tiguous area to Sequoia apd to change Its name
70 Roosevelt. making the enlarged park a ma
tional outdoor memorial to the dead statesman.
Here again the public playground idea is the basic
proposition.
No description can do justice to Crater lake
itself. Uncle Sam, however, has done q good Jol
under the circumstances in a booklet issued las
season by the United States railroad administra
ton. And this booklet says among other Things
All of our great national Fairgrounds have thei
distinctive beauties; each Is different in grea
measure In the sublimity and attractlveness 9
It's national grandeur, but Crater lake stand
alone in this: that all likeness to any familia
landscape here ceases.
Other lands have their crater lakes--Itaiy, y
da and Hawait-and there are some craters ~ 1hl