The Mena weekly star., 1922-02-16
DR. PARKS RESIGNS |
 SUPERINTENDENT
Hot Springs Government Official, For mer Mena Man, to Be Succeeded by Washington Man-May Pro-
 duce Contest.
From the Arkansas Gazette.

From the Arkansas Gazette
 Little Rock, Feb. 14.-Dr. W. P. Parks, for the past eight years super intendent of Hot Springs National Park, rendered his resignation to the Department of the Interior February 6, it was announced yesterday. The resignation has been accepted.
 Dr. Clarence Warning of the Unit.- ed States Public Health Department has been appointed to succeed Dr. Parks. He is division director of the governments free clinic at Hot Springs, but will assume his new du- ties at an early date. The appoint ment of superintendent who is not a native Arkansan is contrary to the usual custom, it is said.
 H. l.. Remmel of Little Rock, Re- publican national committeeman, is now in Washington, and his attitude in regard to the appointment could not be learned. 1t is believed, how ever, that he will contest the appoint ment of a nonresident
 The resignation of Dr. Parks was forwarded to the secretary of the de- partment to become effective as soon as convenient. His desire to join his family in the West, and to take a much-needed rest, and the urgency of his private interests, were the causes given for resigning.
 Dr. Parks was born in Yell county, 49 years ago. He was a practicing physician of Mena, Polk county, when appointed to the federal position ear ly in 1914. His appointment was made on recommendations of the late Senator James P. Clarke.
 Eliminated Drumming"
 Many improvements at the reserva- tion are credited to the work of Dr. Parks. When he assumed his duties in 1914, he found the town of Hot Springs over run with doctor drum ming He waged an anti-drumming campaign that finally resulted in the elimination of q physicians from the reistered list, and 20 hotels had the privilege of the baths denied their guests. The crusade was so complete that drumming practically has been eliminated.
 A free clinic and bathhouse for the unfortunate indigent who were unable to pay the required fee at privately owned bathhouses, was Dr. Parks ambition. Passage of the sundry civil bill made possible sum of SI40,000 for the purpose, with an au- thorized expenditure of $50,000 addi- tional from the revenues of the park. Residents of Hot Springs do- mated site for the bathhouse, and construction was started February 23, 1920 An additional appropria- tion of $S5, 1000 was made in 1921 for connection with the bathhouse and the building. It was completed and on November IA, 1921, opened to the public. The free clinic opened in connection with the bathhouse is for the treatment of venereal diseases, and approximately 200 cases are treated daily The bathhouse is the most modern and well-equipt building of its kind in the country. The clinic is the largest of it's kind in the Unit ed States.
 Raging of the old wooden bath houses and the erection of modern brick buildings on bathhouse row, all so is credited to efforts of Dr. Parks. He also placed in operation the Ger tel system of graduated exercise, laid out on North and Hot Springs noun tains. This is the same system in use at Bad Nauheim, Germany. The one at Hot Springs is the only one of it's kind in this country