Evening star., 1922-02-11
NATIONAL PARKS
SCENIC PARADISE
Director Mather Tells of Won
ders Before National Geo.
graphic Society.

Without going outside his own ma
tional parks. Uncle Sam can surpass
the old song about "Greenland's
icy mountains" and "India's coral
strands" for in those public play.
grounds the gamut is run from the
ice rivers of Glacier National Park
to the bubbling. red-hot lava Of the
Kilauea National Park Of Hawaii.
This contrast and the many grada-
tions between the two extremes were
emphasized last evening by Stephen
It. Mather. director of the national
park service. In a lecture before MEM
bers of the National Geographic So
ciety. By means of colored motion
pictures and lantern slides Mr.:
Mather brought out the rich hues of
forest and desert. glacier
lakes. painted" cliffs, and finally the
Dante like view into the crater of
Kilauea at night, where the camera
registered the furiously boiling
molten stone by its own weird light.
One Park In East.
Though most of the national parks
are west Of the Rockies. the United
States possesses one national play
ground in the east. Mr.; Mather point
al Park. on Mount Desert Island. of
the coast Of Maine, one of the few
places on the Atlantic coast where
lofty hills rise from the sea.
Pictures Of Rocky Mountain Park,
near Denver. showed views Of roads
recently constructed by which one
may now motor over the continental
divide at an elevation Of nearly 10000
feet In the Glacier Park new trails
are opening up each year portions OF
the picturesque reservation hitherto
unvisited; and in the Grand Canyon
Park q suspension bridge recently
constructed across the Colorado river
has, in effect, created an entirely new
park. 1t has made accessible In q few
hours the north run Of the canyon,
which could be reached before from the
south only by a roundabout journey
Of many hundreds Of miles: The
north side Of the canyon, heavily
tractive than the bare south side.
Among the views shown by the lee
turer were those Of the ancient cltf
dwellings of the Mesa Verde Park in
southwestern Colorado, the towering
pinnacles Of the Zion Park In Utah.
the waterfalls of Yosemite. the great
trees of the Mariposa Grove. and the
familiar scenes of the Yellowstone. As
we'll as views Of the little-known
wilderness corners IF that most OK
tensive of the national parks.
Atmosphere Of Alps.
In the Glacier National Park. the
motion pictures showed, the Swiss
type OF architecture has been adopted
for hotels and other buildings. Girls
employed about the hostelries are
dressed In the quaint and artistic
costumes of Swiss peasant girls.
Against the background Of towering.
snow-capped peaks the view about
these thronged buildings closely re-
sembles similar views among the
Alps.
The attendance of visitors in the
national parks is mounting by hun
dreds Of thousands each year. Mr..
Mather said. Much Of this increase
in recent years is ascribed to the
Improvement Of motor roads not only
in the parks but across the continent.
The National Park Service has a
big problem in supplying camping
grounds and other comforts for the
growing army of the parks stock
holders" who annually look them
over. Mr.. Mather declared. but 80
far has been able to expand its facili-
ties to meet all needs.