The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1924-01-03
NEED OF BETTER
ROADS in PARKS
GOVERNMENT MAY ExPEND ST.
100000 IN YELLOWSTONE
AND OTHER PARKS
That is the Recommendation of Sec
rotary of the Interior Work; Total
of S3,O42,OO Has Been Expended
ON Yellowstone Roads.

A modern system of improved
roads and trails throughout the ma
tional parks and monuments is con-
tanned in a roadbuilding program sub
mitted to congress today and urgent
ly recommended by Secretary of the
Interior Work.
In a bill drafted and submitted to
the senate and house committees on
public lands an appropriation of 81
100000 is proposed to be expended
over a period of three years for this
purpose by the department of the in
terror through the national parks
service. Practically all the existing
roads in the national parks, 1T is
pointed out, were originally built for
horse drawn traffic and with the ad-
vent of the high-powered motor We
hicle travel have proven inadequate.
Enormous increases in the number OF
visitors to the national parks, most
of whom use automobiles as a means
of travel, have made the reconstruc-
ton and Improvement of the roads a
paramount necessity. The recommen-
dation of the secretary of the interior
to the senate and house committees
follows:
81 am submitting herewith draft of
a proposed bill authorizing the con-
struction, reconstruction and i'm
provement of roads and trails, inclu-
sive of necessary bridges, in the ma
tional parks and monuments under
the Jurisdiction of the department of
the interior. The director of the
budget has advised me that the con-
templated expenditure is not in con-
flict with the presidents financial
and 1 recommend favorable
consideration of this important
measure to your committee.
Most Urgent Demand
"In my opinion the most urgent
demand of the national parks today
Is for the reconstruction of most OF
the existing roads within their bord-
ers to measure up to the high stand
ard constructed or being constructed
to their boundaries by the United
States, or by the various states either
with or without federal aid, and for
a few new roads. In recent years
the congress has given special atten-
ton to the construction in coopera-
ton with the various states of a net
work of roads throughout the entire
country. Under this policy some
$4,000 600 for road work within
the national forests, a considerable
part of which has been appropriated.
This has resulted in a system of we'll
constructed highways to a few of the
entrances of the various national
parks and monuments, enabling mo-
florists to travel in comfort to them.
Since 1872.
"But since 1872 when the first ma
tional park the Yellowstone-was
created, a total of only s3,O42,3O0 has
been appropriated for the roads in the
national parks under small annual ap-
preparations by congress, of which
sum S1,482,0O0 or about one-half,
was expended for road development in
Yellowstone National park, while the
war department had charge of that
park. This explains why the road
system in Yellowstone is better de-
NSlOpGu lndn III any ObAOA PoA ~
tically all roads in the national parks
were originally built for horse-drawn
vehicular traffic, and with the advent
of the automobile have proven in
adequate. The travel to the national
parks in the past years has increased
to a tremendous total. Our records
show that since 1916, when the ma
tional park service was created a
bureau of this department and took
active charge of the administration of
the national parks and monuments
under the jurisdiction of this depart
ment, since which time the popular
ity of the park and monument system
dates, travel to the park and monu-
ments has increased from 356,097 Wis
itors to the tremendous total of