Evening star., 1925-05-26

the motorist travelling across the
country primarily TO visit the nationa
parks TO break his journey in a State
park about every days drive. The
idea in the minds of many of us is
that the national park service, by the
maintenance of large areas in appro
pirate sections, should form the back
bone of an interstate park chain OF
which State parks would form links
Some of the smaller national parks
and national monuments should re
vert to State control and become State
pride. This plan should include the
taking over by them OF limited areas
of few hundred square miles or less
suitable for park purposes. There
are small areaS-for example, the in
ternationally known Cumberland Gap
the Carlsbad Cave, in New MeXico-all
potential, each of absorbing interest
to the naturalist and financial assets
to States of great possibilities that
might well be developed by the State
in line with this policy.
But scenic attractions are not suf
ficient to bring people to a State in
large numbers if highways remain
unimproved. This has been the ex.
perience of the West and it will be
the experience of the East if the
park system is to be extended. Many
States in the West long ago realized
the financial returns from good roads
as feeders for the national parks. and
we now have chain Of highways that
enable tourists to go from park to
park in safety and comfort. Linked
with these national parks by good
roads and cooperative administration
should be smaller parks and monu-
ments patterned after the large areas,
i1Iri
Serves Notice to States.
Mr.. Mather, enlarging somewhat on
Secretary Works statement, declared
that in addition to the State parks
large cities and even counties should
take over areas within their juriSdic-
tions which are suitable for park
poses. His address was virtually a
notice to the Commonwealths that
the National Park service has in the
past been taking over areas too small
for national park purposes merely to
preserve them until the States awoke
to their value to the people, and that
the time had arrived for the Common
wealthS now to assume their own bur
den
Representative r. Walton Moore of
Virginia, described the site here that
has been selected as the seat of the
ILtSl iIISt lldllOIldi pain VI llolS DIS
an area rich in the early history of
the Nation.
Having reveled in the rich mem
ories that pervade all this part of
Virginia. he said, many a visitor
will embrace the opportunity to feast
upon the memories which attach to
the longer settled section, even down
to where the first colony struggled for
existence at jamestown.
There should be no faltering and
no mistake as to the establishment of
this park. Not to establish a national
park in such q place, amid such an
environment, would be a national loss.
1t would sacrifice possibilities of a
very definite and noble character
which pertain to the well being of
the people and to which no citizen of
our great Republic can afford to be
Indifferent
Gov. Trinkle welcomed the dele
gates to their opening session yester-
day afternoon. Among other speak
ers were DIR. Gilbert Grosvenor, pres
ident of the National Geographic So
ciety; DIR. John ]. Tigert, commission
er of the Federal Board of Educa-
ton, and Col. David c. Chapman.