Evening star., 1926-06-13


has been built out of 43
States. 1t ia their gift to the public.
The name of the new state is the Com
monweaith OF Parks. 1t is distrlb-
uted in more than 500 areas of land
up and down the United states. II
all the State parks were collected and
fitted together Ike a map puzzle they
would make a block of land So miles
on a side.
These are the findings of a survey
Just recently completed by the Ma
tional Conference on State Parks and
Forests The report on the State
parks will he placed before governors.
cOnservationists and
patriotic citizens who will attend the
annual meeting Of the conference Mt
Hot Springs, Ark. on June IA.
There has been no stinting on the
commonwealth Of Parks. the survey
shows. The States have given their
hest and most cherished sites to the
public-Niagara Falls. Lincoin's Birth
place. Riley's "Old Swimmin' Hole, ;"
Starved Rock. Wisconsin Dells. Lake
Itasca. the California Redwoods, Gene
Stratton Porter's "Limberlost.'
Some of the parks are precious for
their scenic beauty: some saw the
most stirring chapters of American
history; some contain the choicest nat
ural wonders on the continent. Fa-
nous poets. song writer's, naturalls
and authors are memorialized ny the
reservations Striking dramas OF Ee-
ology are preserved in some of the
marks and the largest do double duty
for recreation and protection of water
sheds.
In April. 1924, President Coolidge
issued a proclamation which laid the
foundation for unified announcement
| of outdoor recreation. The President
| called the Conference on Outdoor
Recreation to draw all agencies to-
gether. The survey of the Natlonai
Conference on State Parks is a ma1or
contribution to the Nationwide in.
| quiry summing up the United states
| recreation resources.
Standing beside the State Parks
Survey will be other reports by the
Playground and Recreation Associa-
ton Of America, the American Fores-
| try Association, the National Parks
| Association, the United States Cham
ber of Commerce and the Bureau OF
| Public Roads. Together they Will
| cover the problems of State parks,
| National parks, municipal parks.
county parks, Federal land policies
and highways.
To the individual this will probably
mean in time that his children Will
| he guaranteed a neighborhood park
to play in; that there will be city
parks where he himself can play or
rest at the end Of the day; that there
will be parks within easy reach for
week end pleasure: that there Will pe
"a State park every hundred miles
! when he tours. and finally that there
will be State and National parks avail
| q h1o for his Summer vacation,
| State parks vary in size from the
! ] $50 ,OOO.acre recreation ranch or
Adirondack Park in New York to Dart
, Island State Park, Il one-acre sand
bar in the Connecticut River. All
rondack Park IL second in size only
to Yellowstone National Park. state
parks fall roughly into two classes
| first, parks for purely recreational
uses. which comprise three-nfths Oh
the 4,313,000 acres set aside. and, sec
ondly State forests which nave peeh
opened for recreation.
| The survey found that If all the land
now the property of the States and
capable of being used by the people
were opened up as state parks the
area total would Immediately run up
! to 10 900 900 acres This acreage is
equal to the combined area of Massa'
| chusetts, Connecticut and Rhode
| Island.
| State parks and forests serve an
important place in inviting the SUM
mer misrations Of tourist campers.
Most of such tourists bring money
into a State and add to the income
Of all classes. Seasonal conditions an
vite such tourists North in Summer
and private and public provisions Tor
entertaining them are increasing
every season. The development OF the
cabin camp, with a central eating
place, surrounded by snug one-room
shacks, with bed, stove and other
simple necessities, which grew up
first in the West. has now extended
east, and Is to be found In many
public preserves as we'll as in private
enterprises.
| Provisions of this kind are also de-
veloping along some of the great high.
ways leading south. and the increase
| of public preserves In the States OF the
| South and Southwest will afford op-
portunities for this form of service to
| tourists.
State parks and forests are now so
numerous and so distributed In the
| States which many Of the important
!! transcontinental motor highways