Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-17
BY WILLIAM ELLMAN-

w land settings many miles
4 ' 4 from the inroads of com.
munity life are to benefit
from a comprehensive road improve.
ment program which is under way
for the national parks. For the next
10 years this program will be advanc-
ing the accessibility of these garden
spots of the Nation and it will be suf-
ficiently developed for the 1927 tourists
to experience increased travelling COM
fort through these alluring natural
areas.
Development of these great park
spaces offers motordom number of
Fairgrounds that are unsurpassed in
scenic wonders the world over. To
them may go the motor wanderer who
seeks something more than the con-
ventional beauties of mountain and
farmland vistas, and In them view
exquisite charms of woodland scenery
at its best. the majestic spectacles
of boiling geysers, crystalline glaciers.
the splendors of crater lakes and
precipitous, vari-colored canyons.
These areas are immense play.
grounds, nearly 10000 square miles in
extent, but at the same time they are
fulfilling many practical purposes be.
sides. In them are preserved the Ma
tons choicest natural wonders, and
through them is effected the conserva-
ton of a great quantity of native wild
life, both animal and vegetable. of
the North American continent. With
in their confines are displayed many
simplified object lessons in the earth's
structure and the quirks of nature.
Highway advancement within the
parks means, therefore, that this vast
treasure ground will be made more
and more availa BILE for the explorations
of motordom.
Will Harmonic With Scenery.
The roads that will be either i'm
proved or extended are to be kept in
complete harmony with the surround
ing landscape of which they are a
part. For this purpose the National
Park Service employs landscape archi'
tects who so plan the intrapark high
ways that they are fitted into the
whole scheme with the greatest degree
of symmetry and propriety.
There are scarcely any single road
improvements to be given particular
emphasis. since the program Is COM
prehensive and is to be well dis.
tributed. An important stretch of
roadway, however. is that connecting
MERGED, Calf, with the Yosemite VAL
ley. 1t was opened during the latter
part of the 1926 touring season and
will be in excellent condition for the
current season. This road was used
during the last Winter by hundreds
who went to the Yosemite for the
Winter sports there.
Road improvement within the ma.
tional parks was authorized by Con-
gress, and appropriations were begun
. tn 1903 70 Ena ~ ~f n
construction work. While the plan
does not call for any large additions
to existing road mileage in the Inn
mediate future, it does provide for ex.
tensive rebuilding of roadways already
laid down, many of which have lapsed
into state of disuse and mean dis
comfort for the traveller. Since 1925.
the appropriations totaled $4,000, 900.
The 1928 Interior Department appro-
priation measure carries $2,000,000
more, and authorizes the Secretary of
Interior to enter into contracts which
obligate Congress to further appropri
atoms amounting to S2,500,000 in ad
dition to the previous sum specified
Scope Far-Reaching.
This park program. however. has a
more far-reaching scope than mere re.
1t has a definite reaction on the con-
tiguous State roads and has the effect
of bringing about appreciate improve.
ment in the connecting arteries of
travel. AS soon as certain park roads
are improved, the State approach
roads likewise are bettered, with the
result that the highway facilities
within the reservations become woven
into the one vast road scheme of the
section of the country where that par
ticular area of public land lies.
With roadways within the parks
improved, their appeal will be intensi-
fed beyond even the marked attraction
they now hold. This attraction was
well indicated during 1926, for during
that II months there were approx
mately 100000 private automobiles
driven into the parks and nearly
100000 tourists who sought the allur-
ing beauties of these delightful areas.
The lure of these selected regions
does not, however, hold out only
scenic beauties for the throngs that
travel many miles to see them. The
parks are becoming better equipped
every year to care for the tourists
who invade them and accordingly are
assuming those characteristics which
commend them to the motor tourist
without losing any OF the charm
which singles out these spots of tran
scendent beauty and majesty of ma
ture.
Pleasure Is Heightened.
The constant addition Of conven.
fences for the comfort of the tourist
throngs has heightened the pleasure
of visiting the national parks. An
important feature of their appeal is
the free public camping grounds that
are provided. There the itinerant mo-
torist may make himself at home and
experience some of the conveniences
of the day without losing the joys
which he goes to experience. The
camping grounds of the national parks
are well advanced in their appoint