The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1929-01-03
AIRPLANES IN PARKS
BEING CONSIDERED

Whether the march of progress
which finally opened the gates Of the
Yellowstone National park to auto
mobiles, will likewise secure en-
trance for the airplane, is being de-
hated in Washington, D. c., and else
where, according to the annual re
port of Roy O. West, secretary of
the interior, received recently in the
offices of the United States land Of
flee at Cheyenne.
"Manifestly the airplane will be-
come an accepted means of trans
portation to and between national
parks, if not in the parks Secretary
West said in his report, and added
"Their use then will make it neees-
sary for the service to provide them
with facilities and to regulate them"
The railroads should be consulted
in proposals to establish airplane
landing fields at railroad terminals
near the Yellowstone National park,
the secretary said.
"The department has considered
that the railroads, which in early
times made the development of the
parks possible, first should be heard
in this connection. 1t has been pro-
posed that they be permitted to build
airports within the park lines near
railroad terminals and to land pas
sengers in the park at these airports,
renting to private airplanes the use.
of such airports with a proper serv-
ice hcarge.
Whether or not airplanes can be
used effectively for sight seeing in
the park is also discussed by the
secretary of the interior.
1t is urged that no encouragement
should be given to the use of air
planes as sightseeing conveyances,
for the reason that it is impossible
to obtain an accurate conception Of
the beauties and wonders Of national
parks by flying over them at safe
attitudes. Others aver that only
from the air can view be obtained
of generally inaccessible and most
interesting places There appears to
be no general objection to the en-
ployment of airplanes between air.
ports in the parks over routes to be
established and regulated by that
service. It seems evident, too, that
unless airports shall be provided with
in the parks, under park supervision,
the service cannot expect to control
flying over these areas.
In the fifty-six years that the ma
tional parks have been in existence
their use by the people has grown
to where last year approximately g.
100000 tourists visited them, Secre-
tary West said. Of the 100000 vis-
itors to these Fairgrounds Of the ma
tion, approximately seventy per cent
used private automobiles.
Of the growth Of national parks
he says further;
"The development of modes of
travel in national parks has present.
ed various problems. The tourist has
viewed the parks progressively afoot,
on horseback, from stage coaches and
from automobiles. Only twenty years
ago the National Park Service was
confronted with objections to the in
PRODUCTION into the parks of automo-
biles. The protests of nature lovers
were overcome finally by the crowds
who emphasized the inadequacy of
the horse drawn stage and coach.
And now we find preserved as curl
osities in some of the parks those
''relics" of only a few years ago.
Many park tourists still prefer to
tramp or to ride saddle horses. Since
many of the most beautiful areas are
accessible only in this way, there is