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GLACIER PARK IS U. S. ALPINESGREAT PALLS, July 23.—QJacter national park has all of the scenic wonders of Alpine Switzerland ahd la so Urge that Switzerland could be lost within It* borders, C. J, Kraeble. superintendent of ttva park, said In a speech, before the Great FUlli K1 wants club Monday noon, when the Kl-wanlt were hoets to out-of-town delegates here attending the joint convention of the Y-G Bee Line o*ocla-llon and the National Park-to-Park Highway association.Routine bunom of the club me* suspended for the meeting, which taws given over entirely to the entertainment of the visitors. Prortdbnt William Moeri of thdolub Introduced Congressman Scott Leavitt, who Is president of both highway associations, who In turn - lntrodtgoed Superintendent Kraeble.IfamrleiM Kent tires, Mr. Kraeble made a plea for continuance of many of the namjeless features of Glacier, park, stating there are many creeks, lakes, mountain peaks which have not yet been named.‘There la something romantic about a scenic wonder that yet has no name, and when one has Men overwhelmed by Its grandeur and then learns it Is nameless, It leaves a lasting Impression.” he said. George Bird Grlnnell named many of ‘the features of the park, and so long as he gave them) name* from Indian traditions, they wwre very fitting; but when ho drew from the names of his friends, some of whom have no relation with or attachment to the {park, It Is my opinion It would have been better If these features had been left nameless.”Superintendent Kraeble, to illustrate his point that some of the present names of points of Interest In the park should be changed, said that there Is an attrat^Jve stream and mountain pass named In honor of a man who har since been arrested and Is now serving'^lme for being a bootlegger.Wfcen he first csme to the park this spring. Mr. Kraeble said he had no doubt that the trananvountaln highway through Logan lt;pess would be completed so that the president could formally open It on July 4, 1927, but since he has been able to get over the ground, and has stood at the foot of the walla of Logan pass he has come to realise that it Is a construction job that rwfjl tax the aklll and Ingenuity of the ibeet engineers to complete in three years' time. However, he stated that If the government gives the money and pushes the program hard enough ^^can undoubtedly be finished by that date.Unu*ual Traffic.Automobile visitors to Glacier park have Increased this year by 100 per cent over last year, he said, while visitors who come by railway bave shown s decrease. The total visitors for the year Will reach 60,000 he estimates, which will be an Increase of 16,000 over lost year.Mr. Kraeble dartres to increase the auto camping fad lit I on. In the park. He expects that between 190,-000 and 1100,000 will be spent on building new camps and Improving new ones In the next five yean. At tbe present time the park seYvice is limited to an expenditure of 1300 for each camp, and tbe total fund Is small.Not until the transmountain highway through Logan pass Is completed will Glacier park rvally come Into Its own, he sold, sa 50 pier Cent of the pnrk-to-park traffic that would normally come to northern Montana Is now sidetracked by the Tact that It la necessary to ship can from Glacier Park station to Belton.Stephen T. Mather of Washington, director of national parka, and Major Edward H. Pershing of New: Hope, Pa., who were tpe speaken at the dinner given In Hotel Rainbow Monday evening by tbe Great Falla Commercial club to the delegatee attend ing the Joint convention of the Y-Q Bee Line highway and the National Park-to-Park highway associations.The national parks are America's great meltfbg pot,” said Mr. Mather. He told of conversations he had had with tourists In all parts of the United State* about the various national parka of tha west and the common bond that Invariably developed when strangers got to comparing notes on« what they had Been. Persona from all walks of Ufe, meeting In a national park, meet on the name, plane, he continued, and this could not help but give breadth of vision.One of the pleasures of motoring through f national park, thkpark director found when he himself was roughing It” In Yellowstone park last year, Is the contact one gets with people from many other states In the fnlon. He said he had come across motor camps where a score or more cars were parked and had noticed that hardly two cbks were from the state, y»t tbe whols group were mixing together like one family. To have the advantage of such contact, he said, was a great privilege and could not help but bring about a better understanding among cltitens of this great nation and do much to overcome bolshevistic tendencies, If there are any.Logan Paso.The completion of the tranamoun-taln road In Glacier park, through Logan pass, will be one of tbe greatest achievements of the park service, Mr. Mather said. He pfuphealed that with Its completion the traffic thru northern Montana will reach a point beyond tbe greatest expectations of the people of this state. The building of that one short stretch of highway means as much to the cities on the Pacific coast as does the Improvement' of any of the national parka In Washington and California, he continued. As for Great Palls, he expneeued his conviction that this city ’will be “sitting pretty” then, as It will be the half-way point for tremendous motor travel which will pass between Glacier and Yellowstone when Logan pass la opened to automobiles.The national park service has been hampered greatly In the past for lack of funds, tha director said, because congress has been slow to understand Its needs and quick to cut down Its meager appropriations wben a shaving had to be made In public expenditures. Tbe first big appropriation to have been made to the park service was unanimously authorised In both houses of^pngrest and approved by tbe president this year, and then failed to become a reality because of a filibuster In tbe closing hours of tbs national legislature. /Patience la a virtue of which bis branch of the government has a.plenty. Mr. Mather continued.We can afford to wait,” he said. Things are coming along and they are going to be ail right in the end because the people of this qountry are with us. If congress falls us again there's going to be an explosion—and that's coming from the thousands of 'tin can’ tourists and other Americans who appreciate the plea mi res of touring In the parks and want them Improved.”Methods of popularizing the notional parks to attract easterners to the west were outlined by the director who told of the co-operation given by his department to the National Park to Park Highway association and to other agencies Interested In stimulating travel. He said that he believed the national park to park highway to be as well.known In the oast as In the west.Nearly everybody else may Judge you. by the style of vour car, but yoar banker doesn't
Newspaper Details
Helena Columbian
Helena, Montana, US
Thu, Jul 31, 1924
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
University O.
USA 02 Dec 2024
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