The National Park Service * * * * 123 



It will be seen that in the early days national parks were created 

 from time to time by Congress without any particular policy governing 

 their establishment. Some of the parks were established as a part of 

 local activities of the states. It was many years before the idea evolved 

 that the greatest of these scenic wonders should be gathered together 

 by the federal government under one management guided by a broad 

 policy. There was no bureau in Washington to govern the parks ac 

 cording to a comprehensive plan and policy until 1916. Previous to 

 that time the parks were looked after by the Secretary of the Interior 

 as a part of the miscellaneous activities of his department. To keep 

 order in the parks, the Secretary of the Interior called upon the War 

 Department for troops, which were stationed in Yellowstone, Yosemite, 

 General Grant, and Sequoia parks each summer. 



In the parks where the troops were on patrol, the acting superin 

 tendent was a military officer, usually changed each year. He reported 

 to the Secretary of the Interior as well as to the War Department. In 

 Yellowstone there was still further division of authority in that all 

 improvements were under the army engineering corps and of course 

 no engineer officer would be required to report to the superintendent, 

 who was a cavalry officer. Consequently, there were times when the 

 park roads were not available to the public because the engineers would 

 not take instructions from the superintendent who was chiefly respon 

 sible for provisions for the traveling public. On the other hand, it is 

 only fair to say that there were some remarkably able army officers in 

 charge of the parks from time to time, men deeply interested in their 

 work and eager to render every possible service to the public. 



A superintendent who deserves special mention was Nathaniel P. 

 Langford, who had charge of Yellowstone during the first five years 

 after the creation of the park. Mr. Langford not only served without 

 remuneration, but paid all his own expenses as well. He had no as 

 sistance and lacked adequate authority, and in his constant struggle to 

 protect the park from depredations he had little to aid him except per 

 suasion and discussion. Yet he was able to do much to protect the park 

 in those early days and kept visitors from carrying away valuable 

 exhibits. 



In parks not placed under military control, the superintendents were 

 often political appointees, chosen because of favors to their parties 

 rather than because of particular qualification for their work. Fortu 

 nately, some of these men were very good executives. In some cases, 

 they made miserable failures of their tasks of preserving the park 

 wonders for the future. Appropriations were small, and with the excep 

 tion of the Yellowstone, Crater Lake, and Mount Rainier National 

 parks, where road systems were built by the army engineers, very little 



