THE NATIONAL PARKS SYSTEM 241 



resenting also the "unmodified primitive life of the 

 world, both plant and animal, remaining just as the 

 Creator moulded it over the mountains and the val- 

 leys." 



Our national super-university of nature, if thus 

 created under the concentrated gaze of the nation, 

 would, by virtue of the people's concept, be as safe 

 as the Lincoln Memorial. It would be accepted for 

 all time as one of our most cherished National Insti- 

 tutions. But, though we actually possess exactly 

 that to-day, nearly completed and equipped, and in 

 far nobler expression than could be got afresh in 

 times when little of the primitive remains, it is far 

 from safe. Because, like monumental cathedrals, its 

 building has been spread thinly over many years (and 

 meantime its naves and chapels utilized for pleasur- 

 ing), the majority of the people of to-day fail to 

 appreciate either the majesty of architecture or the 

 nobility of purpose of the amazing thing which they 

 actually possess. 



Besides the National Parks System, the country 

 possesses another lesser outdoor national museum 

 in its National Monuments System, which we shall 

 describe later. The two are not in competition. The 

 latter is far broader in its scope, and where it touches 

 the field of the National Parks System it supple- 

 ments it. Scenic magnificence is not a requisite of 

 National Monuments, though occasionally it exists ; 

 nor is recreation a necessary or desirable function, 

 though nearness to through highways bring some 



