HISTORY 27 



work under the War Department instead of the Interior De- 

 partment. 



This system was probably unavoidable in the early days 

 of the parks, and probably saved the Yellowstone from injury. 

 But as time went on it became more and more apparent that 

 a system of civilian control was to be preferred. Then, too, 

 it was most unjust to the Army. Vast appropriations charged 

 to the War Department were really expended for the benefit 

 of the Department of the Interior. Secretary Garrison on 

 May I, 1914, called this to the attention of Secretary Lane in 

 a letter reviewing the matter, and suggested that the 

 time had come for the Department of the Interior to take over 

 the complete handling of the parks. 



The military forces were withdrawn from the Yellowstone 

 in October, 1916, and a special ranger force created to take 

 over the work. A year later, however, Congress concluded 

 that the park should be guarded by soldiers, and by making 

 Interior Department funds non-available for protective pur- 

 poses through legislation in the act of June 12, 191 7 (40 Stat. 

 L., 151) made necessary the recall of the cavalry to the park. 

 The troops were withdrawn definitely from the California 

 parks in 1913. With the final withdrawal from the Yellow- 

 stone in 191 8 all military control ceased, and all the parks 

 are now protected by civilian rangers. The system of ranger 

 control is described in the chapter on Organization. 



Other events of importance in recent park history have been 

 an inspection trip of a number of members of the House Com- 

 mittee on Appropriations to six of the leading northern 

 parks in the summer of 1920, and the formal establishment 

 and designation of a great connected highway between the 

 major parks of the Far West to be known as the National 

 Park-to-Park Highway. 



Mention of this highway leads naturally to mention of 

 the automobile, the basic motive for the creation of the road 

 being the desire for the establishment of a trunk line for motor 

 vehicles that will take the auto tourists to every one of the 



