508 



RECREATION. 



This extension Southward will not only 

 prevent the building of railway lines 

 through the country included within its ex- 

 tended limits, but by covering the only 

 practicable pass for railroads in the region, 

 would leave no route for a railroad across 

 the Western border of the State from the 

 North line thereof South for nearly 200 

 miles, the most practicable route for rail- 

 way extension through Northwest Wyom- 

 ing and Westward toward the coast, being 

 up the Wind river, over the To-go-te Pass, 

 skirting the North end of Jackson lake, 

 thence over the pass of Fall river at the 

 present Southwest border of the park into 

 Idaho. 



Imagine a proposition to erect a barrier 

 extending from Harrisburg to Rochester, 

 from Cincinnati to Toledo, or from Chicago 

 to Indianapolis, over which no railway line 

 might ever be constructed or operated, di- 

 verting for all time all railway construc- 

 tion and traffic around the Northern or 

 Southern limits of this barrier, and you have 

 a condition which is proposed to bring 

 about in the Northwestern portion of Wyo- 

 ming. I do not pretend that the region 

 which would be affected is as important as 

 the regions between the points I have used 

 as an illustration, but it is wonderfully rich 

 in its agricultural possibilities, in its coal 

 and mineral deposits, and no man can meas- 

 ure the riches in oils and minerals beneath 

 the surface. This closing of the passes 

 to the railways means, in my opinion, a 

 delay which would retard the growth of 

 the State for many years, and the perma- 

 nent deflection of at least one great trunk 

 line which would forever disastrously af- 

 fect the development of the entire State, 

 whose wealth in coal, oil and other min- 

 erals, as well as agricultural possibilities 

 is only beginning to be realized. 



The advocates of the extension of the 

 park boundaries have seemed to lose sight 

 of the fact that at present travel to the Yel- 

 lowstone National Park by rail is practical- 

 ly monopolized by one railroad which ap- 

 proaches within a few miles of the Mam- 

 moth Hot Springs on the North. The travel 

 to the park at present is not very great, 

 but the interests of the millions who in 

 future will visit that wonder spot demand 

 that we shall not erect further barriers 

 around the park and that we shall not, by 

 numerous extensions of its area to the 

 South and East, forever assure an undis- 

 turbed monopoly to one line of railway to 

 that region. 



I have never advocated the building of 

 railways within the present boundaries of 

 the National Park. On the contrary, I have 

 opposed such a policy, but I feel it my 

 duty to oppose any further extension of the 

 park boundary which will result in placing 

 the nearest point of approach by railways 

 from the South and East such a distance 



from the natural wonders of the park that 

 they will be forever unable to compete for 

 business with the line on the North, al- 

 ready built to the present boundary. 



Imagine the Yellowstone Park extended 

 East to include the present timber land re- 

 serve, and a region extending 25 or 30 

 miles still farther South, as has been pro- 

 posed. What would be the effect? The 

 distance from the East boundary of the Na- 

 tional Park would then be, to the Yellow- 

 stone lake, the first point of interest on a 

 park trip, would be 70 miles, while from 

 the same point to the natural wonders of 

 the park would not be less than 120 miles. 

 From the present terminus on the Northern 

 Pacific railroad to the nearest point of inter- 

 est in the park, the Mammoth Hot Springs, 

 is 4 miles, and an average distance of less 

 than 25 miles to the points of greatest in- 

 terest in that region. 



The result would be absolute monopoly 

 forever of park travel to the road already 

 in operation. 



Another result would be that no trunk 

 line could ever be constructed Northwest 

 through Wyoming, for the only pass would 

 be closed by the National Park. One of 3 

 lines of railway will develop central and 

 Northwestern Wyoming, and with present 

 conditions under which it is possible to get 

 near enough to the natural wonders in the 

 park to be able to successfully compete for 

 the tourist travel into that region, with a 

 practicable route across the Continental 

 Divide and North of the Teton range open, 

 we may hope in a few years to see one or 

 more of these lines extended and one of 

 the richest regions in the heart of the West 

 developed. 



Park extensions East and South would 

 be a crime against future visitors to the 

 National Park, depriving them of the bene- 

 fits of a new and competing line to the 

 park and an opportunity to view mountain 

 scenery in the Teton and Shoshone region 

 surpassing in rugged grandeur any moun- 

 tain scenery on the American continent. 

 The weird, fantastic grandeur of the ranges 

 East of the park and the matchless beau- 

 ty of the pinnacled summits of the Tetons 

 would be forever denied the average tour- 

 ist and traveler into the park region. 



As against these objections to Park ex- 

 tensions, is the argument in favor of the 

 preservation of the American elk, and as 

 between these conflicting interests, I siand 

 on the side of accessibility and develop- 

 ment. I am of the opinion, however, that 

 the preservation of the big game in the 

 Yellowstone Park and adjacent regions 

 does not depend upon any extensions of the 

 present boundaries of the park. Wyoming 

 has to-day and has had for many years 

 the most stringent game laws of any State 

 in the Northwest, and except as those laws 

 have been violated by people from other 



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