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Sierra Club Bulletin. 



ing to the recomimendations of the commission. The latter is 

 composed of Major H, M. Chittenden, United States Army- 

 Engineer ; R. B. Marshall, United States Geological Survey ; 

 and Frank Bond, Chief of Drafting Division of the General 

 Land Office. The members are entirely impartial and the best 

 possible choice; R. B. Marshall has been in charge of the Geo- 

 logfcal Survey's mapping of the Yosemite region for some years, 

 and is perfectly familiar with its topography and forests. The 

 matter may be considered quite safe with President Roosevelt. 



It may here be remarked that when the bill for the establish- 

 ment of a national park at the Vancouver Pinnacles in San 

 Benito County comes before Congress, as it is likely to do this 

 winter, it will be acted on by Congress and the President in 

 accordance with an expert report from the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. The examination and report were 

 made at the suggestion of two members of the Sierra Club. 



Yosemite proposed recession of Yosemite Valley to the 



Valley United States and the incorporation of it with 

 the Yosemite Park surrounding it are likely to meet 

 with opposition, possibly with defeat. Final action in the matter 

 hinges on the attitude of the State Legislature, members of 

 Congress having declared their intention of being guided by the 

 recommendation of the Legislature. Already violent partizan- 

 ship has been shown by certain newspapers, and the subject seems 

 likely to leave the domain of common sense. Recession to the 

 United States, and a termination of the trust on the part of 

 the State, is very desirable, and has been unanimously approved 

 by the Directors of the Sierra Club. In opposition to it, the 

 emotion chiefly appealed to is that of "State pride." This might 

 be reasonable if the pride of the State for its noblest single 

 scene could be injured by the proposed transfer of management. 

 Few travelers and visitors, however, know or care whether it 

 is administered by the State, the United States, or a private 

 individual, so long as it is preserved in a condition suitable 

 to its natural grandeur. That it is in California, everybody 

 knows and remembers, and that to see it one must come to 

 California. The United States, if possessor of it, would be a 

 shadow as compared with California in the recollection of any 

 visitor. Friends of recession should remember to always insist 

 that the present means of approach are poor and entirely inade- 

 quate ; that the State will not build good roads over lands it has 

 no title to; that no individual will build good and free roads; 

 that the United States, not owning the valley, has no interest 

 in building good roads to it; that if the United States is put 



