National Park Notes 



321 



TRAVEL AND APPROPRIATIONS 



It is of interest to make a brief analysis of our park appropriations and the 

 revenues secured from their administration, in comparison with the volume of 

 tourist travel for the past five years, which v/ill cover the period during which 

 the National Park Service has had charge of them. Perhaps no clearer convic- 

 tions for the obvious need of increased appropriations can be gained than 

 through an inspection of the following comparative table: 



tr Visitors Automo- -r, • . Appropria- Vot;rv,ofoo 



^^^^ Parks Monmts. biles. ^^^^^P^s Estimates 



1916 356,097 29,358 $177,490.69 $252,746.80 $280,850.00 



1917 488,268 54,692 180,652.30 529,800.00 1,105,083.01 



1918 451,661 53.966 217,330.55 512,180.00 1,008,318.20 



1919 755,325 56,191 97.721 196,678.03 946,264.48 1,058,619.00 



1920 910,504 138,951 128,074 316,877.96 884,850.76 789,380.00 



1921 (to present time) 1,007,336 164,461 175,825 396,928.27 1,031,549-16 2,345,867.50 



1922 1,402,200.00 2,488,004.50 



WATER-POWER ACT AMENDED 



A danger to our national parks and monuments that has been eliminated dur- 

 ing the year was contained in certain provisions of the Federal water-power 

 act, which became a law on June 10, 1920, and which opened all the national 

 parks and monuments to water-power development. This bill had been signed 

 by the President, however, only upon an understanding that amendatory legis- 

 lation would be presented and passed at the next session of Congress which 

 would exclude the parks and monuments from the scope of the act. After the 

 convening of the new Congress last December Senator Jones, of Washington, 

 introduced a bill in the Senate, and Representatives Esch and Rogers in the 

 House of Representatives, for the purpose of so amending the act as to exclude 

 the parks and monuments from its application. The amendment first under 

 consideration provided broadly for the exclusion of all national parks and 

 monuments from the operation of the act, but this, upon further consideration, 

 was later changed, with the department's approval, to all existing parks and 

 monuments. This was not done with the idea that there would be or could be 

 any compromise with the principle of complete conservation as applied to na- 

 tional parks, but because any such provision applying to future national parks 

 could be only an expression of intention rather than of fact, one Congress not 

 having the power to bind another. It will be necessary, therefore, where appli- 

 cable, to include provision for the application of the Federal water-power act 

 as amended by the act of March 3, 1921, in future legislation covering the 

 creation of new parks or the enlargement of existing ones. 



As a further indication of the attitude of Congress, a clause was included in 

 the appropriation for the Federal Power Commission contained in the sundry 

 civil act approved March 4, 192 1, providing that no part of that appropriation 

 should be used for any expense connected with the leasing of water-power fa- 

 cilities in any national park or monument. 



CONGRESS ON RECORD 



In this conclusive manner Congress placed itself on record, upholding the in- 

 violability of the national parks. Aside from the principles expressed in the 

 creation of the National Park Service five years ago, never before has Congress 



