is a splendid beach for bathing, hills to climb, flora of great beauty 
and variety, and striking scenery. 
That the Dunes should be allowed to disappear before the advanc- 
ing march of commercialism would be a sin against ourselves and our 
posterity. 
The Park in the Dunes 
That there should be a national park on Lake Michigan for the 
people in the industrial centers near-by is a vital point in the argument 
to save the Dunes of Indiana as a pleasure ground. It would be a 
shame to the public spirit of the cities of northen Indiana if they per- 
mitted their remaining stretch of beaches, famed for moving dunes, 
for geologic, botanic, and various scientific wonders as well as world 
renowned for beauty, to be torn to pieces for mill sites. Surely a 
conception of what a national park of unspoiled country and lake shore 
would mean to the millions of toilers within an hour's journey on their 
holidays, should be enough to convince the Department of the Interior 
that it ought to be set apart for park purposes. 
Nearly all, if not all, the national parks are at remote distances 
from the centers of population. They will never be enjoyed by the 
majority of American citizens, many of whom have a heartfelt longing 
for clear skies, open waters, woodlands, and all that nature can give 
in the wild. The Dunes between Chesterton and Michigan City 
have infinite variety of landscape, shore, forest, hill, valley, and marsh 
and inland streams, with all the trees, shrubs, wild flowers, and birds 
native to the zone. 
There is no national park on the east shore of Lake Michigan, the 
great inland sea. Wisconsin has dedicated a strip of shore on the 
west coast, the Wisconsin State Park at Green Bay. The loss of 
Indiana's bathing beaches for some twenty miles would be a serious 
matter for the future of the state. These, as well as a desire to pre- 
serve a region unique in beauty, are among the reasons for the resolu- 
tion presented by Senator Taggart in Washington the other day and 
for the organization of the National Dunes Park Association. 
The results of the investigations by Franklin K. Lane, Secretary 
of the Interior, to be reported to Congress Dec. i, will state whether 
the people really want to make a national park of the Dunes. Now is 
the time to arouse public enthusiasm and to convince the Secretary 
of the Interior of the value of the Indiana shore to the nation. 
Whether the government shall appropriate funds or private individ- 
uals subscribe for the purchase, whether the park shall be named for 
the loved Indiana poet, Riley, are questions that can be decided later. 
