commensurate with what the State is doing on approach roads, citizens of these cities joined in a huge celebration on June 15, the day the park opened. Parades were held in both cities, after which most participants went to the park, where formal ceremonies opening the season were held at Longmire Springs in the evening. The governor of the State and the general commanding the troops at Camp Lewis took part in all events of the day. Newspapers carried detailed reports of the opening celebration. Speeches made during the day urged increased Federal aid in the construction of roads within the park. Editorial comment on the opening day events stressed the necessity for better financial consideration of the park by Congress. ROADS WORSE THAN EVER. The park roads have been badly worn in past years by heavy automobile traffic because there were insufficient funds available for maintenance. This year the roads fell into a bad state of disrepair, which it was impossible to overcome with the available meager funds. Considerably less money was granted the park this year than was appropriated last year, despite the increase in travel and the gradual impairment of the roads by the heavy traffic. Gravel surfacing of the highway most used, the Nisqually entrance to Paradise Valley road, was nearly worn out before the season opened, and under the sustained heavy traffic of the summer, which was one of the driest on record, the road went to pieces. It is absolutely necessary that this highway be paved at least as far as Longmire Springs and surfaced with crushed rock between that point and Paradise Valley. There is no more important road-improvement project in the nationalpark system than the surfacing of this road, which, it must be remembered, is used by all visitors both coming and going. The present condition of the road is particularly obnoxious and disagreeable to visitors, not only because of the ruts, chuck holes, and dust, but also because the road connects with excellent surfaced State roads that lead to the park boundary. Within the present year the pavement of the State highway leading to the Nisqually entrance will be completed. THE WEST SIDE ROAD SYSTEM NEXT. Under appropriations available for the current year the Carbon River Road is being extended to the vicinity of the Carbon Glacier and considerably more work has been done on the widening of the road to Paradise Valley above the Nisqually Glacier, also work has progressed satisfactorily on the new road above Narada Falls. Insufficient appropriations have made it impossible to complete this very important widening work undertaken originally for the purpose of making possible two-way traffic between the Glacier and Paradise Valley. Only an extremely small part of Mount Rainier Park is accessible by automobile road, and now that the Carbon River Highway leading to the northwest corner of the park is completed the need for a road along the west side of Mount Rainier is very apparent. This road will be costly but when completed will be one of the scenic highways of the world, touching as it will many glaciers, traversing numerous glaciated gorges, deep and rugged, and passing through vast forests. |