Total cost of program during fiscal 1963___.

year

$26, 711.55

26, 711.55 33, 123.00

59, 834.55 Let me point out, Mr. Speaker, that this cost estimate is based upon the actual cost of the certificate and its processing. It does not include the cost of the 1.2-million solicitations being mailed during the current fiscal year.

The United States of America honors the memory of‒‒‒‒‒‒

This certificate is awarded by a grateful nation in recognition of devoted and selfless consecration to the service of mankind in the Armed Forces of the United States. JOHN F. KENNEDY,

President of the United States.

THE 1961 SPECIAL DIVIDEND

The enclosed check or statement is a special dividend on your Government life in

[From the Knoxville Journal, Nov. 2, 1963] VOTE-HUNTING AD IN FRANKED MAIL DRAWS IRE OF RESIDENTS

Several Knoxvillians complained yesterday of President Kennedy seeking votes by enclosing advertisements in checks mailed to survivors of war veterans by the Veterans' Administration in franked envelopes.

The vote solicitation comes in the form of a letter offering the next of kin a "Presidential Memorial Certificate" over the signiture of J. S. Gleason, Jr., Administrator of Veterans' Affairs.

The letter states: "We in the Veterans' Administration help in the President's pro

gram by identifying next of kin eligible to

receive the certificate." It came in checks for widows and children of war veterans which arrived in Knoxville Thursday and Friday.

The vote soliciting apparently went out in checks mailed throughout the United States. A Chattanooga lawyer, Joe M. Parker, said one of his clients, a veteran's widow received one yesterday.

He accused Kennedy of trying "to exhume the memory of deceased veterans in an attempt to solicit votes of surviving widows and orphans."

The letter offered the memorial certificate if the next of kin should complete the enclosed form and mail it to the President.

This is undoubtedly an absolute low in an attempt to influence votes," Parker said. It used to be $2, a pint of whisky, or a cigar. Now it's an autograph."

SENATE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1963 (Legislative day of Tuesday, October 22,

1963)

The Senate met at 12 o'clock meridian, on the expiration of the recess, and was called to order by the President pro tem

pore.

The Chaplain, Rev. Frederick Brown Harris, D.D., offered the following prayer:

O Thou God of grace and mercy, who revealest Thyself in all that is true and pure and lovely, we beseech Thee so to cleanse our hearts of all that defiles that they may be fitting audience chambers for Thy presence, for Thou hast told us that it is only the pure in heart who shall see God.

We come with anxious burdens on our minds and hearts for our Nation and the world, with haunting fears spoiling the music of what could be a fair earth, but which is being cursed by an uneasy peace which is, itself, war. We come with deep

concern for the future our children's children will inherit from our blundering hands.

So, with contrite hearts, amid relent

less duties, we pause in the midst of toiling hours to acknowledge our human the pillars of Thy almightiness. frailties and to lean our weakness against frailties and to lean our weakness against

We ask it in the name of the Holy One who came to bring life abundant to all

the earth.

Amen.

THE JOURNAL

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Calendar No. 607 will be stated by title.

The LEGISLATIVE CLERK. A bill (H.R.

TRANSACTION OF ROUTINE
BUSINESS

On request of Mr. MANSFIELD, and by unanimous consent, it was ordered that there be a morning hour, with statements limited to 3 minutes.

als in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the statehood of the State of Indiana.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection to the request for the present consideration of this bill?

There being no objection, the bill (H.R. 3488) to provide for the striking of medals in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the statehood of the State of Indiana was considered, ordered to a

Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the RECORD an excerpt from the report (No. 630), explaining the purposes of the bill.

There being no objection, the excerpt was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

The Committee on Banking and Currency, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 3488) to provide for the striking of medals in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the statehood of the State of Indiana, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

The bill authorizes and directs the Treasury Department to manufacture for, and to sell to, an official agency of the State of Indiana, the Indiana Sesquicentennial Commission, not more than 100,000 national medals, at not less than the estimated cost of manufacture, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. Security satisfactory to the Director of the Mint must be furnished to indemnify the United States for the full payment of such cost. The medals shall be made and

delivered in quantities of not less than 2,000,

and no medals shall be made after December 31, 1966. Upon authorization from the Indiana Sesquicentennial Commission, the Secretary of the Treasury shall coin and sell to the public duplicates of the medals at cost (including labor).

The medals would carry suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Indiana Sesquicentennial Commission, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. The medals shall be of such size and of such metals as shall be deter

mined by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Indiana Sesquicentennial Commission.

H.R. 3488 and a number of companion bills were the subject of hearings before a subcommittee of the House Banking and Currency Committee at which Representative WILLIAM G. BRAY, Representative DONALD C. BRUCE, Representative WINFIELD K. DENTON, and Representative RICHARD L. ROUDEBUSH testified in support of this legislation. H.R. 3488 was reported on September 25, 1963 (H. Rept. 766, 88th Cong.), and it passed the House of Representatives on October 7, 1963. H.R. 3488 was considered by the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions on October 30, 1963, and by the full committee on October 31, 1963, and it was ordered reported without objection.

MEDAL IN COMMEMORATION OF 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST UNION HEALTH CENTER OF INTERNATIONAL LADIES' GARMENT WORKERS' UNION

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the Senator from Montana for the present consideration of Calendar No. 608, House bill 7193?

There being no objection, the bill (H.R. 7193) to provide for the striking of medals in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the first union health center in the United States by the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was considered, ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed

port (No. 631), explaining the purposes of the bill.

There being no objection, the excerpt was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

The Committee on Banking and Currency, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 7193) to provide for the striking of medals in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the first union health center in the United States by the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

H.R. 7193 would authorize and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and furnish to the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union an appropriate silver medal, and not more than 2,000 copies in bronze, at not less than the estimated cost of manufacture, including labor, materials, dies, use Seof machinery, and overhead expenses. curity satisfactory to the Director of the Mint would have to be provided to indemnify the United States for the full payment of all costs in connection with the issuance of the medals.

The medals would bear suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. The medals would be delivered in quantities of not less than 1,000, and no medals could be made after December 31, 1965.

Amendments to the original proposal (H.R. 6014, S. 1449) were recommended by the Treasury and have been incorporated in the clean bill reported to and passed by the House of Representatives. Subject to these amendments, the Treasury expressed no opposition to the bill.

The significance of the event which these medals would commemorate are set forth in

letters from the sponsor of the Senate companion bill, S. 1449, Senator HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, and from the Secretary of Labor, which are printed below as part of this report.

PETITION

The PRESIDENT pro tempore laid before the Senate a letter in the nature of a petition, signed by Howard Hillier, of Dafter, Mich., transmitting articles from the U.S. News & World Report, and Newsweek, which relate to a prior petition from him on October 28, 1963, praying for a redress of grievances, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES The following reports of committees were submitted:

By Mr. ROBERTSON, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, with amendments:

S. 2079. A bill to provide for the striking of three different medals in commemoration

of the Federal Hall National Memorial, Castle Clinton National Monument, and Statue of Liberty National Monument American Museum of Immigration in New York City, Museum of Immigration in New York City, N.Y. (Rept. No. 633).

By Mr. WILLIAMS of New Jersey, from the Committee on Banking and Currency,

without amendment:

S. 2032. A bill to authorize a study of methods of helping to provide financial assistance to victims of future flood disasters (Rept. No. 634).

By Mr. RANDOLPH, from the Committee on Public Works, without amendment:

H.R. 5244. An act to modify the project on the Mississippi River at Muscatine, Iowa, to permit the use of certain property for public park purposes (Rept. No. 636); and

H.R. 6001. An act to authorize the conveyance to the Waukegan Port District, Illinois, of certain real property of the United States (Rept. No. 637).

By Mr. RANDOLPH, from the Committee on Public Works, with amendments:

S. Res. 217. Resolution to authorize a study of a national system of scenic highways (Rept. No. 635).

By Mr. MUSKIE, from the Committee on Public Works, without amendment:

S. 432. A bill to accelerate, extend, and strengthen the Federal air pollution control program (Rept. No. 638); and

By Mr. MUSKIE, from the Committee on Public Works without amendment:

H.R. 6518. An act to improve, strengthen, and accelerate programs for the prevention and abatement of air pollution.

EXECUTIVE REPORT OF A
COMMITTEE

As in executive session, The following favorable report of a nomination was submitted:

By Mr. ROBERTSON, from the Committee on Banking and Currency:

J. Dewey Daane, of Virginia, to be a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

BILLS INTRODUCED

Bills were introduced, read the first time, and, by unanimous consent, the second time, and referred as follows:

By Mr. THURMOND:

S. 2294. A bill to amend the provisions of the United States Code with respect to the jurisdiction of courts of appeals of the United States to review orders of administrative officers and agencies, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

By Mr. EDMONDSON:

S. 2295. A bill to provide for the sale by the Secretary of the Army of certain lands in the Fort Gibson Reservoir, in Oklahoma, subject to flowage easements and other reservations; to the Committee on Public Works.

By Mr. YARBOROUGH:

S. 2296. A bill to provide for the establishPark, in the State of Texas; to the Commitment of the Guadalupe Mountains National

tee on Interior and Insular Affairs.

(See the remarks of Mr. YARBOROUGH when he introduced the above bill, which appear under a separate heading.)

BILL ΤΟ CREATE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK IN WEST TEXAS

Mr. YARBOROUGH. Mr. President, I introduce, for appropriate reference, a bill to provide for the establishment of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas.

Information has reached me that the National Parks Advisory Board, in a meeting at the Big Bend National Park in Texas this week has recommended the National Park in Texas. creation of the Guadalupe Mountains

While I have often advocated this national park in public statements on the floor of the Senate and in Texas, I have. not previously introduced a bill for its

creation, because no national park should be created unless approved by the Advisory Board. The approval by the Advisory Board on Wednesday, November 6, clears the way for this bill.

This Guadalupe Mountains National Park area is in the Trans-Pecos portion of West Texas, in Hudspeth and Culberson Counties, adjacent to the New Mexico boundary on the 32d parallel. It is 100 miles east of El Paso and 55 miles southwest of Carlsbad, N. Mex., and about 30 miles from the Carlsbad Caverns. It includes the greater part of the Guadalupe Mountain Range that lies in Texas.

The park would contain about 70,000 acres of land and ranges in elevation from 3,700 to 8,750 feet above sea level.

The park includes areas of grassland, shrubs, and also heavy timber including pine, maple, fir, oak, and pecan, and is watered by springs and wells.

The park has an abundant wildlife including blacktail deer, mountain elk, bear, and maybe a few Texas mountain sheep.

The scenery is magnificent; the climate is wonderful. This will make a gem of a national park.

Texas has two national parks, the Big Bend and the Padre Island Seashore area. The Guadalupe Mountains National Park will complete the trilogy, and give Texas and the Nation three great parks within Texas, truly national in area, scope, interest, availability, and uniqueness.

Robert E. Lee, stationed in Texas just before the Civil War, in answer to a statement by a subordinate officer that no one would settle west Texas, looked out across the plains of Texas and said, "I hear the footsteps of the coming millions."

Mr. President, the vision of Robert E. Lee has come to pass. And now, in addition to millions of settlers, many more millions than that will come in the future to view the beauties of this new great national park, the Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Congressman-at-Large JOE POOL, of Texas, has been very much interested in this park, and has worked diligently on this matter.

I first visited this beautiful area in 1929. For 34 years I have admired its great beauty. Having lived in El Paso for 32 years as a young lawyer, I became interested in seeing this great natural treasure preserved for future generations.

I ask unanimous consent to have printed at this point in the RECORD various editorials, resolutions, and letters supporting the bill.

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The bill will be received and appropriately referred; and, without objection, the editorials and resolutions will be printed at this point in the RECORD.

The bill (S. 2296) to provide for the establishment of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, in the State of Texas, introduced by Mr. YARBOROUGH, was received, read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.

The editorials, resolutions, and letters are as follows:

[From the Dallas Morning News, May 19, 1963]

GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS-ROAD LEADS TO

BEAUTY

(By Frank X. Tolbert) GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS, CULBERSON COUNTY. A new road being paved through the wilds of central Culberson County will put the Guadalupe Mountains, Texas highest ground, on an almost direct series of paved highways between Midland-Odessa and El Paso, or between Dallas and El Paso. Previously, if you wanted to include the spectacular Guadalupes on your journey westward to El Paso, you had to make a wide swing up in New Mexico, by way of Carlsbad National Caverns Park. Or you had to detour off Highway 80, driving due north for about 65 miles from Van Horn, Culberson County, over State Highway 54.

On the new roadway, which will save at least 50 miles on your trip to the Guadalupes, about 18 miles have been paved recently west of the town of Orla, which is near the Pecos River and the New Mexico border in Reeves County. This extension out of Orla is styled Ranch Road 652. A few months and about 25 miles more paving will be required to connect Ranch Road 652 with Ranch Road 1108, about 5 miles from where U.S. Highways 62 and 180 (between El Paso and Carlsbad, N. Mex.) cross the Texas-New Mexico border. And at this point you will be just a few miles east of the 8,751-foot-high Guadalupes.

This writer went out from Orla one day last week in a 4-wheel-drive Jeep to inspect the new road into the Guadalupes. At the end of the 18 miles of pavement there were some very discouraging "road closed legends" on barricades. Managed to talk myself beyond these obstacles. And I found that the only reason the road is closed in fair weather is that the workmen don't want to be pestered with a lot of dust-raising traffic. The broad, hard-packed caliche lanes being readied for the paving were no challenge for the mighty Jeep. In fact, I could have driven through there on a bicycle, although there would have been some hard pulls on a bike during the passage through the Rustler Hills, a series of limestone-capped, domeshaped and very barren elevations on the way.

From 50 miles or more to the eastward you can see the great, barren walls of the Guadalupes. You have to be very close to see that the mountains are topped off with fairly heavy stands of timber, these including ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. You would never guess, though, by looking at the forbidding sides of the mountains that there are beautiful, wooded, and watered canyons within the inner folds of the Guadalupes.

My first stop in the mountains was at Old Frijole, once a town and post office, but now the limestone headquarters of J. C. Hunter Jr.'s Guadalupe Mountain Ranch. There, Hunter's ranch manager, Noel Kincaid, was getting ready for the visit of about 60 outdoor editors and writers from newspapers and magazines and for other guests who were coming here for a weekend inspection of the Guadalupes.

Hunter has his ranch, which includes much of the Guadalupe range, up for sale. And there have been proposals that the Hunter Ranch be made into a national or State park.

The outdoor writers came here last weekend for horseback and muleback inspections of the spectacular property which may become a public playground.

"Them writers will be pestering me for stories about "The Treasure of the Guadalupes,'" said Noel Kincaid, an athletic fel

low of 38 who has lived in these mountains all his life and loves them well.

Noel said that the mischiefmakers who've done most to build up those "Treasure of the Guadalupes" stories have been Gen. Lew Wallace, the author of "Ben Hur," and J. Frank Dobie, the author of "Coronado's Children."

When he was the Governor of New Mexico Territory in Billy the Kid times (1878-81), General Wallace said he was poking around the Spanish archives in Santa Fe and he found records that there were rich gold deposits in the Guadalupes, only the way to the mines had been lost through some 17th century acts of carelessness.

Frank Dobie, who hit a best-seller lode with his book, "Coronado's Children," quoted the Apache chief, Geronimo, as saying that the richest gold mines in the Western World lay hidden in the Guadalupes.

One of Dobie's best chapters recited the story of Old Ben Sublett, an Odessa, Tex., character in the late 1880's and early 1890's, who would often slip off in the direction of the Guadalupes and then return with gold nuggets. Sublett claimed he'd found a fabulous mine, but the secret of its location, assuming there really was a mine, died with him in 1892. Until recent years, Old Ben's son, Ross Sublett, often appeared in the Guadalupes, searching for papa's treasure trove.

In recent years, the most persistent searcher for the lost Guadalupe Mine has been a fellow with a Santa Claus beard, Ben Watson, who claims to be more than 100 years old. Also, the 1963 prospector talks like Old Ben Sublett. Last year, Ben Watson told me: "I know where the Sublett Mine is but I'm not a-telling. The world ain't ready for that mine". Sublett also frequently expressed doubt of the world's readiness for his discovery.

Last week when I called at Ben Watson's little cement house near the base of the peak, he wasn't at home. And I was told at Pine Springs, at the head of Guadalupe Pass, that Watson had retired from prospecting and is living in Big Spring.

Old Ben Sublett and Old Ben Watson appreciated the real treasures of the Guadalupes, I think, more than any gold they may have carried out. These treasures include McKittrick Canyon, certainly one of the loveliest canyons in the Southwest, and the main place where the outdoor writers had their convention over the weekend.

Wallace Pratt, a prominent geologist, has already donated 6,000 acres of Lower McKittrick Canyon to the National Park Service, and this acreage is now an extension of Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Upper McKittrick Canyon is much more beautiful. As Pratt phrased it, J. C. Hunter has "by personal sacrifice and self-denial managed to keep this lovely canyon in its original state. Hunter has not grazed his livestock in McKittrick Canyon although it is the best watered portion of his ranch. The present owner of Upper McKittrick Canyon (Hunter) is not a wealthy man. I believe he would-as I have done-make a gift of his part of the canyon to the public, if his financial resources permitted him to do And yet here is a worthy cause for public-spirited Texans. The Guadalupe Mountains have repeatedly and authoritatively been pronounced unique on the North American Continent. Shall we not resolve to make these precious land forms and wildlife habitats into a public sanctuary?"

SO.

McKittrick is a narrow gorge which Pratt, once chief geologist for Humble, believes may have been originally one of the Carlsbad Caverns, only the roof fell in. It has sheer walls of from 1,000 to 1,700 feet. And, for 4 miles of the canyon, there is a nameless but delightful mountain stream, stocked with rainbow trout. The canyon is heavily

planted in pine, fir, oak, cedar, willow, juniper, manzanita trees, and other interesting botany.

The canyon and the approaches to it are populated by hundreds of big, black-tail deer, very bold fellows since the national park was put on Pratt's old ranch. (J. C. Hunter never allows any hunting in the upper canyon.) And on the tops of the Guadalupes is a herd of about 250 elk, the only elk in the wild state in Texas. And these are hunted only after surveys made by the State game commission show that the elk are increasing too fast for their range to support them.

"I've lived here all my life, and I've never found any gold mine," said Noel Kincaid. "But I've sure found some things to be treasured."

[From the Abilene Reporter-News, July 4,

1963]

STEP BACK INTO TIME IN EL CAPITAN'S SHADOW

(By Robert H. Johnson, Jr.) PINE SPRINGS, TEX.-The Guadalupe Mountains turn a forbidding face on travelers hurrying past in the desert glare. But it is only a front-shielding a green highland wilderness of canyon and forest. Elk, deer and turkey wander there, and trout dart in a cold, clear stream.

The National Park Service now owns a small part of this area. It is looking into the possibilities of acquiring another 60,000 acres so that the interior beauty of the Guadalupes can be seen by anybody.

The new park would take in Texas most famous natural landmark, El Capitan, and the State's highest point, Guadalupe Peak.

The Guadalupes are a wedge-shaped range stretching from southern New Mexico to a point in west Texas about 100 miles east of El Paso and 40 miles southwest of Carlsbad, N. Mex.

El Capitan is the southernmost point of the range. Its sheer limestone walls rise awesomely from the foothills to a height of 8,078 feet. Behind it several peaks tower higher, and Guadalupe Peak reaches 8,751 feet.

This high country now is part of Guadalupe Mountain Ranch, 71,790 acres of desert and mountain owned by J. C. Hunter, Jr. of Abilene, an independent oilman whose father bought the ranch in 1924.

Over the years, the Hunter family has protected the wilderness as a game and vegetation preserve.

Wallace Pratt, a geologist often called the father of Humble Oil's geology department, has a ranch near the Hunters. In March 1961, he gave about 6,000 acres of it to the National Park Service.

The Park Service has a ranger stationed to protect this relatively small area from harm. The public is not admitted now.

The additional 60,000 acres would come from the Hunter ranch. Pratt's former land adjoins Hunter's in McKittrick Canyon.

From the Hunter family lodge, the canyon cuts into the east side of the Guadalupes.

A rough foot trail disappears among limestone boulders. Maple, oak, wild cherry, ash, walnut, ponderosa pine and alligator juniper trees-so called because of their rough bark— grow on either side of McKittrick Creek and along the canyon walls. Madrones spread smooth, salmon-colored limbs ending in clusters of deep green leaves. Sotol and mes

cal grow among the trees.

Cliffs rise straight up, as much as 2,000 feet above the canyon floor.

It is a rough hike up the canyon.

The limestone walls and boulders, the towering trees and the sentinellike mescal— or century plant-all create an impression of rugged, enduring grandeur.

Yet there is fragile beauty, too. Swifts dart above you. Canyon wrens whistle their

descending scale, and mockingbirds echo them.

Where cloudbursts and winds have hollowed wide overhangs in the walls over centuries, constant seepage deposits delicate buds of white limestone on moss, and maidenhair fern fringes the crevices. Yellow columbine and blue lupine grow in the sunny places along the stream.

Emerald-green June bugs buzz in the trees. And Chinese-red dragonflies flirt with death over the pools where rainbow trout-the only ones in Texas-glide between sunlight and shadow.

To get to the big timber country high in the mountains, it's best to go horseback. Noel Kincaid, foreman of the Hunter ranch, leads the way up Bear Canyon from his headquarters just off U.S. 180.

Bear Canyon is on the southern face of the range. It rises in a rocky surface dotted with scrub spruce, mescal, sotol and madrones.

The trail switches nearly 3,000 feet up a 70° slope, where your horse needs a goat's feet in the shale.

At the crest, a rolling green forest spreads over the ridges and an area called the bowl. Ponderosa pine, Douglas-fir, and oak tower together. This is the land of the elk like the trout the only ones in Texas-and wild turkey.

A little farther up is the rocky summit of Pine Top Mountain, 8,362 feet high. From there you can see the hazy blue line of the Davis Mountains, nearly 100 miles to the southeast. You can look down on the majesty of El Capitan. Guadalupe Peak's summit seems at eye level. And you can pick up rocks that show clearly in fossil remains how eons ago tiny sea animals died and gradually built up this limestone mass that once was part of the Capitan Reef of the Permian Sea.

Mescalero Apaches lived in the Guadalupes when the Spaniards came to this country. Both Apache and Spaniard handed down legends of gold in the Guadalupes.

Passengers on the Butterfield stage speculated about treasure as they watched El Capitan sit before them mile after dusty

mile.

And in the 1800's, an old prospector called Ben Sublett may have found it. He used to go into the mountains and take big nuggets back to Odessa. The secret died with Sublett in 1892. And the only sign of him left in the mountains is his initials, WCS, carved into an alligator juniper, now scoured nearly smooth by wind and sand.

Nobody since Sublett has found the lost gold. But there may be another treasure of the Guadalupes for Americans today-camping, riding, and hiking in these hidden wilds.

[From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 7, 1963]

A NEW PARK FOR FAR WEST TEXAS An increase of nearly a fourth in visits to the Big Bend National Park suggests the growing attraction of the rugged beauty of Far West Texas for vacationing Americans.

In the first half of this year the huge park counted 53,390 visitors, compared with 42,995 in the first half of 1962. Most significant of the park's spell perhaps is a 91-percent increase in campers. The park's climate permits it to remain open remain open and operating throughout the year.

The interest shown in the Big Bend by vacationers is a strong argument in favor of Federal acquisition of additional available acreage in the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas northward from the Big Bend and just under the New Mexico State line for creation of a new national park.

Six thousand acres in this region already belong to the National Park Service. Extensive adjoining ranch lands belonging to J. C. Hunter, Jr., of Abilene-72,000 acres contain

ing some of the most spectacular scenery in Texas-have been visited by members of a Park Service field survey party whose findings will be analyzed by specialists in the Service.

There is a strong hope for a favorable decision. The high, forested region the park would include contains Guadalupe Park, which rises to 8,751 feet to form the highest point in the State, and the jagged eminence called El Capitan.

The situation of the area permits easy accessibility for visitors at the closely neighboring Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, and good highway facilities connect both to the more distant Big Bend

area.

Establishment of a national park in the Guadalupe Mountains thus would complete a group of three great national parks in the same areas, all linked and each distinct in its characteristics.

It would be a loss to future generations if the present opportunity, which may be unique, to acquire such an addition to the Nation's recreation lands were allowed to pass. The population is increasing rapidly, and already the existing recreational areas are being crowded. It is important, in any case, that such scenic regions as the Guadalupes be preserved against the ruination of haphazard development, and preservation can best be accomplished by the National Park Service.

[From the Dell Valley Review, Dell City, Tex., July 18, 1963]

GUADALUPE AREA DESERVES PARK STATUS In the western part of Texas are the Guadalupe Mountains and McKittrick Canyon, one of the few remaining wilderness areas of the United States.

This area is spectacular in beauty, ranging from exposed barren rock of the Capitan Reef to the lush greenery tucked away in McKittrick Canyon, which supports Texas only trout stream that sparkles 4 to 5 miles before seeping into the ground. The Guadalupe range also has the only wild Rocky Mountain elk in the State of Texas along with wild turkey flocks and many other game animals.

A movement is underway for the area, which adjoins Carlsbad Caverns National Park on the south at the State line of New Mexico, to be incorporated into the national park system. A proposal by U.S. Representative JOE POOL, of Dallas, Congressman at Large from Texas, would establish some 50,000 acres as Guadalupe Mountain National Park.

This area would include McKittrick Canyon as well as Guadalupe Peak, highest point in Texas at 8,751 feet elevation, and El Capitan, a landmark visible for more than 50 miles across the salt flats below. The land is owned by J. C. Hunter, Jr., of Abilene, Tex., and is part of his 71,790-acre ranch.

The proposed park already has a start since Wallace Pratt, celebrated father of Humble Oil & Refining Geological Department, donated almost 6,000 acres to the National Park Service. This land is under supervision of Carlsbad National Park and adjoining Hunter Ranch. It includes part of McKittrick Canyon, but the most spectacular stretch of the canyon is on the Hunter property.

Visitors exclaimed that the beauty is unsurpassed by Yosemite and other national parks which they have visited. The fabulous scenery is expected to be found only in the northern New Mexico, Colorado, and other Rocky Mountain areas.

The true beauty of McKittrick and the Guadalupes is hidden from travelers along Highway 180. In driving from Carlsbad to El Paso, only El Capitan and the background of mountains are noticeable.

Only guests of Hunter are allowed on the property, primarily because the owner

doesn't want the wilderness destroyed. He wants to conserve the area for the American public and is willing to sell the natural wonder to the Government. McKittrick Canyon has never been grazed and remains just as it was during the time of the Apaches.

The drive to make the Guadalupe Mountain area a part of the national park system is gaining more and more interest and stands an excellent chance to become a part of the system.

[From the Winkler County News, Aug. 15,

1963]

SECLUDED SECTION MAKING ITS DEBUT

(By Leland Boyd)

A 108-section area of west Texas that has existed in virtual seclusion for thousands of years is making its debut among the virgin beauties of the United States.

The area is the vast Guadalupe Mountain region. Except for a few wandering prospectors, explorers, and aviators the region has escaped the eyes and destructive elements that accompanied the exploitation of most of this country's land area.

Located in sparsely populated Culberson County, the area contains Texas' highest peak, 8,751-foot Guadalupe Peak, and other features that place the area well into the caliber of national park material.

Indeed, a move is now underway to secure national park designation for a large portion of the area.

Present owner of the area is J. C. Hunter, of Abilene. The property has been in the Hunter family since the early 1920's and in the care of the west Texas family it has been preserved in its natural state.

Hunter has placed the property up for sale-but with reservations.

He wishes to see the area he has known since boyhood preserved for the enjoyment of future generations. He has turned from selling the property to individuals for the present time, regardless of several offers in the amount he seeks-$1.5 million.

Support for the area as a park is developing from chamber of commerce representatives in Texas and New Mexico, and elected officials and civic groups in both States.

The national park system in January was authorized to make a survey of the area by a bill introduced by Representative JOE POOL, Congressman at Large from Texas. The study has not yet been made public.

Advantages of having the area designated as a national park include its proximity to the famed Carlsbad Caverns, and the fact that the National Park Service has under protection a 6,000-acre tract immediately east of the area.

The 6,000 acres were donated to the Park Service by Wallace Pratt.

Part of McKittrick Canyon is in the grant Pratt gave the Park Service. The Park Service has not developed the area, explaining it is relatively small and doing more than giving protection at this time is unfeasible.

Pratt has commented, "If the public is to enjoy anything like a full measure of the grandeur and scenic beauty of McKittrick Canyon and the surrounding Guadalupe Mountains, the limits of the new national park must be extended to include these privately owned lands (Hunter's property). On them is situated not only the most spectacular stretch of McKittrick itself, but also historic Guadalupe Peak."

Among the first persons to gaze upon the area were Mescalero Apaches. Remains in caves and on canyon walls indicate their presence in early times before the white man. Smoked walls, some pottery and picture writing that has not been deciphered testify to their activity there.

Later the Spaniards approached the Guadalupe Mountain area in the 1500's and a U.S. military expedition did a little exploring in 1849.

A stage route was established through the area in 1858 and McKittrick Canyon is said to have been a holding area for stageline horses.

However, in recent years only a small portion of the Guadalupe Mountains has been exploited. Hunter and Noel Kincaid have operated a goat-raising enterprise in the western part of the area. They also have a herd of cattle. But they have refrained from grazing McKittrick Canyon, where rainbow trout lurk in spring-fed streams, deer and wild turkey abound, and a bear can occasionally be seen.

Elk and deer are thick on the lofty mountains, where the ponderosa and limber pine flourish. Douglas-fir are also scattered throughout the McKittrick Canyon area, as well as the bark-shedding manzanita (madrone) tree. Cactuses scrub juniper, and other trees usually found in the highlands of New Mexico and Colorado form the bulk of the vegetation.

Elk, introduced to the area in 1929, have multiplied and the first hunting season on the animal is scheduled this fall. Thirty permits will be issued by the Texas Game and Fish Commission for the area.

Some of the more unique formations are the natural land bridge found up McKittrick Canyon, Lover's Leap Ledge, Turtle Rock, and other unnamed indentures and outcroppings of the area's limestone cliffs and mountains.

The few visitors who have cast an eye on the numerous creations of nature come away impressed with its spectacular view, certain that the area has merit enough to b preserved for the public to examine.

Thoughts of selling off small parcels of land for lodges, cabins and the like have not interested Hunter, although it is generally agreed that such a scheme would bring in more money. Hunter openly declares his first desire is to keep the property intact and open for all America to view and enjoy.

WEST TEXAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE,

Abilene, Tex., October 1, 1963. Hon. RALPH W. YARBOROUGH, U.S. Senate, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Dear SENATOR YARBOROUGH: I believe you would be interested in a resolution that was adopted by the Board of Directors of the West Texas Chamber of Commerce meeting in regular session on September 26, 1963.

This resolution was adopted only after a thorough study and recommendation by the Tourist Development Committee of the West Texas Chamber of Commerce. Copy of the resolution is enclosed. Yours very truly,

GEORGE R. JORDAN, Manager, Tourist Department.

RESOLUTION OF THE WEST TEXAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Whereas the Guadalupe Mountain area in Culberson and Hudspeth Counties, Tex. is now under study as a suitable and desirable park site; and

Whereas a subcommittee of the Tourist Development Committee of the West Texas Chamber of Commerce personally visited and inspected the area on July 12-14, 1963; and

Whereas this subcommittee made its report and presented a resolution, covering all the virtues and attributes of the area now under study, which was adopted unanimously in a called meeting of the Tourist Development Committee held in Big Spring, Tex., on August 13, 1963: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the directors of the West Texas Chamber of Commerce, in regular meeting, September 26, 1963, do support the studies looking toward the designation of the said Guadalupe area as a park site; and order copies of this resolution forwarded to

RESOLUTION, GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS PARK Whereas the Guadalupe Mountains, with El Capitan and Guadalupe Peaks, highest points east of the Rockies, and McKittrick, Bear and other canyons, offer natural scenery of great variety, and of beauty, majesty and grandeur indescribable and unparalleled in Texas and probably in the Nation; and

Whereas an entire wilderness area, abounding in such wildlife as black bear, elk, deer, mountain sheep, turkey and rainbow trout; with lofty mountains, towering cliffs and trails leading to awe-inspiring vistas; with spring-fed streams and vegetation not found elsewhere in Texas * * * has heretofore been protected by its owners as a game and vegetation preserve; and

Whereas more than 70,000 acres lying in immediate proximity to Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico and to 6,000 acres in Texas given to the National Park Service by Wallace Pratt, and in lesser proximity to the Fort Davis National Monument and the Big Bend National Park, is now available to be added to the Nation's park system: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the board of directors of the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, meeting in Austin on September 30, 1963, expresses its concern that this area shall be preserved for the enjoyment of present and future generations, and urges its development as a national park.

RESOLUTION ADOPTED SUPPORTING GUADALUPE MOUNTAIN AREA AS NATIONAL PARK On this day, July 29, 1963, on motion of Commissioner Telles, seconded by Commissioner Mays, it is ordered by the court that the following resolution be adopted in support of the Guadalupe Mountain area as a national park.

Whereas the Guadalupe Mountain Ranch is located in the west Texas sun country; and

Whereas said area is most fitting and suitable for a park site because of its outstanding natural beauty; and

Whereas the creation of such a park site would constitute a boon for all west Texas and especially for El Paso County; and

Whereas the Commissioners' Court of El Paso County, Tex., wholeheartedly endorses and supports the program announced by Governor Connally to encourage tourism in Texas; and

Whereas the Commissioners' Court of El Paso County, Tex., desires to officially endorse said area as a park site: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, On the 29th day of July A.D. 1963, by the El Paso County Commissioners' Court that it go on record as actively and