The following year, on May 13, 1918, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane sent a letter to NPS Director Mather, articulating a general policy statement that would provide a sound basis for administration of the National Park System. This general policy statement was based on three principles:
First — That the national parks must be maintained in absolutely unimpaired form for the use of future generations as well as those of our own time;
Second — That they are set apart for the use, observation, health and pleasure of the people;
Third — That the national interest must dictate all decisions affecting public or private enterprise in the parks.
The statement thus provided a broad framework for the management and development of Crater Lake National Park and the other units of the embryonic system. Future revisions of Crater Lake park regulations would be based on the conceptual details of park administration outlined in Lane’s letter. [24]
Each year the park rules and regulations were amended as conditions warranted. The park superintendents would forward recommended changes based on the past season s experiences to the Washington Office, which in turn would review and approve/disapprove the amendments. The regulations were posted in the park administrative office and the ranger stations, as well as area public contact offices for perusal by the public. They were also printed in various park publications such as the annual circulars. [25]
By the early 1930s the National Park Service had committed itself to standardizing the format for the regulations of each unit in the system. This called for a “complete restatement” of the Crater Lake regulations in 1932 (a copy of which may be seen in Appendix C). By the mid-1930s the complete park regulations were posted at various points in the parks, while park publications contained only a synopsis of the rules (a copy of such a synopsis for 1940 may be seen in Appendix D). [26] Such synopses would appear in park publications into the 1950s.
C. FUNCTION OF U.S. COMMISSIONER
On November 21, 1916, three months after enactment of 39 Stat. 521 established the position of U.S. Commissioner at Crater Lake, Judge Charles E. Wolverton of the U.S. District Court appointed William G. Steel to that position. Steel resigned as park superintendent on November 20 to assume his new duties. In this position Steel had authority to handle misdemeanor cases in the park. [27]
The position of U.S. Commissioner in the park apparently had few duties and responsibilities. In 1921, for instance, Superintendent Sparrow reported that during the year one man was brought before Steel “for rolling rocks inside the rim of the lake.” After a brief hearing the man was “reprimanded and escorted out of the park.” [28]
In February 1921 the Department of Justice informed the U.S. District Court for Oregon that Steel’s term had expired on November 20, 1920. While it is likely that officials of the new administration of Warren G. Harding were interested in naming their own man to the position, the department based its decision to terminate Steel on the premise that his appointment was limited to the same four-year term as other United States Commissioners as provided in an Act of Congress on May 28, 1896. In response the U.S. District Court for Oregon argued that the position of Crater Lake National Park commissioner was different from that of United States Commissioners as provided in the 1896 act and was thus a new office. The 1916 act (39 Stat. 521) contained no language for a fixed term, and thus the court argued that Steel’s position was “a continuing appointment.” After accepting the court’s arguments, the Department of Justice recommended that Steel be reappointed on a continuing basis retroactive to November 20, 1920, and that his authority and acts also be declared retroactive to that date. The reappointment process was ordered by Judge R.S. Bean on March 7, 1921. [29]
After his formal reappointment Steel continued to serve as U.S. Commissioner in the park until his death in October 1934. Park records indicated that he handled few cases during those years. In 1927, for instance, Superintendent Thomson reported that there were no automobile accidents and not a single arrest in the park. [30] Various records show that no cases were brought to the attention of Steel in 1929, 1930, and 1932. [31]
