Despite the progress in road development Mather felt that all roadwork at Crater Lake and other Park Service areas should be carried out under the direction of the Department of the Interior rather than the War Department. This would insure
that uniform policy in the improvement of all parks may be formulated and followed and for the further reason that it is most desirable to have all park roads maintained for the benefit of the tourist solely and with his interest constantly in mind.
In addition to the development of roads within the park, Mather devoted considerable attention to the problem of adequate approach roads to Crater Lake. In 1917, for instance, he reported:
The roads leading to the various gateways of the park from Medford, Klamath Falls, and Kirk, Oreg., have not been in good condition during the past season. The road from Medford to the park boundary, a total length of 72 miles, was not built as an automobile road in the beginning and must be largely reconstructed. Jackson County and the citizens of Medford have spent large sums of money in improving sections of this road, and their work is of such a permanent character that the surfacing of their improvements is all that now remains to finish them. It is a fact that Jackson County and its citizens have aided in the improvement of this road to the limit of their capacities, and the time has now come when the State of Oregon and the Federal Government must combine to permanently improve this main highway into the park. It is my understanding that the State of Oregon has already arranged to cooperate with the Federal Government and that the basis of Federal assistance under the good roads act is all that is necessary to be determined before improvement work is begun.
If a satisfactory basis can not be determined within a short time, it would seem that a new plan involving direct appropriations by the Federal Government and by the State for the purpose of rebuilding the approach roads, not only from Medford but from Klamath Falls, in connection with the intrapark system, should be devised. It must be understood that the counties of southern Oregon can not possibly build these approach roads or even keep them in repair. They can not raise sufficient funds by subscription or taxation–Jackson County, in which the Medford approach road lies, has already reached the limit of its authority to bond itself for road-building purposes. . . . A park tour, including a trip over both the Medford and Klamath Falls roads–that is, in one gateway and out the other–is and should be the favorite way of seeing this park. The road up the Rogue River Canyon on the Medford side is interesting on account of the volcanic origin of the canyon itself and beautiful because there is so much timber and so many vistas of far-scenery visible between the trees. On the other hand, the road down from Crater Lake to Klamath Falls through the Klamath Indian Reservation and along the shore of Klamath Lake is a scenic road of the highest order.
Utility systems in the park also received considerable attention by the National Park Service in 1917. Superintendent Sparrow described the operation and proposed changes in the telephone system to better serve park operations:
The National Park Service controls 20 miles and the United States Engineer Department controls 34 miles of telephone lines in the park. All service in the park is free. Government messages are transmitted free over 9 miles of commercial line to Fort Klamath, in exchange for 50 per cent of the revenue from private calls to or from the park. The revenue from this service is small and necessitates a switchboard at park headquarters. A movement, however, is under way to obviate the necessity of this switchboard. The United States Engineer Department also has 14 miles of line from the east entrance of the park to Kirk, at the end of the railroad. Considering the temporary construction of much of these lines, the service is very good.
