Regarding the accommodations and services provided by the Crater Lake Company, the committee noted that high costs, short seasons, and large crowds made it extremely difficult to bring park concession operations up to the standards desired by Parkhurst himself and others. The committee concluded its report with a sympathetic discussion of the plight facing Parkhurst:
Your Committee has carefully considered all the phases of the situation coming within its knowledge, has read letters of endorsement of Mr. Parkhurst’s treatment of his guests and of the general atmosphere at Crater Lake Lodge. Probably our greatest criticism may be directed against the toilet system which prevails at the hotel. We believe that Mr. Parkhurst had made a faithful and earnest effort to make Crater Lake Lodge a resort of merit and note and that he has in a measure met with success, as indicated by the increasing attendance at the resort since 1910. . . . We find that Mr. Parkhurst has received little or no cooperation from any source whatsoever, except banking accommodations. The National Park Service through the Superintendent of the Park has extended numerous small courtesies, but so far as we were able to ascertain the financial burden has been borne by Mr. Parkhurst alone.
It is the understanding of our committee that at other national parks the government has expended considerable sums of money in various ways, not only to improve park conditions, but to provide for the accommodation of guests at these resorts.
Your committee understands that the government has spent something over $100,000 for the installation of an electric lighting system in the Yosemite National Park, but has not spent anything for this, or other developments at Crater Lake Lodge.
In conclusion your committee begs to state that it is its opinion that there is room for great development at Crater Lake; that most of the complaints directed against Mr. Parkhurst might be attributed to the fact that he has not been properly financed and that were he afforded the necessary financial assistance Crater Lake Lodge would become one of the noted resorts of the country. Mr. Parkhurst has almost impoverished himself to keep Crater Lake Lodge going from year to year, making such improvements as his financial capacity would permit. He has invested a large sum of money and should he be retired as lessee, we believe he should be adequately reimbursed for his expenditures of time and money. Mr. Parkhurst is not a hotel man of the modern type, and we believe in some particulars the management has been lax, and that perhaps if satisfactory arrangements could be made for the buying out or other disposal of Mr. Parkhurst that Crater Lake Lodge properly financed might go ahead more rapidly under different management. We say this in all kindness realizing the tremendous burden that one man has had to carry without material help from any source. Mr. Parkhurst is entitled to great credit for what he has accomplished. In all kindness and respect to the Hon. Stephen Mather, your committee begs leave to express the opinion that Mr. Mather expected too much of Mr. Parkhurst under the conditions; also that Mr. Mather has been a little too harsh and abrupt in his handling of the situation. We realize the wonderful work that Mr. Mather has accomplished for the national parks of our country also that carrying the burden of so many national resorts, hampered as he probably is by some of the proverbial red tape of governmental operations, and that the embarrassment caused him by the inadequate toilet and lighting facilities, especially while the congressional party was at Crater Lake, magnified the shortcomings of Mr. Parkhurst’s management and precipitated the condition which lead to the appointment of your committee. . . .
We believe it to be the duty of the people of Oregon, either to get behind Mr. Parkhurst financially and otherwise, or in lieu of that, have someone to organize a corporation which will buy out the existing corporation on a fair basis of return to the stockholders and to fairly compensate Mr. Parkhurst for the ten years of nerve racking toil which he has undergone. We also are of the opinion that the government, through Mr. Mather’s department, should carry some of the burden of improving the Crater Lake situation, aside from the road work which the Forestry Department is doing. [10]
Through the efforts of Mather a conference of Oregon businessmen was held during the winter of 1920-21 to work out arrangements for the refinancing and reorganization of Crater Lake park concessions. In his annual report for 1921 Director Mather described at length the financial reorganization and subsequent improvement to concession accommodations and services:
