In August 1915 William Jennings Bryan, who had resigned recently as Secretary of State, visited Crater Lake while on a western vacation. After spending the night in the recently completed lodge, he and his wife, accompanied by Superintendent Steel and several park rangers, walked down to the lake for a launch trip. The taxing climb back up to the rim led to Bryan’s notorious proposal for construction of “a tunnel just above the lake level, through the rim to a connecting road.” He proposed the tunnel so that visitors could reach the lake “without the laborious one thousand feet or more steep descent and climb over a slippery and dangerous trail” which could “only be made a few months of the year and is almost impossible for old people.” [3]
Steel took up the campaign for a tunnel to the lake. In 1916 he formally requested $1,000 to conduct surveys for a tunnel. His justification for such an expenditure read:
From Crater Lake Lodge to the lake is a drop of nearly 1,000 feet, and to reach the lake a trail of 2,300 feet is provided. Owing to the rugged nature of the rim, this trail is necessarily steep and hard to climb, and many visitors are unable to go over it, so that they are denied the privilege of fishing or boating on the lake. This condition of affairs is a disappointment to many visitors and some sort of provision should be made to overcome it. A lift or other installation within the rim is wholly impracticable, for the reason that every spring enormous slides of snow and rocks would sweep any sort of framework into the lake. Under such conditions I would suggest the construction of a tunnel from a convenient point on the road several hundred feet below the rim, to the surface of the water. . . .
Despite heavy and late snows in 1916, park visitation increased to an all-time high to date of 12,265. This figure was reached despite the fact that at the close of July travel was only fifty percent of the previous year.
One of the improvements to park facilities and services carried out by Steel was the installation of a new telephone system. In 1915 he reported on his efforts:
Telephone facilities of the park have never been satisfactory, so during the past season private lines in the park were purchased and necessary lines constructed. Direct connection with Klamath Falls by way of Fort Klamath has been maintained for a number of years, but never before has there been direct connection with Medford and the Rogue River Valley. I was unable to build beyond the park line, which would leave a distance of 23 miles to connect at Prospect, and as the prospective business would not justify the expense of construction by a commercial organization, I was forced to provide ways and means, which I did by securing sufficient voluntary contributions, with which a good line was built and is now in excellent working order. A switchboard has been provided for the park office, and all lines are controlled therein.
Throughout his superintendency Steel continued to make recommendations for park improvements, many of which were not implemented because of inadequate park appropriations. Among these proposals was an electric light and power plant near the park headquarters to provide light and operate machinery in a woodworking and blacksmith shop that he wished to construct. He recommended that the falls of Anna Creek be used to operate the light and power plant. The expense of carrying electric power to the rim of the lake would be inexpensive, since the park would raise revenue by supplying light and power to the concessionaires.
The question of patented lands in the park continued to bother Steel. In 1913 and 1914 he urged that such titles to park lands be terminated to forestall private development:
There are approximately 1,200 acres of private land within the park, probably all of which is held for speculation. It is covered with excellent timber, and it is only a question of a little time when some speculator or mill man will gather it up, when the next move will be to cut off all the trees and leave it as “logged-off land” is usually left, covered with kindlings but denuded of trees.
Early action should be taken to extinguish these titles, either by the ordinary method of condemnation and purchase or by offering therefor other lands located outside of the park.
