Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1873.djvu/30

710 in charge deems an appropriation for that amount necessary to the completion of this season's Work.

In view of the importance to science and to the material interests of the country of the objects of the survey, I recommend the deficiency appropriation asked for, as well as the regular annual appropriation for its continuance.

I deem it incumbent upon me to refer to the present unprotected condition of the Yellowstone National Park. No appropriation has yet been made for the purpose of opening the park to the public and of enabling this Department to carry into effect the necessary rules and regulations for its government. I am informed that the park has been visited during the past summer by many persons, and that it has been despoiled by them of great quantities of its mineral deposits and other curiosities.

A superintendent of the park was appointed in May, 1872, but there being no appropriation from which his compensation could be paid, his services have, necessarily, been gratuitous, and he could not be expected, under such circumstances, to reside permanently in the park. Applications have been made by various parties for permission to erect buildings and to construct roads within the park. The act of March 1, 1872, confers upon me the necessary authority to grant leases for building purposes; but no leases have been granted, for the reason that sufficient information has not been obtained as to the responsibility of the several applicants. It appears to me to be eminently proper that early steps should be taken by Congress for the protection of this great national wonder from the vandalism of curiosity hunters. This Department should not be held responsible for the condition of the park, so long as there is no money under its control applicable to the ends contemplated by the act of March 1, 1872. The boundaries of the park should be properly surveyed and located, as many persons desire to enter and settle upon public lands contiguous thereto.

The architect reports various repairs and improvements made in the Capitol during the past year. There have been provided large coal-vaults for each wing of the building; a fresh-air duct for the heating apparatus of the Senate wing, and a passenger-elevator for the same wing. The galleries of the hall of the House of Representatives have been rearranged, and new chairs and desks for that hall have been provided. The steam-boiler and heating-apparatus have been thoroughly repaired, and many committee-rooms have been refitted, painted, and improved. The architect recommends that while the defective portions of the rooms in