New York, July 25, 1905.
Mr. N.P. Langford.
Dear Sir: I am very glad that your diary is to be published.
It is something that I have long hoped that we
might see.
It is true, as you say, that I have for a good many years
done what I could toward protecting the game in the Yellowstone
Park; but what seems to me more important than
that is that Forest and Stream for a dozen years carried on,
almost single handed, a fight for the integrity of the National
Park. If you remember, all through from 1881 or thereabouts
to 1890 continued efforts were being made to gain
control of the park by one syndicate and another, or to run
a railroad through it, or to put an elevator down the side
of the cañon—in short, to use this public pleasure ground
as a means for private gain. There were half a dozen of us
who, being very enthusiastic about the park, and, being in a
position to watch legislation at Washington, and also to
know what was going on in the Interior Department, kept
ourselves very much alive to the situation and succeeded in
choking off half a dozen of these projects before they grew
large enough to be made public.
One of these men was William Hallett Phillips, a dear
friend of mine, a resident of Washington, a Supreme Court
lawyer with a large acquaintance there, and a delightful
fellow. He was the best co-worker that any one could have
had who wanted to keep things straight and as they ought
to be.
At rare intervals I get out old volumes of the Forest and
Stream and look over the editorials written in those days
with a mingling of amusement and sadness as I recall how
excited we used to get, and think of the true fellows who
used to help, but who have since crossed over to the other
side.
Yours sincerely,
GEO. BIRD GRINNELL.

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From Forest and Stream, August 20, 1904.
SENATOR VEST AND THE NATIONAL PARK.
In no one of all the editorials and obituaries written last
week on the death of Senator Vest did we see mention made
of one great service performed by him for the American people,
and for which they and their descendants should always
remember him. It is a bit of ancient history now, and
largely forgotten by all except those who took an active part
in the fight. More than twenty years ago strong efforts were
made by a private corporation to secure a monopoly of the
Yellowstone National Park by obtaining from the government,
contracts giving them exclusive privileges within the
Park. This corporation secured an agreement from the Interior
Department by which six different plots in the Yellowstone
Park, each one covering about one section of land—a
square mile—were to be leased to it for a period of ten
years. It was also to have a monopoly of hotel, stage and
telegraph rights, and there was a privilege of renewal of the
concession at the end of the ten years. The rate to be paid
for the concession was $2 an acre.
When the question of this lease came before Congress, it
was referred to a sub-committee of the Committee on Territories,
of which Senator Vest was chairman. He investigated
the question, and in the report made on it used these
words: "Nothing but absolute necessity, however, should
permit the Great National Park to be used for money-making
by private persons, and, in our judgment, no such necessity
exists. The purpose to which this region, matchless in
wonders and grandeur, was dedicated—'a public park and a
pleasure ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people'—is
worthy the highest patriotism and statesmanship."
The persons interested in this lease came from many sections
of the country, and were ably represented by active
agents in Washington. The pressure brought to bear on
Congress was very great, and the more effectively applied,
since few men knew much about conditions in the Yellowstone
Park, or even where the Yellowstone Park was. But
pressure and influence could not move Senator Vest when
he knew he was right. He stood like a rock in Congress, resisting
this pressure, making a noble fight in behalf of the
interests of the people, and at last winning his battle. For
years the issue seemed doubtful, and for years it was true
that the sole hope of those who were devoted to the interests
of the Park, and who were fighting the battle of the public,
lay in Senator Vest. So after years of struggle the right
triumphed, and the contract intended to be made between
the Interior Department and the corporation was never consummated.
This long fight made evident the dangers to which the
Park was exposed, and showed the necessity of additional
legislation.
A bill to protect the Park was drawn by Senator Vest and
passed by Congress, and from that time on, until the day
of his retirement from public life, Senator Vest was ever a
firm and watchful guardian of the Yellowstone National
Park, showing in this matter, as in many others, "the highest
patriotism and statesmanship." For many years, from
1882 to 1894, Senator Vest remained the chief defender of a
National possession that self-seeking persons in many parts
of the country were trying to use for their own profit.
If we were asked to mention the two men who did more
than any other two men to save the National Park for the
American people, we should name George Graham Vest and
William Hallett Phillips, co-workers in this good cause.
There were other men who helped them, but these two easily
stand foremost.

In the light of the present glorious development of the Park it can be said of each one who has taken part in the work of preserving for all time this great national pleasuring ground for the enjoyment of the American people, "He builded better than he knew."

An amusing feature of the identity of my name with the Park was that my friends, with a play upon my initials, frequently addressed letters to me in the following style: