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Show 461, a war, it was natural that he would like to see an army protecting the Reserves. And he was relieved to see how well the United States Army had administered the Yosemite National Park. Along with Sargent, he thought that the Army might offer the only changeless administration in the face of changing politics. "And always it is refreshing to know that in our changeful Government there is one arm that is permanent and ever to be depended on," he told the Sierra Club. His distrust of political solutions to eternal problems would be likely to find sympathy among Californian Club members who knew first-hand what it meant to have a government bought and paid for by railroads, monopolies, and the underworld. The need for a changeless administration for the Reserves had bothered Muir since the creation of Yosemite National Park. If the Valley were to continue under State control, he hoped at least that the Commissioners might include stable non-political members like the presidents of the University, of the State Board of Agriculture, and of the Mechanics Institute. He thought an Army officer should also serve. "Republicans and Democrats - what names to write after considering the lillies," Muir muttered in his beard. Nevertheless, he had seen in 1890 that the railroads were, and likely would continue to be, the most powerful political ally the Club could cultivate, "even the soulless Southern Pacific." Like the Army, the railroad monopolies seemed to be an unchanging fact of western life. Men who wanted to preserve forests would have to take |