The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1859-03-30
For the Journal,
The State Road, Again.

10th notice reply to my article, slgned
by N. N. Powell, denying his being the
author of the article signed "Citizen."
Now, Mr.. Editor, am sorry that |
accused Mr.. P. of being tho said citizen.
A certain Abner Morse assured me that
Mr.. P. did write it, and in SO doing chad
stolen his thunder"
That the thunder of the article belong
ed to Mr.. A. Morse. have no doubt.
Mr.. P. accuses me Of making loose
statements. l saw my statements are
good, and correct, while yours are untru.,
in matter and fact. You say I advise
the making ola plot, &C., which | have
not done. l say that l have. Now
which has the best chance to know?
You say that two Of the Board of Su-
pervisors, at the time the road was laid by
Mr.. Randal's to Mr.. Pratt's fence, said
that if the petition had only called for it
they would have laid it out to the South
Fork Road, and you refer to Mr.. Moore
and Thos. Dickerson as authority.
Mr.. Moore denies making any such
statement, on the contrary he says that
he distinctly said he would never lay out
such road.
Mr.. P. further states that ten years
travel makes road anyhow and that the
South Fork Road has been travelled ten
years." therefore it is legal road.
The Statutes require twenty years trav-
ell with consent of owners to make road
As to many other portions Of yonr article
they exhibit n softness in the upper story,
and l have heard it advised that YOU
should try tie petr:fying qualities of that
notable spring, you are 50 abundant in
advice about its valuable qualities, and see
if you could not harden some Of the soft
spots.
You intimate that it would have been
we'll for me to have stated some of the le
gal objections to the State Road, and at
the same time complain that am trying
to blacken your character. Some of the
'cgal points to which l refer have direct
bearing on your course as commissioner
and were | to name them, you would say
he is trying to backen my character. If
you really wish to know what they arc,
find them out as 1 have.
You charge me of standing back Whit
ct like, and barking at the Board for the
last two years, all of which deny as false.
But if | have, you, puppy like have whin-
ed and growled at the board five times rs
much as l have barked, ana it seems that
in your case they didn't think the critter
would bite"
lam informed by Mr.. Pratt, the over
seer of highways, that not one third of the
rood tax his, during thu past two years
been expended on that dreadful lane, that
two years ago, almost one half of the tax
was expended on that mud hole near the
farm 0: L. N. Powell. and good share
would have been this year, had the tax in
that part Of the district all been worked.
l have made no promise as to what the
lane would be another year, nor do l
know of any ever having been made.
| only stated what one of your consistent
State Road men ad said, "that now was
their last chance to make fuss about the
lane, because another year would see it
rs good road as there is in town." |
have no interest in this matter any farther
than as tax payer of the town, | am
not willing to see the town involved in a
heavy bill of expense, in order to build up
private interests.
l have seriously doubted your authori-
tv to act as commissioner but when read
the proof of your authority " the stakes
and blazes" | must acknowledge that my
donbts were-strengthened. I cannot
see what proof your plots and maps are
that you selected tAe best place to cross
the South Fork. / should think that a
personal examination of the stream, and
its banks would be far better proof, and l
am informed that there are dozen Just
as good places to cross as the one you Sc
lected and several far better.
Now there are quite number of 9TH
er statements in your communication
which are on par for trnthfulness, with
those which / have motto d
Recent surveys made by the town board
settle the matter that there are just as
good routes to town and as near as the
State Road route, and [ am informed that
a plot of the same with the exact distance
Of each can be seen by calling on ]. A.
Lhort Chairman of the Town board of Su-
pervisors.
There are nearly dozen good and le-
gal objections to the S NE r ,ad and | am
told by some of the hest practicing Attor-
neys that any one Of them is sufficient to
kill the thing if it is ever tested. l am
still further informed that in the south
narf of the Canntu whenever the attamnt