, 1889-10-31
THE CLALLAM COUNTY ROAD
CONTROVERSY.
(Frcm Fridays Daily.)

| SlSliCi -NIbSS 1pISN ~ Il TRUE state
ment of the moss back sentiment
which has ruled in Dungeness evcI
since il has been Il settlement. In
stead of Il handsome, prosperous town
on the site which nature has made
every way prominently attractive we
! find no improvements for tie last forty
years. Instead of having Il wharf and
proper landing at the spit where steam.
ers could discharge mails, passengers and
| freight, there is nothing but Il misera-
bie pier on the inside of the bay to
which the tOrtuOus channel makes ap-
prOach Il mere matter Of chance. 1t is
said that there is more old iron OH the
bottom of Dungeness bay near moss
back landing than would suffice our
foundry week, most of which is old
propellOrs of the steamer Dispatch
which regularly knocked one off about
once week, and all because the moss
backs would not build suitable pier
at the end of the spit, at the entrance
to the inner harbor. The moss backs
of Dungeness are enVious and iealons of
Port Angeles; they are afraid that she
will 90 ahead and be the county seat
and would prevent the making of coun-
| ty roads which would be direct bene-
fit to Dungeness and make her what
she should lie, the first town in ClaiIam
county, because they fear Port Angeles
or Quilleute will be benefited. They
prefer TO remain i'll their inglorious ease
and moulder away their lives in the
midst of their fat cattle and gilt edged
butter dairies rather than aid the
wheels of progress by having good
county roads built. The old style road
is good enough for them. Their roads
have been invariably made in this
manner: First, an elk trail, or a cow
trail was utilized 10 pack over by a
horse; then the farmer cleared the
brush away and widened the trail to
allow il wagon to lie hauled over it, or
if the county was fortunate enough to
get the Use of an abandoned logging
road that wont be utilized and in pro-
cess of time was dignified by the name
of county road.
These COW trails, called roads, were
built without judgment and never as
roads should he built. The "aood
enough" policy did for early days, and
the moss backs say their present roads
are good enough for them. But u
change has come, and is still coming
Thousands of emigrants are desirOus of
taking up and settling upon the hum
dreds of thousands of acres of valuable
land in Clallam county, but TO induce
these emigrants to come, the county
should have county spirit enough to
make roads to enable these emigrants
to find these lands.
1t is true economy in making road
moss backs of Dungeness are so afraid
that they, having the richest men in
Clallam county, will have to pay an
undue share of taxes, let them have u
public meeting of the whole county
and vote to authorize the county COM
missioners to issue bonds to build these
roads, for rUads must be built in order
to settle up the county and add wealth
in money and population to both coun-
ty andsstatc. The arguments of Moss
back are childish and peurile; they are
not those of enlightenment or patriot
ism. We believe if the roads projected
o HIIiIt On nc IN ,ri4-a N continuous In Il
travel from Port Townsend to Quille-
ute, that towns and villages and farms
and homesteads would spring up along
the whole route like magic, and Dun
geness take its place like u beautiful
city instead of brooding like an old hen
on added eggs covered with moss as
some of her inhabitants seem to wish.
Go ahead with your roads, or show
soma better reason for delay than Moss
back urges. Jefferson county has at last
walked up to the necessity of having
good roads. For years we have suffered
the inconvenience of COW trails to
Chemacum and Port Discovery be
cause the mosSbacks squealed at inn
provement like the messy population
OF Dungeness. But now that We have
fine road clear to Port Discovery Bay
and another in progress to Chemacum
the mossback farmers are the loudest
in praise of our county commissioners
who caused those fine roads to be built
and we predict that when the roads
are built in Clallam county rs proposed
the mossbacl<s of that county will re-
joice, and be the first to claim that
they caused the great Improvement.