The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1893-02-25
The Wagon Road Again.

The Wagon Road Again.
The KEYSTONE has finally in
terested number of other papers
in its single handed fight against
the infamous state wagon road bill.
It would have been too late but for
an error of a clerk, who engrossed
the bill for the governors signature,
making the amount of bonds to is
sue $135 instead of $4,000 In
this form the governor signed it.
without reading, and it become a
law, to be anfy repaired by the ac-
ton OF both branches of the legis-
lature. The House has already
passed the bill to correct, but the
Senate has not. By concerted ac-
ton on the part of the papers OBJ
posed, showing the extent of the
robbery contemplated, the injustice
of the tax imposed on uninterested
localities, and the unfeasability of
the greatest portion of the route, it
may be possible to interest the pop
ullsts and democrats of the Senate
sufficient to defeat the bill. The
counties that pay the greater pro-
portion of the state taxes receive
no benefit from the proposed road !,
and their paRers are opening their
batteries of public sentiment. The
following papers can be recorded
now againet the steal: Blackfoot
News, Montpelier Post, Malad En-
terprise, Moscow Democrat, Gilmore
Bulletin, Caldwell Tribune, Challis
Graphic and the KEYSTONE. The
Malad Enterprise publishes the fol-
lowing strong argument, which
shows, should the road be built and
the money not wasted, what the
ultimate cost Of it Will be to the
taxpayers:
One hundred and thirty five
thousand dollars at six per cent will
cost $500 per annum. One hun
dred and thirty.five thousand dol
lars is a good deal of money to lay
out on one wagon road. Eight
thousand one hundred dollars will
transport a great many people from
Boise City to any other point in
Idaho. If that one hundred and
thirty Eve thousand dollars be Dor
rowed for ten years, then the origi-
nal outlay will be $4,000 per an
mum plus $500 interest, making a
total annual cost to- the state OF
$21 900, besides repairs, which, for
the first ten years, will average at
least ten per cent of the original
cost, or $13,5OO. Does Idaho need,
Or rather can Idaho afford to build
and maintain state road at cost
Of, approximately, $35,OOO.per an
num? And who shall profit by this
stupendous highway. From all that
We can learn, half dozen counties
would probably derive some benefit.
,ut probably not over half a hun
lred people would enjoy any con-
siderable advantage. Thirty-five
thousand dollars is a great deal of
money to- donate annually to few
people. IF this project had been
established four or FIVE hundred or
/ thousand years ago, it would have
'ound much favor in our mind
,ut the idea of laying out vast
sums of money on wagon roads is
'ather too suggestive of the time of
he Caesars. Before there is traffic
enough on that road to keep it
rom running to pasture and wild
,ats, half a dozen railroads and two
" three aerial lines are apt to par
lllel it. Besides there is consider
bile injustice worked to other coun-
les. Oneida county needs some
Dads Bingham county could util-
re couple of thousand miles of
highway Bear Lake wants macad-
lmiaed foot path, and Cassia would
ike to have a trail cat through its
jungles. We would much
prefer seeing that $4,000 per an
,um put into state fish pond or a
public incubator. Wagon roads do
lot rank high in the scale ofcumula-
i've properties; they neither spawn
lor hatch they are hard to pre-
serve and difficult to negotiate, and
llong side Of railroad about as
Useful as prairie schooner in Ven
ce. We think the state wagon road
ill would better be recomnaitted.