Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1903-08-20
THE SCENIC
ROUTE ROAD
Work Being Pushed By Superin-
tendent Bursum With In.
creased Number Men.
AZ C0NVICTS AT WORK
Measures for Permission to Proceed
When Line Of Pecos Forest Re.
serve Is Reached.

Hon. H. O. Bursum of the territorial
penitentiary has put ten more convicts
to work upon the Scenic Route road
now being constructed. He expects
that between 400 and 500 feet of road
way per day will be built during the
next two weeks and while he has this
large force of forty-two convicts at
work upon it. He is very sanguine
that unless something unforeseen hap
pens the Dalton divide will be reached
by the end of the season. Yesterday
Forest Ranger r. j. Ewing informed
John A. Gwinn, the engineer who is in
the Immediate charge of the construc-
tion, that work would have to cease as
soon as the line OF the Pecos forest
reserve is reached. 1t is not known by
what authority Ranger Ewing gave
this warning. Under the law and in
structions in force concerning the
building of roads private or public
through forest reserves, such roads
can be constructed without hindrance
from the officials of the interior de-
partment if due application for such
purpose has been made to the secre-
tary of the interior. This was done
sometime ago by County Commission
ar Arthur Seligman on behalf of San,
20 Fe county and in this applica ton all
the requirements laid down by the in
structions were complied with. No
answer thereto had been received, how
ever, up to yesterday
Hon. Arthur Seligman of the board
of county commissioners was seen re-
garding the matter. Mr.. Saligman
said that he had complied with all the
requirements of the law so far as he
was cognizant of them.
Il had anticipated this matter and
had taken it up with the local author
tiles and through them with the de-
partment of the interior about five
weeks ago. I did this hoping that the
reply would be more prompt and that
the work would not be delayed I had |
. talk with Forest Ranger Ewing and
ne offered his services to us as guide
when our engineers were ready to go
through the reserve. Now there was
only one route to the divide and from
there we had three routes to the Pecos
in view. 1t was our intention to have
Superintendent Bursum reconnoitre the
country when the divide had been
reached and then we would have avail
ed ourselves of Mr.. Ewing's Services.
The matter was also taken up with
the department through Forest Super
itnenden- I. B. Hanna and plats of the
reserve were asked for and the pro-
posed routes marked out. The town.
ships and ranges through which the
road ws's to pass as we'll as the es-
Inmates of the quantity and value of
the timber and stone that would be re-
Quired were furnished the proper au-
1hOrities. So far as I know every
/, ,equirement of the law has been COM
piled WITH
The laws and regulations governing
the Creation and Administration of
Public Forest Reserves" under date
November 6, 190O contain the provi- {
sions which are pertinent to the case.
Under the head, Public and Private
Uses,'' the law reads:
''It Is further provided t1lat-Noth- {
ing herein shall be construed as pro- {
hibitirg the egress or ingress of actual &
settlers residing within the boundar- 1
les of such reservations, or from cross I
t.. 4
erty or homes and such wagon roads
ard other Improvements may be con-
thereon as may be necessary t
to reach their homes and to- utilize
sneir p~,perty. under such rules and ]
regulations as may be prescribed by t
The secretary of the interior Nor shall {
herein prohibit any person +
from entering upon such forest reser- s
vations Ter all proper and lawful pur- r
poses thereof: Provided, That such t
parsons comply with the rules and q
regulations covering such forest reser- t
vations. r
'"The public in entering, crossing, r
and occupying the reserves, for the q
enumerated in the law, are r
subject to a strict compliance with the
rules and regulations governing the re- b
serves. n
private wagon roads and county p
roads may be constructed over the pub n
lie lands in the reserves wherever they v
may be found necessary or useful, but I
no rights shall be acquired in said d
roads running over the public lands
as against the United States Before d
public timber, stone, or other material d
can be taken for the construction Of |,
such roads, permission must first be b
obtained from the secretary Of the in.
terror. The application for such privi-