Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-08-09
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST Q, 1905.
THE SCENIC HIGHWAY LOCATION.

According To the best light obtain.
able on the question, the action OF the
county commissioners In the matter
of the location of the Scenic Highway
Is a clear case Of Quitting In"
Whatever may be the proper route
for the road to follow from the Mon
tezuma hotel, the county commission
ers have no authority In the matter
and their attempt to say where 1t
should be located will not affect the
situation. According to the law, the
%penitentiary board has the right to
locate the road and that responsibility
has so far been delegated to the pres.
ident Of the board, Mr.. Pierce, who is
directing the construction at this end.
As to the fitness Of Mr.. Pierce to per.
form this properly, there may be some
difference OF opinion. Doubtless there
are some people who think they could
locate and build the road better than
Mr.. Pierce has done but on the whole,
there seems to be rather general sat
~isfaction with the Scenic Highway so
far as II stands completed at this end.
Certainly no one who would under
take q Job OF this nature would for
one moment entertain so ~sanguine a
hope as that he would be able to
please everybody.
just 0 the proposition at issue Is
whether the road. after leaving the
Montezuma hotel, should descend to
the river and cross at the site OF the
present road or should continue to
skirt around the mountain, avoid the
river. and come out on the lever
plateau above Los Vigiles before turn.
Ing toward Las Vegas. The engineer
In locating the road has chosen the
latter course and the work OF con.
structlon has been begun In accord
ance Herewith. The matter was
t~hereupon taken up by some OF the
citizens OF the town OF Las Vegas who
maintain that this will work a hard.
ship upon the interests OF the town
and that the builders Of the highway
should be compelled to carry 1t from
the Springs down the route OF the
west side Boulevard, crossing the river
Just below the Montezuma hotel and
skirting the erosion to Las Vegas.
They presented q petition to the
county commissioners to that effect
on Monday and the commissioners ac-
cordingly issued the desired order.
MIR. Pierce states that he will disre.
gard the order Of the commissioners
and proceed with the location Of the
road as planned, and stated his rea.
sons In an interview In The Optic
last night.
1t IL unfortunate that the location OF
the road has come up as a matter for
contention and The Optic regrets that
there Is even an apparent clash of In.
terests between the west side and the
east side In the matter. Doubtless
either business section would prefer
to have the highway enter 1t directly
and expect to derive some advantage
therefrom. II. however, 1t approach
ed Las Vegas by a course which Is
about equally distant from both bus
mess centers. We do not see how 1,
works any hardship on either side.
The Legislature In passing the bill
was unquestionably actuated by tn,
idea OF establishing the best and mos
permanent highway possible. This tn,
builders believe they are best carryins
out by the route they have chosen
and there Is apparently no appea
from this decision They are respon
sible to the territory at large for IN,
character of the work and the credi