The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1909-04-16
SMITH ON STATE
ROADS
SPOKESMAN-REVIEW POLITICAL
CORRESPONDENT GRILLs LEG
STATURE FOR ROAD APPRO-
PRIATIONS.

The following is a portion of
story written by Joe Smith, the po-
|litical correspondent of the Spokes-
man Review, and while it is not al
together accurate, makes interesting
reading It is as follows:
State road No. was projected to
run from "a point where the present
road running north from Leaven-
worth to Lake Wenatchee, in Chelan
county, crosses the north boundary
line of the northwest quarter of Sec
ton 5, township 26 north, range IS
east, thence up the Chiwawa river to
the mouth of Buck creek and by the
most feasible route to the summit of
the Cascade mountains, thence over
said summit to the headwaters of
Suitable creek, in Snohomish coun-
/ y; thence over and along the most
practicable route to connect with the
Sauk-Darrington county road, in Ska
git county"
Like state road No. 1. this ROAD be-
gins nowhere and ends nowhere, run
ming over the summit of the Cas-
cades through a rough, unsettled and
practically impossible country.
For this project the legislature of
1905 appropriated $4,000 condition
ed on the counties making the neces-
sary surveys. The commissioners of
Skagit county refused to make the
survey of it's portion 'for the reason
that the road will be of no benefit
to the people of Skagit county and
the cost of constructing the same
would not be justified by the benefits
derived
The commissioners of Snohomish
county took a similar stand, giving
as their reason:
"The survey would be an expensive
one; and even if route were found
it would take heavy appropriation
to build the road, and, after opening
the road, it would be of no benefit to
the county"
The Chelan county commissioners,
however, consented to and did make
their survey and appropriated $500
in addition to construction work.
With this sum added to the state ap-
preparation the state commissioner
proceeded to construct road lying
wholly within Chelan county and ex-
tending from the intersection of a
certain section line to the summit Of
the Cascade mountains with no 9TH
er destination at the western end in
prospect.
This $4,000 was expended and the
legislature Of 1907 appropriated
$8461S to compete for an outstand-
ing contract and $4,000 for further
construction. To the legislature of
1909 the commissioner reported:
Estate road No. 8, the Chelan
Skagit road, was projected between
a point IS miles north of Leaven-
worth, in Chelan county, to point
on the Sank river, in Skagit county.
Ten and sixty-three hundredths miles
of this road have been built by the
state at a cost of $12,O15, the state
paying $9999 and Chelan county
$2O16. In addition to the work done
by the state in Chelan county, IA
miles additional road along this line
have been opened by mining compa-
MES at their own expense. Surveys
and a reconnaissance developed the
fact CATER $4,000 had been expend-
ed) that the elevation of the summit,
which is 1915 feet, and the steepness
of the approaches, both on the east
and west sides of the summit, render
this route impracticable for wagon
road. This route should be aban-
doned as a state road
This is the one isolated instance
in which the legislature took the
advice of the state commissioner to
abandon an impracticable state road
project. And the explanation of this
is not business but a political one.
It resulted from the fact that the
Chelan county representatives in the
legislature were asking for an appro-
priation of 100000 from the state
highway fund for the purchase Of
the Wenatchee bridge, and were too
much occupied with that legislative
project to dissipate their legislative
energies in securing road appropri-
alton for the benefit of few men in
terested in the development Of some
mining projects in the heart of the
Cascade mountains. BY sacrificing
their road project they secured their
Wenafchee bridge annrOnriatfon but