The Mena weekly star., 1909-03-11
NATIONAL FOREST
 ROADS AND TRAILS
Pans Call for sS,O00 Expenditures the Coming Year Telephone Lines to Be Built Forestry
 Notes.

Work on the Bethesda mouu- tain road Is being rushed 10 com pletion under the direction of Forest Ranger Chappell. An ad. dtional appropriation of $50 has been made by the government to finish the work. As soon as this road is completed work will be- gin on trail leading from Athens to Big Fork. At least 5000 will be spent on this project If the people will devote some labor the trail can readily be widened into a serviceable road. Plans for a telephone line be- tween the two towns have already been submitted for approval. II the new addition is made to the forest 1t is probable that the ranger headquarters now al Slatington will be moved to Big Fork on account of better mail connections with Mena.
 Road to Camp Wilder.
 A preliminary survey has been made of the proposed 0 d from Two Mile creek to Camp Wilder and an estimate submit ted to the district forester for his approval. if this plan is adop- ted the government will spend al least $250 in the construction of the road. Work will necessa rlly be delayed until after June 30, however.
 Plans have been prepared for the construction of a telephone line between Mena and Page, us- ing the telegraph poles of the Kansas City Southern railway. . Owing to the interference of the telegraphic currents with that of the telephone, 1t IS planned to build double line, or metallic circuit.
 Fire Patrol Force Larger.
 The pay roll of the Arkansas national forest for February was the largest since the forests ere ation. Over 45 residents of this state were employed. The fire patrol force is much larger than ever before. Special attempt IS being made to apprehend incen- diaries, and if caught they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law as s'horrible examples. '
 The plans for permanent inn provements on the forest for the next fiscal year, beginning July l, have been carefully prepared and submitted. They cali for more than Ss ,000 worth of roads, trails aud telephone lines. The amount actually expended de- pends entirely upon the liberality of congress.
 Money for Polk County.
 K F. Harris of Eagleton was in the city few days ago and offered settlement in all of the timber trespass cases brought by the forest service against the Harris Lumber Company. About million feet of homestead and government timber was involved. Oue-fourth of this money goes into Polk and Scott counties school and road funds.
 Addresses by Supervisor Record.
 Forest Supervisor Record will leave the latter part of the month for short lecture tour in Louis jana in the interests of the cen- ssrvatiou of our natural resources. lie has. engagements at Shreve- port, Alexandra, Lafayette and New Orleans. A special set of lantern slides has been ordered to illustrate his addresses.
 Merrill C. Martin, recently ap- pointed clerk in the office of the forest supervisor here, has just arrived from Fl Paso, Tex, where he was employed in the First National Bank of that city. Mir. Martin chose Mena from list of several places open to him.
 Mir. NcMillan, special land ex aminer. is due to arrive in Mena today from Albuquerque, N. NJ. His business will be to examine the lands within the forest for which applications to homestead have been made.