The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-03-15
BETTER ROADS ESSENTIAL.
Something Must Be Done and
That Right Soon If County Is
to Get Proper Proportion

Editor Herald:-The time is at
hand when Yakima county must
have better roads. We are falling be-
hind all parts of the country in this
particular, and something must be
done, and very soon, or we will lose
our present prestige.
The only way permanent road
system can be installed is by bond
issue of at least 100000, payable
25 or so years hence. Suppose we
begin at Grandview then via Sunny
side, outlook, Granger, Zillah, Parker
Bottom, Parker station to North
Yakima; this line would be about 40
miles long. Connect this road with
Mabton at or near Grandview, prob
ably miles. Connect Zillah with
Toppenish, three miles. Parker
Bottom with Wapato, thre miles. Be-
ginning east of Toppenish, three
miles thence through Toppenish on
the south side of the Northern Pa
cific tracks to Wapato. This line
would be about 10 miles long.
Covering the Valley
The building of line west Of
Wapato to cover the better part Of
the territory between Wapato and
Parker station would require approxi-
mately 10 miles of road construction.
North Yakima to Tampico 20 miles
A branch from this line at or near
the Congdon place up the Wide Hol-
low, six miles. A belt line around
the Mob Hill district about nine miles.
North Yakima via Fruitvale to Ma
ches City, Is miles. North Yakima
via Selah to Wenas store, II miles.
North Yakima to a point 4 miles east
of Mckee City, IL miles. This would
call for just 1853 miles Of road con-
struction and furnish this county with
a very good thoroughfare for some
years to come.
Mile Cost is Light
County Engineer Marble advises me
that he has specifications from Mr..
Lancaster, state road engineer of Cali
fornia, and he (Mai ole) is now build
ing one mile Of Oil treated macadam
at cost of a little less han $4,000
and building according to Lancaster's
plans, which calls for crushed rock,
washed sand and OIL properly put In
place.
/ am informed that the Yakima
county commissioners expended dur
ing the year of 1910 $216,45O.75 on
roads and bridges. the latter, how
ever, was $52015.99. leaving 1884,
434.76 expended on roads, and IL any
sane man will come forward and ex-
plain where the county ever received
10 cents on the dollar for this vast
expenditure of money he would be
doing the country a good turn.
System Is Wrong
1t is possible that under the pres
ent conditions the county commission
ers are doing all that can be done
but they are certainly working under
the wrong system. The better meth
cd to proceed would be to secure the
services of a competent road builder
and construct the roads on scientific
principles. and $1.000.000 would in
all probability construct $50 miles.
This money could be borrwed for not
to exceed 5 per cent, this means $780,
900 annually for interest. Now sup
pose we expended the sum annually
of $4,000 to keep these roads in con-
dition we would then be 100000 per
year better off than we are now, be-
sides we would have something tangi-
Bile to show for our money expended.
At the present rate we are going, this
county will spend a million dollars in
five years and we will have nothing
but chuck holes and dust to show
for it.
California Not Satisfied
California has as good roads as any
state in the union, but they are not
satisfied with their condition, the
state recently voted the sum of $1S,-
600, 600 to improve the road from the
Oregon line to the line of Old Mexi-
co. Sacram ento county voted $2,-
100000 for betterments, and Los An
geles county who. by the way have
the finest road system any where to
be fund in this country, has voted the
sum of 100000 for extensions and
improvements. Yakima county ap-
parently is as wealthy per capita as
any of our California counties are.
and we have to go on year by year
groveling in the dust. Our road sys-
TEN, or rather lack of roads is what
is holding this valley back
Visitors Were Disguised
Two Chicago men came last fall to
my office they had letters of intro
duction from a firm in Chicago with
request that l show them around,
this / did, but the longer they tray
eled over these abomi Unable roads of
ours the more exasperated they be-
came and they absolutely refused 20
listen to argument why they should
invest their money in Yakima orch
ard lands, and the whole trend of
their conversation was cussing and
damning the roads. They left dis
gusted. while they came with the idea
of investing