Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1911-06-06
GET TOGETHER
NO FREE BRIDGE
Editor J M Lucy Makes
Fine Suggestion In Com
menting On It.
IT MEANS PROGRESS
Says Little Rock Is Getting Pine
Bluffs Trade-Delay
Dangerous.

nov. y. W. Lucey, edltOr OF the
Southern Guardian at Little Rock
and who is familiar with the needs
of Pine Bluff, being one of its Oldest
and best posted residents, writes in
terestingly of the Free Bridge in
recent issue of his paper. He de-
clares that the bridge should be
built for the sake of Pine Bluff .u-
ture progress and that the advocate
and opponents of the project should
get together and amicably adjust
their differences. His comment fol-
lows:
Our friends in Jefferson county
are very much agitated over the
building of bridge across the Ark
ansas river at Pine Bluff. Both
physical and financial conditions are
peculiar, the latter being derived
from the former. Pine Bluff lies on
the south side of the river and is the
border jline separating the upland
west and southwark from the bot
tom land eas+ and northward. Di
rectly In from. of the town across
the river to the northward it, in its
horse shoe course, has made a pen
insula three miles long and from one
Quarter of mile to two miles wide,
the northwest point being half way
to Pine Bluff The overflows in The
spring and fall of each year have
been for many years lessening the
width of the peninsula and very fire.
quently there was serious danger Of
the river cutting through the tongue
of land a mile or two north of Pine
Bluff, which would leave the city
of Pines high and dry and without
waterway competition with rail
roads.
From Little Rock to the mouth of
the Arkansas river there are only
two bridges across the river. one at
Rob Roy, six miles south of Pine
Bluff, owned and operated exclusive
ly as a railroad bridge by the Cotton
Belt Railway and one near Redudle-
ton, fifty miles further south, which
was built as railroad bridge by the
Missouri Pacific Railway for the use
of its trains running from McGehee
to Helena, Ark.
That Pine Bluff is in dire need
from a commercial point of view of
highway and railway bridge at
Pine Bluff is too patent to be debat-
ed The only railroads which the
town possesses are the Missouri Pacf-
fic and the Cotton Belt. The Rock
Island and other railroad companies
are anxious to build north and
south railroad through the town but
have been restrained by the unusual
cos of a bridge, the estimated cost
being 100000.
In addition 10 having railroad
crossing of the river, there has been
for many years pressing need OF "a
wagon way, which has but poorly re-
lieved by the makeshift ferries, The
Cotton Belt Railway runs trains out
of pine Bluff southwark and across
the Rob Roy bridge, northward tif-
teen miles to Altheimer, where
takes a, due west course 20 Little
Rock. Our capital city in this way
drains away from Pine Bluff a caa-
siderable volume of trade which Pine
Bluff is loath to lose.
Nearly forty years ago we attended
with some regularity St Marys
church on Plum Bayou ten or twelve
miles north of Pine Bluff and five
miles south of the present Altheimer
branch railway. There is no Sub
stantial difference in the lands and
farms then and now and it is likely
there will be none for the next half
century until a bridge across he
Arkansas river at Pine Bluff tor
wagon and railroad traffic will bring
that country in touch with the life
of progressive city like Pine Bluff.
Il seems a straight proposition
that the Plum Bayou district north
of Pine Bluff needs the aid of Pine
Bluff in developing its fertile lands
and forests and that our city needs
the Plum Bayou country as com-
mercial suburb.
The immense cost of the bridge is
the bone of contention. Those "a
vorable to building the bridge Undue
ed the State Legislature a mouth Or
two ago to enact law empowering
4 the people of Jefferson county Ito
take vote on the matter )f making
il a county bridge and of tax
ing themselves for period of
twenty or thirty years to raise he