East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1916-04-29
FROM THE PEOPLE
ABOUT THE SAKE ROAD.
Pendleton. ore.. Aprll 2a.

Pendleton. Ore. April 2s.
Editor East Oregonian:
Will you kindly aliew me space fol
an explanation Of my opposition IA
the new road from Sake station?
First, / want to say there ls already
direct. or almost direct road run
ming north to the east Of the new
road At a point about three-fourths
Of a mile from SAKE is rocky de-
preston known as the Horseshoe
Curve. To avoid this is ostensibly the
cause of the change to the new road,
AS evidently a majority Of the legal
signers to a road petition had signed
for the new road In the road district
as I used to know 1t, and as no signer
to a road petition under the present
law can legally sign a remonstrance
thereto, the only recourse 1 had was
to get a petition to vacate the new
road No. 77s. This / have done, ali
but few of those whom approach
ed who had signed the petition for
the new road, signing my petition to
vacate, as they said that the matter
had been entirely misrepresented to
them by the clrculator of the petition.
Even those few who refused to sign
my petition to vacate admitted they
were not interested in any way and
were sorry they signed for the road.
There was not single signature to
the petition for this new road by any
one living north OF, and who use, or
would use either road. Everyone /
have asked who lives north between
the roads mentioned and Hellx-and
have asked a good many-is utterly
opposed TO changing the road. Ard
they are the ones interested. They
want the old road left where it is. but
want it improved. There would be
more opposition to vacating 1t than
the new road. The road viewers, J. w
stockman and l. C. Rothrock reported
against the new road.
Ny objection to the new road is
from the fact Though would object
II not for this fact If I had to use
either road) that the new road passes
almost diagonally through a quarter
section of land belonging to myself
taking several acres Of the best land,
otherwise doing great damage, leav-
ing about go acres on one side and 100
on the other. Every foot taken by
the new road is first class tillabls
land. Eighty acres Of this field is in
crop, the other so, which is being
summer fallowed, beng cut in such a
way by the new road as to leave about |
20 acres in one corner and so in the
other Besides this road takes a quar-
ter Of mile off the north side. This
makes half mile of road on the east |
of the quarter, a fourth on the north |
and a half mile through the middle |
and, as far as | can find out, to bene- |
fit no one but the fellow who circu-
lated the petition, and because this |
fellow wanted county road to pass |
his house. have had to come from
Portland, practically from sick bed |
at all this trouble and expense. He
has access to the old road over his |
own land and is therefore not hem
med in. Besides, there is a way to
get the road near his home over his |
own land without cutting through
mine.
According to the viewers report the
old road could be improved at a cost
not to exceed the entire cost of dam
ages and grading the new road. This
would only be beginning Of cost on
he new road, as that part of it below
my place, something like a mile long
IS of a very sandy nature and would
nave to be macadamized TO make any
Kind of passable road, at an expense of
thousands of dollars. If half the OK.
Dense required to make a good road
IF the new one were put on the OLD
me it would make incomparably the
most desirable road And by making
| few changes the old road would
,nly slightly exceed the grade PEI
cent of the new road Besides the
lew road is practically three-fourths
IF mile longer and passes up a dus-
y. hot canyon. +
Ny object in writing the above is
lot to bid for sympathy but to put the
acts before the people as they are.
I'm confident if the people in the dis
rict in which the roads l have mem
ioned lie had understood matters as
hey are, no attempt at putting new
'oad where it is would have been sue
'essful. Hence l feel confident the
public will refuse to De accessory to
my further efforts to force this road
m users who do not want it and to
he great and useless damage of my
elf A. RITPpE