Arizona republican., 1916-02-24
ROAD REPAIR
 UP ID THOSE
 NKO USE I'M
No Federal Appropriation for Roosevelt Road Work; Also No Reason Why Ari- zona Cant Build Over Forest Reserve

That there is no reason why Ari zona or any county or city within it should not build or repair roads through forest and Indian reserves, according to John J. Fitzgerald chairman of the house committee on appropriations, in a letter to Con gressman Carl Hayden, anent the Roosevelt road situation. There will be no federal appropriation of $20, 900 for the repair of this road, nor any appropriation for any other road of purely local importance. This is the last word
 The frank statements of MT FitZ- gerald are as follows:
 The committee on appropriations has given careful consideration to your bill apprOpriating S20,000 for the repair of the Roosevelt road and has definitely decided that no action will be taken upon it A number of the members of this committee travelled over this road during our inspection trip last summer and we remember with pleasure the magnificent seen cry along the route If this were the only scenic highway in the United States we might with safety appro- priate money for its repair, but there are many such roads through the mountains and forests in various parts of the United States. If we repair one of them by an appropria- tion from the treasury we will be asked to care for them all. This com mittee cannot establish such a pre- cedent.
 q understand that this road was built at great expense by the United States reclamation service and it's construction was justified because the use of this highway materially re duced the cost of the Roosevelt dam The dam is now completed and the road is not absolutely necessary for its maintenance. Accordingly con- gress would not be justified in ap- propriating money from the reclama ton fund for repairs to a road the cost of which must be charged to the farmers under the project
 1 Your constituents seem to be Of the opinion that merely because the | Roosevelt road was constructed by the government that therefore con- gress is bound to maintain it in per petulty. They forget that it's con ,struction was but an incident in the work on the entire reclamation pro- Ject and that it's usefulness to the government has now ceased. The,
 must admit that the principal use
 made of this road is by the citizen.
 of Arizona who travel over it or con.
 Vey tourists for consideration.
 The tele9rams which you hay,
 submitted state that the local author
 Itles cannot repair this road becaus,
 1t IS within a forest reserve. Sine,
 the hearing on your bill have care
 fully inquired into the facts and finc
 that they are entirely mistaken i, this statement, because the states an, counties all over the west are build ing and maintaining roads within th national forests.
 The federal government has no
 adopted the policy of maintaining io z cal roads and, in my judgment. th
 adoption of such policy wouI,
 bankrupt the treasury. The soone
 the parties interested make up thei minds that they cannot get help iron l congress for the maintenance of tn , Roosevelt road but they must depen upon their own state and county gov ernments, the better it will be for al ? concerned