East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1916-03-21

tAle AOdh CONTROVERSY
Echo, oregon. March 10, 1916.
Editor East Oregonian;
Please pardon the liberty / assume
in addressing you thus. but the
thought occurred to me, that possibly
YOU would give space 10 a communi-
cation regarding the good roads bond
issue, SO as l have this road question
considerably in my mind, | thought
this would be good way to rid my
self Of some OF It,
The writer attended the road meet.
ing tina was held in Pendleton Satur-
day and that was called for the ex'
press and only purpose, as l under
stood it, for the purpose Of talktns
over a re-apportionating Of the mon
ey, that was to be raised by said
bond issue, but l am sorry to say that
it was all most impossible to get
heads or tails of the outcome of sale
meeting as it seemed to me TO be more
of a family row over the spoils, Cir
there are to be any during the entire
meeting and the main bone of con
tention was. If can't have the road
by my place, you can't either and
said discussion (if you can so call itl
got entirely away from the original
intent and purpose of the meeting
and took a step backward, in the
writer's Judgment. in ever allowing
/ the resolution to vote mill
tax. to consider for a minute the
Il placing of said resolution on the bal
lot with the bond issue question, and
the entire proposition seemed to me
to arise over the differences of opin-
ion, as to where the hard surface road
to the Columbia river was TO be built,
and that issue, and that only. seemed
to prevail to a large extent at the
meeting.
Now then I believe that every one
should boost for his own section.
That's natural, but 7 also believe that
we all ought to be fair and just be-
cause We can't have the road to go
JUST where each one of us wants it,
we should not be the party to kill the
entire measure and there was not a
person there at that meeting Saturday
| but what, right down in the bottom
of their hearts, would gladly vote for
the bond issue if they thought it was
going right where they want it, But
| you say, what's fairy Now listen, the
county court says we have 400 miles
| of roads in this county and that Is
per cent of the traveI, the year
around uses only 1l5 miles of those
roads, Now what do you think nt
that Think of it. rs per cent of the
travel uses only lis mnes of roads out
OF the 400 miles What's the result?
When the committee was appointed to
apportion the money they did it as
wisely as they possibly could and
naturally favored to a large extent
that rs per cent of travel over those
| 115 miles of roads, and apportioned
the money with that idea in view,
which was in the writer's judgment
perfectly right and just, and which
they could not gerry well do otherwise,
! so when we met in Pendleton the op-
position was there in such force that
they injected a new deal In the game
and / am very much afraid killed
both. The writer was not one of the
committee, but in justice to them, I
/ feel like it should be brought to the
public's notice.
Now. the writer has this suggestion
| to offer. This money was divided
about as follows: 100000 between
Pendleton and the state line on the
east; 5000, 600 between Umatilla and
Pendleton. $4,000 between Helix
and Pendleton, and $4,000 between
Pilot Rock and Pendleton. Now
it seems to me tnat covers the
main arteries of travel in all direc-
tions But what happens? The
! farmers and the Cold Springs people
say that they are entitled to a road
to Cold Springs Landing and will not
support any other movement unless
they can have that road and person.
ally am inclined to favor their con-
/ tention, though I realize that they
only use the road to speak of perhaps
about so DAYS during the grain haul
ing season. in the fall of the year.
But even So there will be a vast ann
cunt Of grain hauled that way which
perhaps will lessen the freight rate.
equal to or more than off set their
proportionate cost Of the bond issue.
Now then, at an additional cost OF
perhaps $150,00O which would very
YEAR if not quite complete the P"~
dleton-Helix road on to Cold
Springs landing and as they already
have been allotted $4,000 that
would give them approximately $500
900 and if what ! understand is true
that the state will spend dollar for
dollar with the county, If there
should be a short distance Of un-fin-
ished road the state would step in
and complete it.
Now. then where are we going to
get that $3.50. 900? Here's where the
shoe may pinch If the writer Is cor
rectly informed, there has been a
proposition made to the county court
to complete the job as 1t were orI
hard surface the road between PEN
deton and the state line on the East
for $180,000. II that is 50 and /
have been reliably informed of such,
that would leave US $1,000 900 over and
above what the committee apportion-
ed for that road. that we could divert
to the Cold Springs road and that
with the $4,000 the committee has
allowed them would bring the am
cunt up to $3.50, 900, which with some
state aid would complete the road and
qYnoofk auf oil fha saan1iuQlv Dreeent