The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1916-04-06
STATE HIGHWAY.

Idaho Falls, April 4-In;iications
point to the fact that construction or
the link Of the Salt Lake Yellowstone
highway from che Warm river 20 Buff.
falo river in Che Targhce national forest
upon the new line Of read laid out by
former State Highway Engineer Smith
will take place before the opening Of
park traffic this year. 1t is intended
to push construction en- the entire route
through the Targhce and Madison for
iests, dependent upon the success of the
Utah and Idaho congressional dclega
tions in pushing through the $l,000,00O
bill which has been introduced by Con-
gresham Taylor of Colorado, but the
Warm river Buffalo river section is to
come first.
Secretary G. G. Dietrich, of the re.
Gently formed Utah Idaho Yellowstone
Highway association, is in receipt of a
letter from Congressman Addison T..
Smith to the effect that the representa-
tives from the Rocky mountain and Pa
cific coast states have met in conference
and decided upon an omnibus bill in
stead of pushing individual bills Of
mombers, and he states that it is hoped
to pass it at the present session Of
congress.
| A recent dispatch from the Boise
Statesman Bureau in Washington, d. G..
is as follows:
| "The determination Of the members
Of congress from the public land states
to get together on legislation affecting
all their states, especially land and con-
servation legislation, will hasten ac-
ton on a number of bills now pending,
and probably will result in better and
more far.reachimg results than if west.
ern members continue to act individu,
ally, as they have done up to this time.
/" At a recent conference the western
members perfected an organization with
Representative Taylor as chairman and!
Representative Smith Of Idaho as secre
tary. First attention is to be given to
a bill, recommended by the department
of agriculture, which proposes to finance
a plan whereby the forest service can
enter Immediately upon program of
road construction in national forests,
which will open up a large part of the
west now inaccessible.
"The plan proposed is to advance =
large sum of money from the fede nj
treasury, out of the receipts from the
forset reserves, and apply this fund to
road construction, building first trunk
line roads that connect with county
roads, and which will permit travel
along lines where travel is needed, but
now impossible because of the interven.
ing government forests. This money
will be repaid to the treasury gradu-
ally, by dedueting annually 20 per cent
going to the states a certain percentage.
until the amount advanced has been re
Iimbursed.
"Under this plan twelve and one.
half to fifteen per cent of the receipts
from all the forest reserves in Idaho,
for instance, would be held back to re-
limburse the treasury for all moneys ad-
|vanced for the building of roads in
Idaho. But there would be Immediately
available large sum for road construc
ton and the state would get the benefit
of the roads within a year or two where
-, under the present law, the program
of road construction would continue
over q long period of years.
"There are numerous bills pending
before congress aiming to expedite the
reconstruction of roads in forest reserves.
There is great dissimilarity in the plans
proposed. Through the medium of the
Iconference of western members it is
hoped to reach an agreement on some
general bill, applicable to all the states,
which all the members can support
IOnce this agreement is reached, the
western delegations will go before the
Icommitte on agriculture. present their
bin, ask hearing, and probably get
reasonably prompt action
Extensive and detail preparations art