Williams news., 1919-03-14

sent an eaiser problem than that of building wagon road
 down Bright Angel trail. Nelth-
 CT of the Oak Creek roads have
 much over the Trail except as to the amount of direct descent, which is but about one half that of the Canyon.
 The proposed road south from Williams, however, poses ses natural advantages which make it's construction and It's
 maintenance a relatively sln-
 ple matter. Even now, without
 any work having been done on this road since the old govern
 ment stage used it, it is still
 passible for teams and has been travelled by auto. Few roads Tn
 Coconino county would permit the passage of any sort of ve- i hicle if neglected for so long
 The explanation is simple. The total descent to be made at the rim, on the proposed road, Is very small, compared with any
 point farther to the eastward. In addition to this, the course followed is down a ridge where the amount of wash is small.
 So much for the feasibility of the proposed route. The use that would be made of the road
 certainly justifies it's construc- tion.
 We must take issue with Su-
 pervisor Woolfolk regarding
 his assertion that not dollars
 worth of farm or industrial pro- ducts would ever be hauled ov-. CT the road. To begin with, the first ten miles of the road as it runs south from Williams, has for years past been used to transport farm products into Williams from the farms south of town, and also to carry sup plies out to the ranches in that section. A good road would
 be used more. The sheep and
 cattle men with ranges south
 of Williams would greatly ap-
 preciate having a way to get supplies over the rim, both goin down and coming up, without having to ship them around by way of Ash Fork. The farmers, of the Verde would be greatly benefited by this new outlet for their fruit and other crops. Williams offers a market for a considerable amount of this produce and the benefit would be mutual. Some of these farmers have in the past reach ed Williams by the circuitous Oak-Creek-Flagstaff route. If this road were thru. many more would come to Williams. Not one dollars worth. but thous ands of dollars worth of farm and industrial products would pass over this road each year. Then. too, Williams. like Flagstaff, has natural advant- ages for summer camping and residence, which are among the county's natural resources that need development. The people of Phoenix, Clarkdale. Jerome, and other towns of the south would make much more liberal use of our delightful climate were it made easily accessible by means of a good road. There is good road from Phoenix to CIarkdale. Bring this road on up to Williams and the entire county would be benefited. It would seem but fair that Williams, paying as big a share of the taxes as she does, should
 be entitled to one scenic road when Flagstaff has several chief among which are the ones to the Cliffs, to Lake Mary and to Oak Creek. The proposed. road would give Williams a scenic drive, while constituting the feasible connecting link be- tween the north and south, and greatly benefitting farmers and stOckmen.
 The people of Western Co., conino hope to get this road with the cooperation of the supervisors, but they will not despair even if deprived of this aid. They willget this road just the same.