Cottonwood chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1917-current, 1920-05-14
new COUNTY,
Then HIGHWAY
KAMIAH MERCHANT SAYS
COUNTY DIVISION NECES-
SARY FOR HIGHWAY.

embracing portions. of Lewis and
Idaho counties in the upper
Clearwater country will doubt
less again come before the li2is-
latme which meets next Janu-
AIRY according to a statements of
M. b. Rushton of the kamiah
Hardware CO., who visited Lew
iston last week and gave out an
interview to the Tribune. The
Progress has been aware of this
fact for some time and when it
comes, we believe. with Mr..
Rushton, that it will meet with
approval from a majority OF the
people of this section.
Mr.. Rushton is much interest
ed in the construction of the
Lewis and Clark highway from
Lewiston TO Missoula, Mont. and
states that it will he difficult to
secure this construction beyond
the Clearwater county boundar-
les until a river county is Great
ed.
"The river sections of both
Lewis and Idaho counties are too
far removed from the seats of
government TO receive much at
tention and for the next several
years the entire energies of the
two counties will be devoted to
highway construction on the
prairie plateaus." said Mr.. Rush
ton. 1--WE, who reside along the
river, want the down river out
let and the development of the
fertile upper river country can
never be realized until we are
given the advantages of such a
highway. There are many other
problems In which the river com
munities alone are interested
and for these reasons we feel
that much more satisfactory re-
suits could be attained if a river
county is created and we are piv-
en- a county government at home
to deal directly with these prob
lens so important to our devel-
opment.
"At the present time our iden-
tity with the county government
is almost entirely a matter of
paying taxes, as the vote in the
river section of the two counties
is so small as to be of little in
fluence in matters of county
government. We have three
good towns in the river district
of the two counties; have a large
farming and livestock country
directly tributary TO the valley
have an assessed valuation that
entities us to n new county and
have timber and mineral re-
sources of great value.
81 feel that | am expressing
the sentiment of the people oi
the river communities when
say that if a new county is Gre
ated. there will be no cessation
of effort until the construction
of the Lewis and Clark highway
from Lewiston to the boundary
of the national forest is complet,
ed. We would extend this high
way up the South Fork from
Kooskia to give access to the en-.
tire upper country and we would
provide grades that would give
the farmers on the Highlands
easy access to the river road.
AT the present time petitions
are being circulated asking thai
the small federal apDortionmen'
| for the Lewis and Clark high
way in Lewis county be transfer
ed to the north and south stat'
highway between Winchestel
and lilo. 1t is represented tha
the money will be lost to th'
county entirely unless such ;
transfer is secured. / am in
formed as to the status of thes'
funds. but feel that there ha'
been negligence on the part o
somebody. if no nreparatiori
have been made bv the county, T.
meet the requirements tina
would allow this federal money
to be expended for HIGHWAY con
strnction where it was intended
-Kamiah Progress.