The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-02-26

4
been deprived of railroad
transportation for more than two
years through the failure of the o.
w. r. & y company to restore the
washed out track from Prichard to
Paragon, a distance Of IA miles, the
state utilities commission will hold a
hearing in TINS city at o'clock in the
afternoon of March s. when the rail-
road company will be required to
show cause why the commission
should not make an order requiring
said corporation to at once and forth
with reconstruct and rehabilitate and
recOmmence and continue freight and
passenger service upon said branch
line above referred to; and further
said corporation is hereby ordered to
show cause why said commission
should not order that in the event
said corporation fails to Immediately
reconstruct said line and recommence
service thereon, an action should be
commenced in the appropriate dis
tIict court to require said corpora
ton to so reconstruct said line and
recommence service thereon" While
the request for this hearing was sign
ed only by those who are directly
concerned, it is a fact nevertheless
that the reconstruction of the PTdch-
ard creek line is a matter in which
the people of the entire county are
deeply interested. In spite of this
heavy handicap, mining development
has continued on the North Side with
most gratifying results, and it is evil
dent that the restoration of the rail-
road this spring will give an impetus
to mining that would at once develop
a substantial tonnage both in ore
shipments going out and in cOmmOd-
ity shipments going in. The business /
men Of Wallace in particular should /
cooperate to the fullest extent with
the people of the North Side in max
ing the strongest possible showing to
the utilities commission.
Why Service Should Be Restored.
The petition submitted to the utih-
ties commission by the North Side
people follows:
your memorialists, representing
the main industrial and mining inter
ests of that section of Shoshone coun- |
ty, state of Idaho, styled and known
as the North Side of the Occur
d'Alene embracing principally Prich-
ard creek and its tributaries, where
the gold discoveries were made in
1882 and 1888, and which have been |
supplemented in the past 25 years by
the discovery and development of
lead, silver, zinc, copper iron and |
scheelite Ctungsten) mines, which /
warranted and caused the construc- /
ton Of the Wallace Murray branch |
of the O.-W. r. & n. from Enaville to |
Paragon, (along the North Fork of .
the Occur d'Alene river to Prichard /
and along Prichard creek to Paragon), |
declare and say:
"First-That the section of the rail
road from Prichard to Paragon be-
came imperative because of a de-
structive flood on December 80 and
81. 1917, and January l, 1918, when
portions of the roadbed were washed
out the entire length of the line, COW
sring a distance of about IA miles,
out that the destruction did not entail
he loss of ties or rails to an appre-
liable extent, or beyond recovery. Es-
imates place the roadbed destroyed,
igured at linear measurement for all
sections, at not more than one mile
md a half and that none of the
yashouts would entail any extraor-
linary expense to the railroad COM
,any to repair
"Second-That the railroad com
,any made a survey of the damaged 7
sections of the line after the waters p
lad subsidized, but failed to make re-
'airs, and the operation of the road a
rom Prichard to Paragon has ceased b
rom the date of the flood, although !,
he section from Enaville to Prichard =
vas promptly repaired and service re- n
tored and continued. .
''Third-That the railroad company G
las a commodious depot station at =
Iurray and a turntable, with a large y
reight room connected with the sta
ion, and ample side trackage for r
rattle n
't'Ourth-That the failure of the o.
abroad company to restore the line =
rom Prichard to Paragon to an OPP III
rating basis has caused an almost to- h
al suspension of ore shipments from =
he affected district, because the wag- :,
n haul or truck transportation was 4
90 slow and expensive, while neces- r
airy supplies and heavy machinery 9
or mine development work were and
ave been practically beyond reach. :
'FTfth-That notwithstanding the q
Unfortunate condition of railroad
transportation, or the lack of it. gen. a,
raj development work and explora- q
ion. as well as prospecting. has been =
arried on in the territory tributary =
o the railroad from Prichard to Par .
gon, and an acute public necessity p
or the restoration and operation of =,
he railroad now exists. >,
"Sixth-There are now three 150- >,
on concentrating lead-silver- zinc -