Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1920-11-24

WANT A ROAD
TO RED LAKE
IN August last meeting was held
III this city, the object of which was
to start a movement for securing the
laying out and construction of high
way from the Red River Valley to Red
Lake. About IS miles Of the distance
the proposed road will pass thru the
Red Lake Indian reservation At that
time an organization known as the Red
Lake Highway Association was formed
with Daniel Shaw Of Thief River Falls
as president. A committee was also ap-
pointed, of which B. B. Brett of Ste
phen, was chairman, for the purpose Of
securing federal aid for the project.
This committee and goOdly number
of the members of the Warren Com
merc1al Club and other citizens inter-
ested in, the project, met at the Club
Rooms on Tuesday forenoon, B. B.
Brett, presiding, for the purpose Of
meeting Congressman Halyor Steener-
son, who had kindly come to the meet
ing and who is himself greatly interest
ed in having the proposed highway
established. Mr.. Stevenson has cor
responded with the Department Of the
| Interior relative to building road
| thru the reservation and was referred
to a general law that covers the matter,
which he read for the information of
those present. Right-of-way for public
road through an Indian reservation
may be obtained from the secretary of
the interior upon application from a
county, state or corporate body. Mr..
STEVENSON did not think it feasible to
obtain funds for the construction of
the road from any Indian appropria-
ton and he did not think the poor
Indians should be asked to pay for the
| road. - = : - = =. = o..
| Mr.. Daniel Shaw, of Thief, River
Falls, being called upon, said that there
| were large number of Indians upon
| the reservation north of the lake and
they are trying to farm under difficult.
| ties as they have no direct outlet for
their products except by crossing the
lake to the south side or going the
! long way around. The road therefore
would benefit greatly these Indians and
| he thought they or the government
whose. wards they are ought to help
build the road. He did not. think the
three counties of Marshall, Pennington
and Beltrami, with their owl big road
| problems, would be willing to build the
road thru the reservation. =:
Mr.. W. J. Brown, Of Thief River
| Falls, was also of the opinion that the
| counties should not be asked, to build
| the road. But he said he was Informed
| that the state of Minnesota had several
millions Of unused federal aid money
which it had been unable to use because
the state Or counties had not put up
their half, the only basis on which the
! money can be expended. BY the pas
| sage of the Babcock good roads amend
ment, the state will be in position to
furnish its share and the federal road
Stevenson also affirmed this as being
correct.
r. c. Mathwig being called upon said
he hoped some practical plan would be
! evolved for building the small gap of
! only 25 miles thru the reservation.
Red Lake, he. said, is-the largest fresh
water lake lying wholly within the
! boundaries of the United States and he
thought it pity that the people of the
Red River Valley should not have
access to it for their pleasure and re-
creation. He had lived in. the valley
more than % years and had never seen
the lake owing to. its inaccessibility.
! After the question had been discussed
in all its phases, it finally resolved it.
self into whether the Interior Depart
ment acting for the Indians. or the
State with its abundance of federal
| road money Should undertake to lay
out and build the road thru the reser-
| walton. The whole matter, including
the legal features was left finally in the
hands Of committee of lawyers con-
sisting Of B. 3. Brett, Julius j. Olson
and w. j. Brown to study out. The
consensus of opinion seemed to be,
however, that the road should be laid
out and maintained as a state road and
constructed with the aid of the federal
road money soon to be available.
HUNTER LOST TN WOnDS