The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1921-12-15

on the Davis grade was not made a
possibility without a strenuous fight
for it. Civic and commercial organi-
cations got into the melee, and the
smoke of battle was raised over the
sanctuary of the state highway com
mission at Helena. First, agitation
for improvement of the old Eighteen
Mile hill was made so insistent hat
completion of the concrete highway
to Anaconda was temporarily left in
allegiance and authorization was given
to use the unspent money of a road
bond issue for construction of the
Davis grade. In some quarters it was
argued that the work should be done
by day labor, and the proposed cost
was placed at $104,0 600 and upwards.
However, a state law, providing that
bids must be accepted and a contract
awarded the lowest bidder on road
work costing $1,000 or more, was in
voked to meet the contention of the
highway commission that inasmuch
as the county commissioners seemed
to favor a private contract, such
should be the case.
Let Contract in August
In the middle of August of this
year Il tOllIdCL Was dWdIQeu u tH6
Heiselt Construction company of Salt
Lake City, q victory for the forces
arrayed in opposition to those fayor-
ing the letting of a single private
contract without competitive bidding.
The cost of the grade under the con-
tract as a federal aid project will be
$4,000 instead of 100000 Or more,
divided equally between the federal
and county governments.
Now the work on the grade is al
most completed, and mex yea in
stead of shivering in making a des-
cent of the old road autoists can
'shimmey' right along without fear
of being dumped on their heads into
a canyon a thousand feet below. At
its steepest point the new road will
not exceed a 5 per cent grade, COM
pared with a 16 per cent slant at n
place in the road now in use. Hun
dreds of care more than heretofore,
it is predicted, are likely in conse-
quence to travel over the Yellowstone
trail via the Davis grade annually,
and the sum and substance of this
significant prediction will be thous-
ands of dollars more of tourist busi-
ness for Butte alone. Sunday drives
from Butte over the grade will no
longer be at risk of limb and body.
In fact, the new road enhances he
possibility of making safe and COM
Portable scenic trips from the city and
also makes hauling by trucks from
the ranch country beyond an easy
Some day, also, the Vigilante
trail, joining with the Yellowstone
trail % miles from Butte, may be-
one of the most heavily Travelled
routes to Yellowstone park,
and at such a time the Davis grade
will be a perfect connecting link.
At the recent Western Montana
Yellowstone Trail association meeting
held in Butte it was unanimously re-
that the new road should be
the Davis grade. The county
commissioners were petitioned to
give it that name, and in auto and
circles by such nomenclature
it ~henceforth shall be known. This
is out of further respect for Mr.. Davis
and for his invaluable work. Also
it will counterfeit the prevailing i'm
preston, so readily played upon by
other cities to discourage travel in
this direction, that the road east from
Butte leads endlessly upward for 18
long, tedious and ~car-racking miles.