, 1921-09-17
wYoMINc HIGHWAYS.

h -
The season for road building for the year is prac-
ticaly over. That is road building to advantage. Yet
the governor gives as the only excuse for wasting the
entire summer, before resuming activities under the
bond issue voted last May, that he was waiting for
.things to come down." 1t is assumed that the gov
ernor means snow and rain.
The people in the northern portion of the state have
grown FESTIVE and the Sheridan Enterprise recounts
the experience of a citizen of Weston cointy in a re-
sumo of the general highway situation in the follow
ing manner:
'In answer to an inquiry from c. P. Meek of Up
ton, Wyo, and published in the Weston County Ga
zette, Governor Robert D.. Carey goes on record as
stating that the reason for delay in the road construc-
ton work in northern Wyoming has been due to his
desire to save money by waiting for times to pick up.
"Any desire to exercise economy in the disposition
of public moneys at this time is commendable, yet the
very fact that the governor would arbitrarily with
hold public construction work under the circumstances
is breaking faith with the people who voted the state
road bond issue. If the people had decided that it was
desirable to refrain from road construction at this
time because of the high cost of road building, they
would have said so when they voted on May 10 to is
sue 81, 500, 900 in state bonds for road construction.
"By an overwhelming majority, the people of the
state of Wyoming voted to expendl the5largest sum of
money which had ever been authorized in this state
for the building of roads. In doing SO, TREY were.
given to understand that the federal government would,
equal this sum, dollar for dollar, OF. road work in the
state. The campaign slogan which had been instru-
mental in floating this enormous bond issue was that
the opening of immediate construction work would
furnish employment to the states unemployed during
a period when business depression was unusually
severe.
."Tbe pledge that the money for these bonds would
be placed in circulation Immediately, thereby doing
a great deal towards relieving business conditions and
furnishing a means of livelihood for the many people
who had been suddenly thrown out of work, did more,
perhaps, than anything else to bring out a record vote
in favor of the bond issue. Governor Carey is well
aware or these conditions yet he has permitted the
summer to pass without doing one thing to relieve
them.
M Meek is quoted in the Weston County Gazette
as having written Governor Carey that so far there
has been absolutely no work started in this section of
the state. You will recall the promise made during
the campaign to put over these bonds, the chief line
of argument being that the highway work would give
employment to large numbers of men and teams and
that this would put a lot of money in circulation,
right away, during these tight times when we need
the work
pie, many of them with teams and willing to work,
are without employment and without any means OF
laying in any supplies for winter. If we could get
some action and put into circulation in Crook and
Weston counties anything like 100000 or s15o'ooo,
we could change the whole situation and everyone that
wanted work would have it,
1.-THE governors reply to this communication states,
in effect, that the delays have been due to the fact
that in his opinion money could be saved by waiting
for things to come down.
"I have felt, his letter continues, that with the
sale of wool and livestock, the banks can be relieved
to a large extent, and that contracts can then be let
to better advantage than earlier in the season. l ap-
preciate that the people need work and money, and
/ feel that the time has now come for the highway
commission to let contracts and to get busy
''Thus, arbitrarily and in direct violation of the
wishes of the people, the most valuable season for
road construction work has been permitted to pass
without one effort having been pledged, 1t is stated
authoritatively that not one state contract for road
work has been let in northern wyoming since the Doho
issue was passed.
meanwhile, criticism has been made that the state
has curtailed its maintenance work on many OF Its
roads in this section of the country to the extent that
much of the good work which had been previously
done by the state highway commission has been per
mitted to run down. This especially is true over the
Custer Battlefield highway in Sheridan, campbell and
Crook counties.
"The least that can be done now is that the period
- L4~.a hot canonH nnnEld
Grafton be given at once to the letting of contracts
long over due"