The log cabin Democrat., 1921-12-31

| energetic movement backed by the
 Morrilton Chamber of Commerce, as- | sisted by the business men of all
 seven counties.
 "The chief objection in this move
 ment from the outset was the financ- ] ing of a suitable bridge across the | Arkansas river at Morrilton. The
 Morrilton bridge is now a reality
 and is the best traffic bridge on the
 river in Arkansas with the single ex-
 ception of the bridge at Van Buren, built without state or federal aid.
 In addition to this bridge, worth half million dollars, Conway county has
 completed a splendid Benton gravel
 road from the bridge south to the Perry county line near Perry, at a cost of nearly S2O0,000 on which they have received about $13,000 state and federal aid, and have graded and bridged all streams on the No. 1 high way, which runs from the bridge north B miles to the Van Buren coun ty line at Formosa, six miles of which has been hard surfaced and finished with a asphalt binder its full width, all of this has been done by No. l at I cost of about $400,000 without a penny of state or federal aid, making a total vested capital amounting to about a million dollars that the peO- pie of Conway county has put into this project.
 "The other six counties have all completed large sections of the high way and a few more months should find the entire highway open for full traffic.
 At meeting of the Chamber of Commerce held last Wednesday it was unanimously agreed that the highway should be completed and all members pledged their unqualified support Several Perry county men were present, and Judge John Q. AL len assured the meeting that Perry county was ready to cooperate by selecting and improving the most practical route through Perry county link in the Mammoth Spring Hot Springs highway.
 "E. E.. Mitchell was named as chair man of strong committee to repre- sent the Morrilton Chamber of Con- merce to assist the commissioners of Road District No in completing the hard surface on this important link of the state highway and to assist in taking necessary steps to meet the legal requirements necessary to ob- tain federal aid already allotted and to secure additional aid justly due the project. The committee was instruct ed to lodge a complaint with the state highway department as a protest against a change of the Mammoth Spring Hot Springs highway to a Mammoth Spring Conway road.
 'It now appears that an effort is being made to divert this road from Conway and Perry counties and build a new road from Clinton to Conway by way of Bee Branch and Damas- GUS. The new road as proposed will call for an extra road district in Van Buren county, costing the tax payers of that county about S300,000 for the privilege of travelling practically the same distance to Conway by a diff ferent route.
 Tt is plain that the demand for the proposed change in the route arose, not for the benefit of the state highway system, because the distance from Clinton to Conway over the i'm proved Mammoth SpringHot Springs highway via Plumerville is practically the same as the distance over the proposed new route. It has been sug- gested that Conway prefers the new route for the reason that the entire expense would fall on the taxpayers of Van Buren county, whereas if the Conway traffic should be handled via Plumerville it might require the build ing of the six-mile link in the Mem phis-Fort Smith highway between Conway and Gleason, the expense of which would fall on Faulkner county. Whatever may be the reason for the change, the fine Italian hand of Con- way is readily discernible back of the movement.
 "The people of Conway county have fully met the responsibilities placed upon them by reason of the demand for modern improved roads We have built and are building more miles of improved roads than any county of our population and area in the United States. Out of sixteen Arkansas riV- CT counties the river is bridged at only five points, and Morrilton stands sec ind in the list of five
 With virtual gentlemen's a@rce- ment in force for four years covering the routing of the Mammoth Spring Hot Springs highway and with the people of Conway county aai Perry county having vostna ri9hts runu'0e well above a million dollars i've 1o
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