The Coconino sun., 1922-09-15
STATES GREATEST NEED
(AriZona Mininp JournaD

(Arizona Mining Journal)
 In general, the roads of Yavapai county are in excellent shape and, with the completion of the present road program, Yavapai county may just ly be proud of her road system, for rock-sur- faced wel-graded and drained roads will go to all parts of the county. The highway between Prescott the county seat, and Jerome, is par sticularly magnificent piece of road, and the scen cry that may be enjoyed along this route and many of the other roads of the county is such as to attract tourist travel-provided that tourists could get there to see them over halfway decent roads.
 Jerome and Clarkdale are entirely cut off from the north, the only way into these prosper ous communities being from Prescott. Yet to tourist travel they are important assets to the state, for the routes across the northern part of the state do not in any way give an idea of the industrial resources of Arizona or even of it's agricultural resources. In fact, a tourist on the Old Trails highway might well believe that Ari- zona consists of nothing but forests (some pet rified) and desert.
 There is little stretch of road of probably 20 miles presenting no engineering problems of difficulty and which is all that is needed to make connecting link between the northern and southern part of the state. It is on the highway between Flagstaff and Clarkdale and is in Coco nino county. While Coconino county might de- sire to build it, the assessed valuation of that county of about S50,000000 does not permit of much tourist road building, and, from the na- ture of the road, it is essentially the type for federal aid. Moreover, about half of Coconino county still belongs to the government, and the territory which this road would pass is on for est reserve and in district from which the county and state derive no revenue from taxes.
 The completion of this stretch of road would mean that the tourist travel, some of it at least would be diverted south, and have an op- portunity of seeing the industrial Arizona in Clarkdale and Jerome, the scenic Arizona in Prescott, and possibly would get as far south as Phoenix and see the agricultural Arizona. And if the paved highway from Phoenix to the Cal ifornia line is ever authorized it will mean that all of the northern tourist traffic would be di- verted.
 Also the southern part of Coconino county is the playground of Arizona; it is the place where Arizona people can revel in some of the most beautiful scenery and climate in the world, with excellent fishing and camping facilities, and with adequate road facilities to that section, the say ing, "See Arizona First" would be more than a motto.
 The road from commercial point of view is important, for it would permit of the serving of the Jerome, Clarkdae, Prescott section by truck from the north, the Flagstaff potatoes and um- Der coming down and the Verde valley fruits go- ing up. Lumber from south of Flagstaff now has to go all around Robin Hoods barn to get to Jerome while direct and shorter route would be possible by the building of but few miles of highway.
 But for some reason, those interested cannot get the state engineer to approve it. We cannot believe that it is railroad influence that holds up the approval, although the railroad is the only one that would be injured by highway to the south from Flagstaff. The people of Coconino county are interested, as are the people of Yav- apa county, and, we are sure, that with better knowledge of the conditions, that the people of Maricopa county will see that that little stretch of road so far away is feeder for tourist traf- fife to this county.