White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-04-22
GOVERNOR HEARS ELY'S EMPHATIC
DEMAND FOR LINCOLN HIGHWAY

Governor James G. Scrugham, who
came here this week with an open
mind to get the Ely viewpoint on the
highway controversy, was given the
information that he sought at 4
meeting in the city hall Thursday
levening 1t being emphatically in ia
vor of standing pat for the Lincoln
highway.
While the governors openminded-
ness was literal he nevertheless was
at the disadvantage of having heard
more of the Utah and Reno side of
the controversy than that of other
parts of Nevada and evinced an in
clination to heed the threats of Gov
ernor Mabey to refuse any money
whatever to this route in favor of
the Wendover highway. Building
upon that as a hypothesis Governor
Scrugham asked the Ely people il
they would not be willing to compro-
mise on road from here to Wend-
over through White Horse canyon
and received an unequivocal negative
answer. To another proposal that
the connection be made by a road
down Steptoe valley TO Shafter the
response was that such would be de-
sirable as north and south road to
which Ely Is entitled for other rea-
sons, but that 1t likewise would not
be acceptable as a substitute for the
Lincoln highway. As between either
or both of these and another alterna-
tive of designating the Grand Central
highway by way of Delta the express
sions of all Ely speakers favored II
as second choice in case of the Lin
coin highway being impossible.
None of the speakers except Mr..
lQuayle in one sentence touched the
real point of the controversy, which
Is that no matter what route may be
selected Utah will demand some 9TH
er, its determination being to defeat
any and all routes until the Arrow
head trail is paved from Salt Lake to
st. George, and then to plead poverty
and refuse to build a western outlet.
The meeting was called to order
by Attorney ]. M. Lockhart, speaker
of the last assembly, who introduced
the governor and presided.
Governor Scrugham gave a CONVEX
sational talk, with no oratorical fur
ries. saying at first that he had but
few days ago left the company of Sec
retary of Agriculture Henry c. Wal
lace, with whom he visited the Boul-
der dam project. The governor said
Mr.. Wallace had expressed his pur-
pose of visiting western projects un-
der his department with the hope of
being a better secretary of agricul-
ture and that he, Mr.. Scrugham,
hoped by going over the state as he
was to be a better governor. The
governor also had been in the COM
pany of Colonel Thomas w. Miller,
alien property custodian and person
al representative of President Hard
ing, and the Washington visitors
were in communication with DR.. HUI
bert Work. secretary of the interior
Four subjects were outlined by the
governor for his talk. First was tha
proposed power project, second the
road situation. third game refugees
and recreation grounds, and fourth
stocking Nevada with game birds and
fish.
When he reached the road subject
the governor said he had deemed 1t
proper to veto the bill making the
Lincoln highway a primary route for
reasons given in his message, these
being that Ii was not within the au-
thority of the legislature to make
such designation, but said that IL a
Joint or concurrent resolution ex-
pressing a preference for the Lincoln
highway had come to him he would
have signed it,
A primary highway he defined as
being an interstate road.
He had recently been in conference
with Governor Mabey of Utah, who
had said that his state had determ-
ined to build the Wendover cutoff
and would not spend a dollar on the
Lincoln highway. Mabey had told
him that the Wendover route could
be graded and graveled for s400, 900,
$4,000 of which his state would fur
nish and $4,000 more would come
from California interests and $780,
900 from the government; also that
it would take 100000 to complete
Utah's section of the Lincoln high
way. w. ID. Rishel who was present
at the conference, had said that the
Wendover route was the logical one;
that a road could be built through
White Horse pass to Ely with juno
tion at Wendover and 1t would be
two or three miles shorter than the
Lincoln highway.
1.-The reaction that I got was that
Utah was irrevccably committed to
the Wendover highway and would
not build the Lincoln highway said
Governor Scrugham. "A short time
afterward," he continued. Gael s.
Hoag. field secretary OF the Lincoln
Highway Association. called On me
at Carson City and presented brief
and the figures were reversed, the
lI.~xn~ ouD. hosn0 rauufrad m huiId