The border vidette., 1923-04-21
HIGHWAY TO ALTAR ASSURED.
Mexican Federal Government to Give
Financial Aid.

Gut1erreZ, VINO has been hlllDg
the post for the past month, re
turned to NogaIes yesterday,
says Thursdays Democrat, with
what will probably prove to be
the biggest piece of news for the
twin cities that has developed in
many months.
While in the national cs pital,
Mr.. Castro, took up with the
minister of communications and
public works the question of a
highway from Nogates to the
Altar district, after having had.
the assurance of liberal support
for the project from every muni-
cipality in the entire Altar dis
trict, and returned home with a
promise of an appropriation from
the federal government to com
plete the highway at an early
date.
The twin chambers of com
merce of Nogales.- Sonora and
Nogales, Arizona have agreed to
put up fifty cents for every dol
lar appropriated by the Mexican
federal government for the con
struction of the Altar highway.
and in addition. Mr.. Castro has
secured pledges from the NUM-
cipalities of Carbo, Pitiguito, AL
tar, Aquitoa. Atil, Tubutama
and La Reforma, to furnish lib
eral amounts of labor as we'll as
feed for the laborers and horses
engaged in the construction work
of the highway.
In addition to the work of the
Altar municipalities, it is now
estimated that it will, require
about $50. 900 to make a first
class automobile highway from
Nogales into and through the
district, and under the offer Of
the twin chambers of commerce,
this would mean that the cham.
bers of commerce of the two No
gales will raise $4,000 and the
Mexican federal government will
appropriate $4,000, while the
unicipalities of the district are
expected to contribute labor and
feed to about equal the contri.
buttons of both.
Senor Castro announces that
be is in receipt of word from the
minister that an engineer will be
sent here in short time to
make the preliminary surveys,
and that in a short time after
they are completed the appro,
priation will be forthcoming for
the work.
There is probably no richer
country in the world than the
several small valleys of the AL
tar district, but they have been
sadly handicapped during the
past thirty years by lack of
transportation. In the early
days of the country, when one
section of the country had equal
chance with another as all had
to use burros and carts for tran.
sportation, the Altar country
was one of the most prosperous
sections of the west coast, on
account of its fertile valleys,
rich placer deposits and proxi
nifty to the sea board.
Since the advent of the rail.
road, this once prosperous
country has been forced to take
q back seat, and cattle raising
has been the principal industry,
as this was the only product
which could move itself to mar.
ket.
Now, with the advent of the
automobile, and motor trucks,
there is no reason why it should
not once more assume an import
ant place in the economic life of
Sonora, and inasmuch as Noga
les is its logical outlet, the road
should lead from this city. This
Senor Castro proposes to do, and
is backed mp solidly by the peo.
pie of the entire district, and
lastly by the federal government
itself.
The Altar highway will mean
that hundreds of thousands of
dollars worth of produce from
that country will annually come
to Nogales, and that equal values
in clothing, provisions, etc, will
be purchased here. It is also
likely to mean the rehabilitation
of the once prosperous mining
industry Of that region.
r. T.. Rodriguez, the Grand