Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1930-08-21
The Forum

Continued from page onel
a number of years, there is not one
mile of improved road within twenty
miles of Kalspell, the one section on
Nollar Hill excepted.
To the northeast the nearest inn
proved road is Bad Rock canyon, q
distance of q miles; to the northwest
the nearest improved road is beyond
Twin Bridges, distance of more than
IS miles, to the south, Rollins, dis
lance of nearly 40 miles, to the south
east by way of the east shore, the
sound end of Flathead Lake, dis
lance of SO miles Whatever improve
ments have been put on these roads
have been put there by the county
commissioners with county funds in
cooperation with money raised by the
people of Kalispell Every effort made
by Kalispell in the way of road con-
struction has been in the interest of all
Northwestern Montana as the record
will show.
The first permanent and modern
road building between Whitefish and
Eureka was through the interest and
actie1ry--ef Kalispell man-Andrew
W. Swaney\ then chairman OF the
board of county commissioners When
the gas tax went into effect the first
/ piece of road endorsed by the kalis
pell Chamber of Commerce for consid-
Grafton was in Lincoln county, that is
the Elk Hill section
Before any money was available tor
the survey or construction on this piece
of road in Flathead county, that is to
say the McGregor Lake and Idaho
Hill sections, it offered and gave
county cooperation and to the sum
offered by the county commissioners,
the citizens of Kalispen added con-
siderable sum of money.
When a representative from Eureka
came to Kalispell complaining that the
Dickey Lake section of the road was
impossible the people of Kalispell i'm
mediately raised fund by private
subscription to help gravel that Sec
ton, although we have been repeatedly
charged as being enemies of that road.
Two years ago a movement was
started outside of Kalispell to induce
the highway commission to take all of
its funds available and add it to forest
money in order to complete the Bel
ton-Glacier road in 1929 1t is mat
ter Of record that Kalispeu absolutely
refused to join in this movement, but
on the contrary insisted that it would
oppose the use of any highway money
on the Belton- Glacier road until Libby
and Troy had received considerable
sum for the construction of the road
between those two points, and our del
egation to Helena at the joint meet
ing of the bureau of public roads, the
highway commission and the fores
service, insisted that before any other
projects were considered in this dis
trict that project be put on between
Libby and Troy, and to these fact
Mr.. Mulvaney, Mr.. Warden, Mr.. Rowe
Mr.. Lynch and Mr.. Morrell. as well a
the Libby delegation to Helena viii
testify, and result of this co-opera
! ton Libby and Troy secured nearly
quarter OF a million dollars.
The Belton-G Glacier road is mat
/ ter of common interest to all North
e western Montana and no town in Flat
a head or Lincoln county is any NOR
the beneficiary of that road than an.
other town. 1t is the neck in the bottl
and the travel over that road is tn
a travel that Northwestern Montan
must look to almost exclusively for an
. reai benefit that is to come throug
'. tourist travel We have consistent
q boosted for this road and will continu
e to boost for it until the last truck loa
of gravel is placed on its surface 70
fina! completion
;. The movement in the very first in
d stance to have this road constructe
# originated in Kalispell, and the me
! responsible for having it placed o
the map have now gone to their re
"a ward-neither of them having lived
see the happy elimination of the
loyal efforts. To Walter Fl. Griffin ;
president, and Perley N Bernard, !;
secretary Of the Kalispell Chamber
I Commerce will always belong II
'e credit for having started the move
ment and boosted it to the point wher
- its completion was assured.
Today Kalispell is urging that II
N road between Bolton and Bad Roc
If canyon be finished SO that the strans
ID ers whom we invite into Northwe
!, Montana can travel with comparatiV
safety and SO earnest are the peop
of Flathead valley in this matter tn
s. the commissioners of Flathead coun
m are offering county cooperation.
! Some time ago the people of Plail
: and vicinity asked Kalispell to co-ol
Us crate in having the road between Elm