The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1937-09-16
Kemp Replies
To Letter By
Viking President

II regret that | cannot do what
Mr.. Dirks of the Viking Mining
Company would like to have me do
in blowing out the road to the mine
in the winter" said County Com
missioner w. Fl. Kemp this week
after reading Mr.. Dirks letter in
last weeks Western News, ''but /
am sorry to say that that, for vari-
GUS reasons, cannot be done.
Il am more than willing to do all
that | can to help out the Viking
people" continued Mr.. Kemp. I'VE
are all glad to see the work going
ahead so well at the Viking and of
course I would be only too glad to
do what | could to help that de-
velopment. But the county is re-
stricted as to funds and we have
to govern our expenditures accord
ingly.
There seems to be a misunder-
standing as to what said in re-
gard to the width of the road to th3
mine. | did say the road was too
narrow for the county's large, heavy
equipment But it is not too narrow
! for the kind of equipment | advised
/ the company to buy for their snow
blowing. The county hasn't thai
kind of equipment and hasn't the
money to purchase such machine
But the road is not bad one fol
the average traffic that goes over it
i MFR. Dirks says that ] advised
i the company to buy snow pillow
with the statement that it would be
possible for them to keep the mine
road open from above. He asks the
question how it would be possible
for the company to do that work
while it would be impossible or very
difficult for the county crew to de
the same thing from the lower end
well, Mr. Dirks ought to know
enough about snoWploWing before
he writes such letters to realize tina
a pillow working over the road from
the mine to the main highway
while the snow was falling coult
very easily keep the road open. Oh
the other hand, the county crev
would have to go out there at in
tervals of several days, the roas
would become blocked with snow
and we might have two or three fee
of snow to pillow out I believe any
one will admit that would be mucl
harder than to keep the road opel
while the snow was falling.
would be utterly impossible for tn
= county to keep pfuW constantly O
that particular piece of road.
MIR. DirkS also said there wa
not to exceed four feet of snow q
, the mine all last winter He wa
lucky, if that was all the snow the
had out there According to OF
, fetal records, over six feet of snoy
! fell in Libby last winter although
{ of course, there was not that niue
, snow on the ground at any one time
Regardless of what Mr.. Dirk
| says about the road to the mine be
ing a public highway, that part {
the road he refers to was built b
| the forest service, it is maintaine
, by the forest service, and is not
, county road. The county is M
! supposed to maintain roads fNat ar
! not county roads.
LAS I have said before, hay
r every desire to be reasonable
! this matter but | feel that M
, Dirks is asking too much under tt
present condition of county finance
If | were to agree to keep M
Dirks' road open to the mine,
naturally would have to keep roat
open to all other mines who mig
demand it, and I might get myse
: into pretty kettle of fish.
9 Il can assure Mr. Dirks," contil
: ued Mr.. Kemp, that the main hig
q ways will be kept open. But I'M
d the county has a lot more mon,
8 than it has at present for buyii
& equipment and snowplowing, fe
t he will have to keep the road OPP
from the main highway to his mine