The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-09-09
Continued from Page One)


for years. Early this year we were in
formed that pavement would be laid
on 169 between here and Virginia. After
the paving now in progress is COM
pleted there still will be five miles to
pave and this work will carry through
next year. Some hope of its completion
| is being held out by the department in
its statement that the work would be
finished next year before the tourist
season sets in.
The long detour this year by way of
Angora, which necessitated 46 mile
detour to cover a so mile distance be-
tween Ely and Virginia, was the source
of much annoyance to the tourists
who desire to come to Ely and Elyites
who made trips to Duluth.
st. Louis, Chicago and other sections,
whose people have come to the play
ground of Nation" through the adj
vertising of the Ely Commercial Club
and resort operators, have repeatedly
expressed their displeasure over the in
convenienceS suffered on the trip here.
A st. Louis party stated that roads
in this area are the worst they have
experienced" Principal cause of COM
plant is the long detour on 169 Com
plant has been general on the rough
ness of the road but this could be over
looked in the hope of a betterment in
few years, but the dust on the de-
| mt or IA tt.ot NO
extremely hazardous and messed up
the cars and the baggage with coating
which turned to mud when showers
caught them, was very unpleasant.
In speaking of the contemplated
blacktop treatment of highways talked
about by the highway department on
the Anoka, Elk River and Pike Lake
projects, R. w. Hitchcock of Hibbing,
pertinently asks in his News and Com
ment column, rs the Minnesota State
Highway Department again selling the
people of Minnesota down the river?'
and follows this up by commenting:
please note the use of the word
again. Again and again and again is
right. Seldom in the history of any
state has department of that state SC
bamboozled and swindled the people
of the state as has the Minnesota state
highway department since 1880.
''The department is growing holder
Nothing it puts over on the people Of
the state seems to jar their COM
placency. We stand for it all and come
right back asking for more. Why
shouldn't the highway department grow
holder with the way it misuses the mil.
lions in its posseSSion?"
Mr.. Hitchcock then goes on to tel
how happy the Duluth people were
when the department announced thai
a four-lane road would be constructed
between Duluth and Pike Lake and also
how stunned the people of Duluth were
when it was announced that blacktor
would be used. He said that Duluth
has been hollering ever since.
Continuing Mr.. Hitchcock says: II
may also be remembered that wher
Commissioner Elsberg took charge o.
the highway department it was an.
nounced that black top would be sub
stituted for concrete whenever possible
J and an extensive program for black.
. topping various state highways was an.
nounced. Protests rained in on the de.
partment from all quarters of the state
, So emphatic were these protests tha
) the department huShed its blacktop pro.
} gram, but evidently it has never aban.
doned it and intends to give the people
of Minnesota second class roads, if il
possibly can.
"Blacktop is an inferior road con
struction for heavily travelled roads il
Minnesota where great extremes il
temperature prevail Moreover black
top is an inferior construction every
| where so far as night travel is con.
cerned The outlines of a blackto,
, highway are difficult to discern and il
wet weather blacktop is positivel.
, dangerous.
why is the Minnesota state highway
/, department so anxious to give TIT
people of Minnesota an inferior roac
, construction? There is but one ex
lplanation, pointed to by almost ever,
act of the department in the last sever
| years-the highway department is de-
termined to use the highway millions
, as little as possible for roads and a.
J much as possible for personal and poll
tioa1 ORC ff