Show makes strong plea in behalf of southeastern part of dr J E broaddus in a recent issue of scenic utah motorist tells of the scenic marvels of the southeastern part of utah and urges that the state as a whole get behind a movement to make this region more accessible to the motorist dr bicad duss article which will be read with interest by tunes independent subscribers bers follows not long ago I 1 was discussing utah with a man and his parting comment was 1 I think we had better give the state back to the indians I 1 have heard that remark at least a thousand times and it never falls to be amusing we would be unable to return more than three fourths of utah to the indians for the simple reason that we never took the other one fourth away from them true we have title to the land but we make no claim on it we do not live on it we have no roads through it we know nothing about it and for all we know the indans may still possess it and consider it part of their domain the area of utah Is square miles and I 1 am referring to the square miles in the southeastern corner of our state that constitutes the greater part of the one fourth and about which we know so little it is that section that lies in eastern wayne garfield Garti eld and kane counties southern emery and grand counties and almost the entire area of aan juan county this particular region comprises nearly one fifth of utah there are about people living around the edge of it and possibly a halt dozen living in it one load skirts the eastern edge of this section running through moab blanding and bluff another road penetrates from the west and extends as far as hanksville Hanks ville otherwise it is a trackless region of marvelous scenery gorgeous colorings and unequaled wonders when I 1 first went into wayne wonderland I 1 met the few men who had been in this great region when I 1 marveled at the glorious count around torrey they simply said hi you aln t seen betl S later I 1 went to a and after viewing ia breathtaking breath taking sights I 1 was met w the same statement but this was expressed with a sort of pity sarcasm the statement was made a rough manner but its truth is i deniable the farther I 1 have g into the country the more I 1 realize 1 l greatness of it the only revenge rev engi got was to bring two of these men gether and listen while they told es other that twist was greab than wild horse canyon and t hear them inform each other that the other seen 5 southeastern utah presents a arc lem that challenges our best shall we forget about it can we i ford to ignore one fifth of our st 1 because it is a problem must we i that we will do nothing with it I 1 cause it is of little use from an ag cultural and grazing standpoint sh we put it out of our minds because falls at the present time from a m era standpoint the answer has been given by t government the state of utah a the union pacific railroad iff three agencies have spent 6 the development of bryce cany cedar breaks zion national park a north rim of the grand canyo surely it it were not worth while great corporation like the union F cefic would not spend d roads trails hotels and cam in these scenic attractions the commonwealth of utah cann afford to let one fifth ot its IOE which contains incomparable scenes he idle and useless for want of boac zeke johnson custodian of the N tural bridge national monument authority for the statement that t majority of the 22 people who vi mesa verde national park would co their trip through utah provid continued on last page I 1 MAKES STRONG PLEA continued fromi first page they could cross through the wonderful scenery of the southeast it would be possible and practical to build a road from BI anding that would cross the colorado river at hite skirt the eastern slope of the henry mountains and connect with the highway at hanksville Hanks ville A wagon road exists at the present time from hanksville Hanks ville to green river but it is not passable to automobiles except et certain seasons it can be made a good road however open to travel at all times of the ear such a road would open up the country to the people who travel over the green river highway to and from colorado I 1 am not overlooking the fact that road construction in this section offers difficulties and many things must be considered hut modern science his succeeded in constructing roads jo any point no matter whai the difficulties and utah cannot afford to let the greatest scenic section in all the world remain idle automobile travel is searching and clamoring for new places to go it is up to us to make it possible for them to reach a country where they may spend days and weeks and want to come again to see the wonders that are off the beaten track we owe something to the people of the southeast they are more or less isolated and live without many of the ordinary conveniences of life it they were not imbued with the pioneer spirit they would have moved years ago hope keeps them there hope of better conditions for the country they have learned to love hope that they may find employment for their children so they may remain at home it is a worthy ambition and one that should be aided the cities in the northern part of utah must not overlook the needs of the south because we are building our outlying communities provo salt lake city ogden and logan are the centers that the outlying districts are looking to not only tor material supplies but for the example in all things constructive whatever help weg lve them in solving their problems will in turn help us there is no reason why utah cannot be the playground of the world we have everything from alpine to tropical climate mountain ranges 13 feet above sea level and lowlands 2000 feet above in between are all the marvelous wonders that nature has lavished upon us I 1 have been accused of being visionary idealistic impractical and a variety of other things not so complimentary but lets remember that seventeen years ago bryce cannon was unknown cedar breaks was unheralded zion and north rim were little known today they stand on the books of utah to the extent of in credit it is difficult to estimate their yearly value but it amounts to a large sum and Is increasing each year it is hard for the average man to realize the value of scenery he looks upon it in an indifferent way because it does not bring anything directly to him in the way of trade if he would look upon it in a broader sense and understand that enormous parts of om state have nothing but scenery us far as we know at the present time and that it can be sold in the same manner as other merchandise he would begin to realize what an asset we have we cannot become a great state it our interests do not extend beyond our own city nor can we be a great nation it we are selfish as a state bryce canyon cedar breaks and zion have drawn people from all over the world because they are marvelous things to see their value is steadfast increasing each year as their beauty becomes beuer known we have proven beyond a doubt that people will travel hundreds and thousands of miles in order to see them and having done so felt repaid for all the time and money expended the southeast is calling for roads that will enable people to see the things that are equally as great as any attraction we have developed they will not be competitive attractions because they are as different as two things can be each one will create a desire to see the other wayne wonderland the aquarius plateau san rafael swell the natural bridges cataract canyon capitol reef cliffs the mesas the henry and la sal mountains the powell forest montezuma canyon and many other wonderful attractions tr are waiting in the southeastern part of utah for roads that will unite them into the greatest system of parks the world has ever known or can know lets reach out the helping hand to wayne garfield kane emery grand and san juan counties and say when it comes to scenery maybe we aint seen notha yet but when it comes to cooperation in developing scenery we are with you one hundred per cent and well show you a spirit that will make you realize that you aint seen bothin yet |