Metadata:

Title: The Bridge at Ft. Randall

ID: cdn.land.resort.0024

TEI-encoded XML: cdn.land.resort.0024.xml

The following article is clipped from the Sioux City Tribune under the head of a Pierre special, dated March 2nd: Washington highway enthusiasts are in Pierre asking the legislature to memorialize congress to build a bridge over the Missouri river at Fort Randall, near Lake Andes. C.A. Johnson, of Fairfax, and Dennis Moran, of Lake Andes, are among these boosters, working in harmony with the redoubtable Colonel Thatcher to carry the great transcontinental road across this state through the Bad Lands and Black Hills scenic route. It is asserted by these men that the government has built bridges across rivers where needed to facilitate travel and that it would be of importance to the federal government to have this bridge, as there is no permanent wagon bridge across the Missouri in this state. They believe the South Dakota delegation in the next congress should be able to put this through as a government contribution to the Washington highway project.

THE BRIDGE AT FT. RANDALL

G.F. Buche returned Wednesday evenign from Pierre, where he has been for the past several days in the interests of the proposition of a bridge across the river at Ft. Randall, this place being selected by Col. Thatcher as the most feasible point for the Washington Highway to cross the Missouri river. Petitions asking the state legislature to memorialize congress to construct a bridge at this point were circulated a couple weeks ago, receiving practically every person's signature where circulated, and Messrs. Buche and Moran were selected as a committee to take these to Pierre. As will be seen by the following, from the Senate Journal, they succeeded in their efforts to get the petitions before the senate:

"The Committe on Federal Relations offered the following Senate concurrent resolution, introduced by the Senate committee on Federal relations memorializing congress to construct a bridge across the Missouri River at Fort Randall, South Dakota, upon the line of the Washington National Highway.

"Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of South Dakota, the House of Representatives concurring:

"Whereas, There is under construction a great National Highway leading from New York City to Seattle to San Francisco, which is built as a memorial to General Washington, and

"Whereas, Many hundreds of miles of this highway has already been constructed at a cost of millions of dollars to the people of the localities through which it passes, and

"Whereas, A point on the Missouri River at the site of old Fort Randall in the State of South Dakota has been selected by the engineers in charge of this great enterprise as the most feasible point for crossing the Missouri River by this National Highway, therefore,

"Resolve, That the Congress of the United States be and it hereby is earnestly petitioned to appropriate the necessary funds and to cause the construction of a suitable bridge across the Missouri River upon the line of the said Washington Memorial Highway at the said Fort Randall, in the State of South Dakota. "Resolved, That the secretary of the Senate is hereby instructed to send copies of this joint resolution to each of the senators and representatives representing the State of South Dakota in the Congress of the United States."

When Mr. Buche left Pierre, Tuesday, the above had had its second reading in the senate, and was expected to have its first reading in the house that day. Everyone with whom the gentleman talked were favorable to the proposition, so that it may be reasonably expected the measure will receive favorable action at the hands of legislature.