Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1907-10-30
AUTOS IN THE
OLD BAY STATE
UNDER 10000 CARS REGISTERED
IN MASSACHUSETTS.
BUT FAR MORE ARE IN USE
Total Much Less Than Was Antici-
pated-Revenue from New Law
Only $4,000 shrinkaae a Great
Surprise to Highway Board.-visi-
tors Find Troubles.

1 ~ VIII 0O u ouA EAASC ~ llOok Va lAC
automobilists of Massachusetts to
learn that there are fewer than ten
thousand automobiles in use at the
present time in this state. Yet, ac-
cording to the records of the highway
commission, such is the fact, the total,
to be exact, being $3.50. Before the
operation of the reregistration law,
Iassed by the legislature, made it
possible to tell exactly how many ma
chimes were in use. only the most con-
servatiye estimated the number as low
as 10000 and other estimates made by
persons in a position to keep in close
touch with the subject were from H.
900 up to 10000. The most generally
laccePted number was $4,000, and upon
this the members of the legislature
based their estimates of the amount of
revenue that would be derived for
read i'm. Tovements from a SIS annual
registration fee. 1t was figured that
with $4,000 automobiles, paying IS
each for registration certificate, the
state would receive $4,000, sum
amply sufficient 70 pay the expenses
of the automobile department of the
highway commission, take care of the
repairs on state roads and parkways,
and perhaps leave little for a high
way fund.
Up to the present time, however, the
gross receipts of the highway commits
sion from the reregistration of auto
mobiles, motor cycles and from eertifi-
Gates issued to manufacturers and
dealers amount to only s44,7S1. or a
little more than half of the amount
which was expected This total may
be increased somewhat in the course
of another month, but e. ]. O'Hara
Ewho has charge of the registration, is
Iquite confident that the total will not
reach anything like the figure that
was anticipated. His department,
after being at work for about I've
weeks on the reregistration, this week
practically caught up, and twenty of
the extra clerks that have been en-
Iployed have been released. From
day TO day applications for reregistra-
ton are coming in but the great rush
is over and the figure S,207 represents
practically the number of machines in
use in this state on the first of August.
Since then about 1850 original registra-
ton certificates have been taken out
Infringing the grand total to $3.50 and
the total receipts from all sources to
about $4,000.
| When it is considered that more
than 5000 sets of registration plates
have been issued in the past four
Years, each set representing an auto
mobile, the shrinkage to less than 49,
900 is indeed surprising and difficult
Ito account for. Mr. O'Hara is of the
lopinion that the shrinkage can be &C
counted for in part at least by the
failure OF persons who have sold their
machines to notify the highway ccm-
mission and have their registration
certificates cancelled. Some machines
may have changed ownership half
dozen times without their owners COM
plying with that part of the law whio 4
requires that the commission be mott
fled when a sale is made. Another
cause for the shrinkage is to be found
lin the fact that many machines which
belonged to owners residing out of the
Estate, but who were in Massachusetts
Temporarily during the summer
months, hare been registered during
the past four years. These machines
are mostly out of the state at present
and will not be reregistered until next
Isummer. A third cause is to be
found in the fact that some owners,
lrther than pay SIS now and another IS
on January /, have decided to store
their cars for the remainder of the
season and take out new registrt 7oii
1t is also very probable that there
are some Automobiles who think the
Inew law which requires the payment
of two fees within a period OF six
months is unjust, and they are wait
ling to have it tried out. Some clubs,
notably that in Worcester and that in
Brockton, have taken this attitude,
(which il persisted in is likely to bring
Iabout test of the constitutionality OF
the law. There may be, likewise,
some automobiles who have decided
to run their chances of being arrested
during the remainder of the season
when they will use their cars much
and have deliberately neglected to re-
register their cars. Their success in
this undertaking depends to a copsid-
cradle extent upon the vigilance of the
local police authorities.
The highway commission originally
lsent out more than 10000 application
blanks for reregistration, and each
blank was addressed to a person who,
according to the records of the COM
mission, owned an automobile. About
500 of these blanks have been re-
turned to the commission, the post
ONCE clerks and carriers having been
unable to deliver them In a few
cases the parties 10 whom they were
addressed have died. An effort is be-
ing made to find new addresses for the
parties whose application blanks have
been returned without explanation.
The automobile department Of the
commission is encountering many sur
nrises in the applications for registra-