Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1909-02-26
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY az, 1909.
To Tax All Road Vehicles.
concluded from last week.

horses off the earth. They have fire.
quently been heard to say as much. The
State authorities might learn something
to astonishment, if not benefit, should
they inaugurate an exact, census of the
number of people, who, to the injury of
their health, have given up their family
horse, out of fear of automobilists. This
is particularly true of women and aged
people. Many users of automobiles do it,
merely, because they think it safer than
to use horses. The number is astonish-
ingly large. The medical profession is
finally awakening to the fact that auto
mobiles are quite factor in race suicide.
"Motorcar- miscarriage" is finding its
way into medical literature. Roosevelt
might find wilder game at home than IN
the wilds of Africa.
While the advent of the auto has in.
creased taxable property in one direction,
it has done away with it to vast
amount in another. The presence of an
automobile may be likened to that of
private ship on the seas in olden days.
The honest merchantmen did not know
what his fate might be until the strange
sail showed its colors. 1t is so with an
auto. No horse user ever feels safe until
the approaching "devir has shown his
colors, by passing as gentleman should.
The pirates on our highways are still too
plentiful for the comfort and safety of
honest citizens. AT present they congre-
gate in the Legislature to rob honest
men for their own benefit. Pirates al
ways act that way.
Until the arrival of these machines,
our roads fairly served their purposes,
and have been steadily improved utterly
regardless of the coming of automobiles.
They are generally good enough for To-
cal residents in our country districts;
why then, should other people be taxed
to supply undue luxury for an aggressive
and disloyal class? No honest man des-
Tres to make others pay for things in
which they have no desire to share.
The aggressive hoggishness, or asinine
ignorance. displayed in these bills partic-
ularly No. 536, must be even too much for
the members of our Legislature Atten-
ton has been called to the fact that one
form of taxation has to do with the num-
Der of horses attached to a vehicle, while
there is sort of lump tax for teams
tiers "using not more than three vehi-
Giles" and others using mot less than
three, nor more than eight"
When all is taken into consideration
as portrayed in these bills merciful
man feels like praying God save the
Highway Commissioners of Massachus-
etes,' In one bill they are told to assess
classes of vehicles according to the dam
age they cause and to divide the damage
among all vehicles of that class. The
classes of vehicles include ''sleds and
sleighs.' 1t would puzzle Philadelphia
lawyer to discover the damage done to
roadways by sleds and sleighs. In any
country district among farmers, as well
as teamsters in villages, the poorer class
of such men often have more than one
vehicle, for instance tip-cart, fiat
bottomed wagon with stakes, an express
wagon of some sort, a sled, sleigh and
some sort of carriage, but with only one
horse there is an impOssibilily of using
more than one vehicle at one and the
same time. Again, the man may have
two horses and still work them singly
most of the time, but he might get job
to do some work requiring double team
and have pole which he could adjust
on such occasions. Generally the vehi-
Gle is used as a one-horse wagon. How
adjust these difficulties?
If all these vehicles are to be taxed,
and they scarcely represent the outfit of
the average farmer, and but few of them
are in use at one time, and the same are
also taxed by local authorities, and the
people once become aware that this bur-
den is due to Automobiles, what is to
become of them? Even in Massachus-
etts don't believe an automobilist could
ride over the roads, though backed from
end to end by the State militia. Take the
aveiage country grocery store in live
village, with sometimes a dozen wagons
and an equal number of pungs. Is the
owner expected to pay a tax of two dol
lars on each of these, as well as on his
family carriage, and his local tax at the
same time? Some men have said: "Why
oppose these bills? If passed they work
the death of automobiling in Massachus-
etts, or such regulations as those people
never dreamed Of" If all these vehicles
are to be taxed, and locally as well, what
is to become of the poor teamsters and
average farmer?
Now to the other side. There are
many we'll TODD and wealthy horse