Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1909-02-26
To Tax All Road Vehicles.

owners who have anywhere from six to
dozen vehicles, all doubly taxed. yet
scarcely more than two in use at any one
time and often not for days. While the
writer does not belong to the danger
ously rich. he possesses trotting and
family sleigh, 100-pound road wagon,
a heavier one and buggy, a rockaway
and family open carriage and jog
cart. Most of them can be fitted with
pole, but one is in general use in that
way. How about taxing such as two
horse vehicles? All have rubber tires.
How much damage does a light road
wagon with rubber tires with "A single
horse or pair, smooth-sh do to a road,
even if the horses are driven fast, in
comparison TO touring car, full of peo-
pie driven as they usually are over our
country roads How much damage is
done to roads by women as they usually
drive: Were it not for automobiles and
freshets, the ordinary use of roads in
country towns, excepting where heavy
teaming is done from depot in spring,
would not cause damages costing $1,000 a
year to repair in town with seventy-five
miles of road. One touring car going
over country road at the usual speed
will cause more damage in one trip than
fifty ordinary vehicles will, driven over
the same road every day in the year, at
the usual speed.
The automobilists, well knowing the
opposition to them, have learned that in
union there is strength. They go to
Legislature hearings in numbers almost
beyond the capacity of the largest COM
mittee-rooms, and backed by lawyers of
ability, to represent them, and commit
tees on legislation. How different it is
with horsemen and horse owners . If
the automobilists are selfish as regards
other people, they stand as one man for
their own interests. Horsemen on the
other hand, can distance them in selfish
ness. The so-called sporting men, thank
fully they are meeting their deserts, care
for nothing connected with the horse.
interests outside the race-track The
speedway cranks care not an iota if every
horse is driven off the roads, so long as
they have speedways for sport supplied
at the public expense. If these bills are
passed there may be a sad'difference in
the morning" when they awake and find
their sulkies and carts taxed for the ben
eft of automobilists, to build and main
tain roads for which they have no use
Talk about dead game thoroughbreds."
There never was a bigger set of old duff.
fers than these, so called, "sports" of
speedway and track. If breeding of
trotters is to depend on their use by
these sports entirely and road-driving
not only killed, but buried, the end of
the trotting horse of America is not so
far distant. or what value are all the
horses raised that cannot trot in 2:10 to
the breeder, with roaddriving killed ?
They might as well be sent to the knock
er at once to be made into soapgrease
and glue If these bills are passed, the
result will be loss of taxable property
hardened sensibilities of automobilistss
Every person who adheres to horses will
surely reduce his vehicles to the lowest
possible number and hence horses. This
will react on local taxation, ON the far
mer who raises grain and hay, on the
horse sheer and blacksmith and the var