Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-11
MOTOR FEDERATION TO
FIGHT TOLL ROADS

The " L cry Of the Pennsylvania Motor fed
erat' from this time forth will be The Toll
Pc Must Co." Pennsylvania Is one OF the
few states that still permit that old time sys-
TEN of robbery of the travelling public, com
monty known as the toll-gate.
Travellers from the west who come to this
part of the United States are amazed to learn
that even at this late day these relics OF
bygone age allowed to barricade the pub
lie highways and demand tribute from all who
pass by The toll road is much Of an an
noyance and nuisance to the motorist that the
most devious routes have been traced out in
order to avoid them. The automobile tourist
will often go many miles out of his way and
travel over miles and miles of poor roads rath-
er than be robbed by the turnpike companies.
The people who live in big cities and who
seldom go far from home except in railroad
cars, can hardly appreciate the extent to
which this levying of toll is carried on by
this ancient but still profitable system Of rob-
berry. 1t is a matter Of fact that in three
counties alone adjacent to Philadelphia there
are S54 miles of toll roads. So stiff are the
charges for travel over these roads that the
cost for tolls for an average motor touring
party are greater in many than would
be the cost for railroad car fare for the same
number of people, and the motor tourists are
not the only sufferers. Toll is collected from
the farmers going to market during the week
or to church on Sunday. The cycler and the
motorcycist have also to pay tribute to the
toll barons, and this, bear in mind, for the
privilege Of riding or driving over roads which
are supposed to be public highways owned by
the people of Pennsylvania and supposed to
be free, 1t would be bad enough II IheSe
turnpike barons who collect tribute from every
traveller along the public highway would main-
tain decent roads for the tribute-paying pub
lie to travel over, but the universal testimony
is to the effect that the higher the toll and
the more frequent the toll-gate the worse con-
dlton the road Is kept in
Now there is no question that the roads of
Pennsylvania should be free to the people Of
the state who wish to drive over them, just
as the streets of a big city are free to rich
and poor to walk The roads should be
open to the motorists, the farmer and the
Motor federation means to see to IT that they
shall be made free and kept free till the end
OF time.
During the recent election campaign letters
were sent to all candidates for the legislature
asking them II they would pledge themselves
to vote for such legislation would abolish
once and forever the toll-gate nuisance from
the roads of this great commonwealth AS the
toll-road barons have no friends anywhere
the majority of those addressed promptly re-
piled yes to these queries Enough of the men
who have been elected to compose the coming
legislative body at Harrisburg have pledged
their words to help wipe the toll roads off the
map when they gather at Harrisburg early
next month. There will be no chance for them
to sdestep the ISSUE for the Motor federation
will be the Job just soon the legs-
lature meets. bill to abolish the toll roads
will be drafted by competent legal authorities
1t will be introduced into the legislature by
member of that body who Is anxious to see the
toll-gates done away with and when the bill
comes up to be voted the officials OF the
Pennsylvania Motor federation will see to It
that the members who pledged themselves
against the toll-gates before the election will
stand up and vote against them, now that
they have been sent to Harrisburg to repre-
sent the people of the state of Pennsylvania,
who have been clamorlng for many years. for
the abolition of the toll-gate nuisance.