The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-27

two commissioners of immigration, three state geologists, forty probate judges, twelve mayors, twelve road engineers and | three street experts. With this array of
 public men and prominent people from Is
 of the leading states of the union makes | most representative and successful Good Roads congress-
 | Immediately following the report of the secretary the committee on reso- | lutions, through their chairman, w. s. West, announced readiness for their re-
 port The Rev. George L. Fish then pro- ceeded to read the resolutions, which
 were unanimously adopted by the gath
 ering.
 The plan of consolidating all national good roads associations into one organ
 ization together at Washington in Decem- Der, which has been considerably agitated
 during the congress, was referred to the
 following special committee: Senator J.
 H. Bankhead chairman Martin Dodge,
 Thomas L. Cannon, W. S. West, F. H.
 Colcock, Jene Whitson, J. A. Rountree
 and A. c. Jackson.
 Immediately after the announcement of this committee Representative Richmond
 P. Hobson produced before the gathering
 bill he has introduced before Congress
 with the two-fold purpose of securing
 national highway survey and the forma- tion of national organization which will
 embody the plans of the respective asso- citations without necessarily submerging
 their identity. The national organization, he explained would be a coordination of
 all agencies operating for the improve
 ment and building of highways. Warm Discussion He recommended that his bill be re- ferred to a special committee of the Good
 Roads congress, who should be authorized to submit it to Congress for their deliber-
 alton. This recommendation on the part
 of Representative Hobson had the effect of precipitating an unfortunate debate on the floor of the congress as to the modus operandi of the National Good Roads as-
 sociation, which Jene Whitson, Ten
 nessee delegate, charged was purely
 personal organization wholly lacking the
 necessary permanent committees to look
 after the affairs passed upon during its
 deliberative meetings.
 The charges of the Tennessee member
 had the effect of producing a prolonged
 and entangled discussion, in which the original object of the session was lost
 sight of in a kind of Babel finally ended
 by the dignity with which President Jack
 son controlled the meeting and a timely speech by Thomas l.. Cannon. The latter
 succeeded in gaining the attention of the
 gathering and explained to the satisfac-
 tion of the assemblage those points re-
 garding the nature of the Good Roads as-
 sociation with which they were unac- quainted.
 On the motion of V. B. Atkins, com
 mittee to be composed of a representative from each of the states, was appointed to consider the bills of Representative Hobson for the national highway survey,
 and the formation of a national organiza- | ton among all the various agencies be- hind the good roads movement Hobson's Bill
 | The following is the bill proposed by | Captain Hobson:
 Be 1t enacted by the Senate and | House of Representatives of the United | States of America, in Congress assem- | bled, That the director of the office of public roads of the United States depart ment of agriculture Is hereby authorized | and directed, under the general super vision of the Secretary of Agriculture,
 to make general highway survey of the l United States.
 | t'Sec 2. That the said director of the office of public roads is hereby author
 ized to cooperate with road officials of | state and localities to make detailed high | way surveys; provided, That in such cases the state or locality in question shall bear one-half of the expense. | Sec 8. That there is hereby approprl- ated, out of any moneys in the treasury of the United States not otherwise ap- propriated the sum of s50000o. of which | slOO.0oO shall be available annually for the purpose of carrying out of the provisions | of this act" The speaker deemed it the best policy