Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-08-03
SECRETARY Of STATE
REPORTS MUCH WORK
Up. D. Norton, Secretary.
Motor Vehicle Registration.


The main business of the secretary of
states office this month has been the
issuance of motor vehicle registration
tags, for on and after the first of Aug
ust next the car that travels the high
ways without the golden lettered, black
japaned metal tags provided by the
state for So the pair is likely to get
its owner in trouble.
So far, about $500 tags have been
issued to automobiles and about 200
to motor cycles. But the last minute
rush of the neglectful or forgetful is
on and applications are coming in at
such rate that it is easy to forecast
total of 1000 automobile registra-
tons by the first of August
The provisions of this registration
law seem either to be imperfectly
known or understood by great many
and there has been some little difficulty
in getting the information conveyed to
the public. The great stumbling block
seems to be inability to understand that
it is the vehicle that is registered -
not the owner. Thus, many write say
ing: II have sold my old car and
bought a new one. Can keep the tags
l had for my old car" or 1--WE have
traded cars-can we trade tags, so we
can have our old numbers" Once the
tag is placed on the cart is there to
stay until, in 1912, it is assigned new
one. The old tags go with the old car
and the man who buys new car must
buy new tags for it; also the man who
has bought the old car must report his
purchase with 81 fee to the secretary
Of state. Another difficulty seems to
Ic that the law requires each car to be
supplied with two tags of the same
number and does not specify where
the tags snail be worn. The depart
ment has been advising automobile
owners to wear one tag on the front
end of the vehicle and the other tag
on the rear. Other minor difficulties
seem to come over misunderstanding
that the price of the motor cycle tags
is only 81, while that of automobiles
is So. The price on either is 49, But
some motor cyclists feel that they are
being stung, having been led to think
by some rumor that the price should
be 81. Other difficulties were in maxi
ing out applications. Some forget to
sign, or forget to send the 50, Or for
get to make application and sent the
money and asked for the tags without
other, formality, or forget to have the
notary attest to the veri6cation, or for
get to have him put the seal on, or for
get to fill in the name or model or
factory number. All these matters are
required to be recorded by the secre-
tary of state, and while it may have
seemed picayunish to send back the ap-
plications for correction-there was
nothing else to do, if the law were to
be complied with Next year the
motor vehicle owners will know more
about the law and the registration will
go much smoother. As it was, with
no presidents to guide and no way of
estimating the possible number of reg
istrations, the secretary of state made
a pretty shrewd guess on the number
and as result every order
will be filled before August l, and to-
day applications received are filled and
registration tags sent the same day as
the application is received, and this
too without additional help - the de-
partment. .......,.-, .......