The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-22
ROADS CONCRESS|N STORMY SESSION Resolution to Ask for Fed
 eral Aid WAS HEATED FIGHT Senator Bankhead Favors Moderate Federal Aid in Building Roads.
 Money Appropriated
 for Alaska
WAS HEATED FIGHT

Richmond, November 21-The resolutions committee of the Good Roads congress after five hours stormy session tonight, by vote Of seven to two, voted to re- port favorably a resolution petitioning the federal congress to appropriate for a l comprehensive plan of highway improve ment.
 John s. Stewart of New York. who led the opposition, declared that if the gov ernment were to improve 10 per cent of the roads of the United States the cost would be s2. 800 oo0.0oo a year.
 Senator Swanson of Virginia asked the committee to approve a definite plan car rying expenditures of s2o,0O00oo to $50, ,o0o, GOO year. This was refused
 The Good Roads congress was neariy split to today by the fight over the ques- ton of federal appropriations for highway improvement. The controversy which be- gan yesterday developed Into an acute row
 While engineers and road contractors were engaged in an innocuous discussion in the convention hall, lively fight went on in the committee rooms.
 A majority apparently of the delegates declared their intention of putting the convention on record in favor of federal appropriations at the rate of S50oO0, 600 a year. Some beseiged Senator Bankhead of Alabama to introduce a bill carrying $1 0I0, GOO at once. This the senator re- fused to do, but declared himself in favor of a reasonable plan for federal aid.
 President l.. w. Page, who Is also diree- | Of rQOd roads 10 dana rfr nf agriculture, ruled that no motion for fed eral aid would be received from the floor of the convention. This resulted in several heated charges and countercharges. batch of federal aid resolutions did not get to the resolutions committee, however, through the mazes of parliamentary prac- tice. much to the surprise of the anti federal men,
 Acting Secretary Charles H. Light de- clared that the American Highway Im- provement association would flatly decline to be bound by any action the convention might take asking federal aid.
 Senator Bankhead, supporting the con- tention that the government has the right to appropriate, declared today that Con- gress had appropriated for roads in Alas ka, the Philippines and Porto Rico. He expressed the opinion that if money could not be appropriated for the welfare clause, 1t could not be appropriated for postal purposes.
 Some of the leaders proposed calling another convention at once in Washington to petition Congress to pass road legisla- ton. AS the fight grew hot. things of local politics cropped out, motives were impugned; one portion of the delegates accusing the other. of trying to create another federal pork barrel" and by the time the row reached its height addresses were being delivered to empty seats, while delegates turned the hotel lobby into a realistic picture of busy day in the capitol at Washington.
 Calmer spirits smoothed things over temporarily, however, and the fight was transferred to the committee on resolu- ltions, of which Coleman Dupont of Will mington, Del, is chairman.
 Resolutions have been proposed indors- ing President Taft's arbitration treaties with England and France, now held up in the Senate. They declared that the ratification of the treaties will lead to reduction of expense in the military es- tablishment which might be turned to road improvement.
 The packers of the Quebec Miami and the capital highway projects got together today and formed the Inland association to work for a highway down the At lantic coast.