Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-02-08

property owners In the most need OF II
are kept waiting.
There are three distinct benefits In
road improvement-the benefit to tine
state. the, benefit to the local COM
munity. and the benefit to the nearby
property. No system of distributing
the cost OF permanent road improve
ment In this state will be just
and equitable which does not seek to
recognize these three distinct benefits
Most states attempt 1t in their dis
tributions and nearly all Of them d.
vide the cost between the state, the
county and the township but the town
ship, while it is the nearest to local
taxing body is not coextensive with
the property actually benefited and
therefore is not scientific nor just
unit for taxation. A great many states
seek to accomplish the special benefit
assessment by the creation of special
assessment districts, usually with some
city as center but this does not get
down to the actual benefit to property
as our own paving law does nor as the
Indiana two mile law has long done
Pay for what you get Is the principle
involved. hence apportion the cost OF
road improvement One-third to the
state to be paid at first from the tax
on motor vehicles, which are essen
TALLY inter county travellers: one
third from a county tax which pays
for the communitys benefit and one
third from the property within two
miles Of the road as in Indiana.
Under this plan quarter section OF
Iowa land abutting a road paved with
concrete at a cost Of $4,000 per mile
such as has been built by Wayne
county. Michigan, would be taxed s25
per annum and the three other quar-
ters lying directly back Of it would
come In for an assessment Of $11 each
per annum. For macadam roads the
cost would be half as much for first
cost but more than half in the long
run. because of increased maintenance
and for graveled roads not more than
one fifth to one-third as much. A gen.
eral county levy of one mill or frac-
ton more would pay the county's third
Of the cost of fifty miles Of paved roads
in most counties on twenty year bond
plan of 100 miles Of macadam and OF
ESQ miles of gravel. This one mill levy
would average 81 per annum to each
quarter section of land. 1t would be
the same as the road dragging levy and
about half the average public library
levy in the cities. The full three mills
would cost only IS per annum for each
quarter section while town property
would pay from one-sixth to three
quarters OF the entire county levy ac-
corling to the size of the city all for
roads outside the corporation limits.
Automobile License Tax.
The state Of Iowa is now taxing mo-
tor vehicles heavier than is done in
almost any state in the union. The
automobile is essentially an inter
county traveller. Its owner. wants hard
surfaced or paved roads and he is not
going to complain about the present
tax If he gets roads in return for 1t.
At present we have in this state one
automobile for every section OF land
within our borders and the factories OF
the country this year all have In
creased their output fifty per cent. II
is not unlikely that within Ave years
we will have in Iowa one automobile
for every half section of land and 1t IL
possible that within ten years there
will be an automobile on our roads for
every quarter section of land area. Al
any rate our citizens have already in-
vested sixty millions in automobiles
and they are paying to the state hall
a million In taxes. Shortly they will
be paying million per annum in taxes
with hundred millions invested In
automobiles. This Is too large class
OF property to be ignored and 1t will
not do to sneer at the speed maniac
and his demand for hard roads. He
stands ready to pay one-third the en-
tire cost of a complete inter county
system of permanent roads and he IL
entitled to them. For this reason be-
gin a state aid fund by appropriatins
to it all of the motor vehicle tax. This
tax should be collected by the county
treasurers the same as any other state
tax but forwarded..to the state treas
urer for the state aid road fund.
Then appropriate the gun license tax
to the same fund because a gun license
is good thing from the standpoint
of public policy but there is absolute
ly no good purpose to which to devote
the money in the more or less ridicu-
lous effort to propagate game In
country that is becoming SO thickly
settled that farmers dare not risk guns
to be carried on their farms.
State aid in permanent road building
is now practiced in some form by thirty
states and even in those states which
have made the most progress with
county bond issues and special assess
ment districts there is an active move
ment on for state aid. Minnesota to
the north of US has levied a one mill
tax for this purpose and will pay one
half of construction. Arizona, New
Mexico and West Virginia also have a
direct state levy for state aid while
many states make legislative appro-
priations and depend upon the counties
to levy the taxes. Michigan bonuses
gravel and rock faced roads. Willie
Wisconsin pays one third the cost. We
must have state aid to start things IN
Iowa and with a million per annum in
the auto tax anticipated with bond
issue we can do the business without
the state itself increasing taxation. We
would merely be conserving the taxes
we now have and the average. auto
owner would continue to pay his $40
per annum without complaint. We
might make one mill general state
levy but II state bonds are issued
against the auto tax the general state
levy will not be needed for years to
come.
County Bonds and Levies.
The issue OF county bonds for perma-
nent road improvement is practiced by
hearly two thirds of the states in the
union and Is universally successful be-
cause majority Of the voters must
first approve il. Senator Cunamins