Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-05-15
BILLION DOLLARS FOR GOOD
ROADS IN UNITED STATES.
scheme Being Worked Out By Road
Commission Of Congress.

washington, d. c., May.-A billion
dollar appropriation from the United
States government ~towardNroad build
ing in the United States, granted dur
ing the last days of the 63rd Congress
ar in the early days of the Gath, would
be a much greater surprise to the
country at large than it would be to
the ten members of the roads commits
sion appointed by the end congress.
This commission, appointed at the be-
ginning of the agitation for federal aid
to good roads, is shaping some plans
that are likely to result in the intro
duction in both houses of Congress
within the next nine months a bill alb
soIutely unique in the history OF the
country.
senator Simmons, of North Carolina,
Incorporated in a recent appropriation
bill provision for a half million dol
lars to be spent in extending federal
aid to road building in all parts OF
the country. When that amount came
to be distributed it was found that
only by dividing the United States into
eight groups and giving $4,000 to one
state in each group for experimental
the State to supply double
that amount, could the money be spent
al all advantageously. Moreover, halt
a million dollars from the government
treasury il, no little sum at that, and
none of it can come back to Uncle SAM.
The Plan.
The roads commission has hit upon
a plan which seems too much like
Utopia to be true, but which it is prob
ing at every angle to develop, if posi-
BILE, weak points. The plan permits
the government to issue a billion dol
lars worth of bonds and let the states
cay the bonds off so that in fifty years
the entire bond issue will have been
paid back with out a cent of loss to the
government.
To illustrate: The states collective
~ issue a million dollars worth of
bonds drawing four per cent interest.
Instead of selling these bonds to indl-
yiduals the bonds are sent to the treas
ury. The government issues 3 pei
cent bonds, buys the state bonds at par
and keeps the bonds as collateral for
the loan. Interest on the state bonds
for a year will amount to $4,000 to be
paid to the government. Interest on
the government bonds will be $4,000.
The SIC, 900 profit accruing to the gov
eminent each a can be compound
ed by turning it back into the purchase
of its own outstanding bonds. When
all these have been retired the interest
on the state bonds, still coming in,
is turned toward the retirement OF
these bonds until they, too, are auto
matica1Iy retired. The government
has lost nothing. The states have lost
nothing but the interest they have paid
the interest going eventually through
the principal, leaving at the end of
fifty years no bonded debt and roads
as a permanent investment.
Capable of Enlargement.
The plan is capable of infinite en-
Iargement, say it's advocates. The
states may pursue the same plan to-
ward the counties as the government,
employs with the states. In each case
the larger unit simply acts as banker
to the smaller, using it's advantage in
interest rates to absorb the principal
of the bonds.
The congressional roads commits
sion is composed of Senator'S Over
man, Swanson, Penrose,, Groner and
ex-senator Bourne Representatives
Shack1eford, Gordon, Lee, Madden,
Austin and Gillicuddy. The commits
sion is studying every system of fl
lancing and building roads known to
the world. Previous bills providing
federal aid to road building r be-
ing studied, and from these and other
data in possession of the committee a
measure will be framed providing a
system that car be made as large as
the states will it to be. And if the
committee finds no fallacy in the
method outlined above this plan seems
most likely to be adopted.