The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-12-09
FEDERAL MD IN
BUILDING ROADS
Three Bills Identical Already
Presented Embracing Large
Appropriations.
tBy W. r. YELV

washington, -. c., Dec. 6.-Repre-
South have taken immediate adNan-
tage Of the creation of a roads com
mittee. in each branch of Congress
to h extent Of introducing several
bills which will come before thai
committee, at least one Of which will
become a law during the regular ses-
sion. unless all predictions fail. Some.
Of these legislators characterize the
general rush as a desire to get on
the band wagon"
This comment was evoked when the
newspapeTmen discovered m day this
week three bills reposine in the office
of the Ous Journal Clerk. all of
which bills were Identical. One was
fathered by Representative Byrnes.
Of South Carolina, another by MIR.
Lee, Of Georgia, and still another by
Mr.. Stephens. of Mississippi. They
might have been placed in the House
hopper at different times, but they
reached the press at one and the same
time.
Investigation uncovered the fact
that the director of the office of pub
lie roads, Mr.. Logan Waller Page, had
found some disagreement with Repre-
sentative Shackelford and Senator
Hoke Smith, said disagreement ariS-
ing from the fact that Mr.. Page
wanted d bill allowing the Depart
ment of Agriculture to oversee the
disbursement Of $40, 900, 600 Of the
governments 1noney along with an
equal amount from the states, while
Messrs. Smith and Shackelford wanted
the States to control the disburse-
ment of thirty-six millions out Of the
forty. Hence the Shackelford-Smitf
bill was introduced by it's authors anC
the three others followed. The list:
are not yet closed. 1t may be tina
Mr.. Pages bill will appear severa
more times with different backing
Both these bills are alike in thei
I essentials, the only difference. practi
cally, being the manner in which tn
money is to be expended and tn
amount used at the start. The. Shack
elford-Smith bill provides that tn
amount expended by the government
not exceed twenty millions a year
that only two million be "bossed" b
the Federal government, n that eacl
State shall put up t~wo-thirds to tn
governments One-third. Post road
are the ones favored, the money bein
!, used for both construction and main
$ %tenance.
The Byrnes-Lee-Stephens-etc. bill
would appropriate three million tn
first year, six million the second an
on up by degrees to twenty millions
the States to pay half. The none
would be controlled by the Depart
ment of Agriculture. Representativ
. Gambler has still another prcpositio
. which would appropriate a i.undre
millions to start with and twenty mi
l lion a year thereafter, the States pay
ing half. senator Overman has a hi
for constructing and repairing rurs
and star route roads. appropriate
half a million the first year and a
1 increase of $4,000 a year each yea
y for ten years. the States to pay hal
= This was introduced at the extra Sc.
6 sion.
0 The two latest bills are. alike
their plan for distribution. One-thif
I of the money is to be appropriated
= the proportion which the total area
e each State bears to the total area
3 all the states; one-third on the has
OF population and the, final third j
proportion to the number OF rur;
- post roads in the State as compar
= to the total in the United States. Tn
q seems by all odds the most populs
method Of distribution.