Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-08-28
EDITOR TELLS HOW MONEY CAN BE
OBTAINED.
[From the Eureka (caHf.) Times

ed after his address by delegates to the rally in
Guiding U. S. Senior Highway Engineer B. H. Bur-
rell of Washington, D. C.
Greer spoke as follows:
Mr.. Chairman and Gentlemen At the last ses-
sion of congress joint committee was authorized,
and is known as the Committee on Federal Aid
in the Construction of Post Roads" This author
ization was, in sense the elimination of ma
tion-wide demand for systematic and scientific
highway construction. The committee was created
to devise plan for government and state cooper
alton in constructing comprehensive system of
highways of national scope, and report it to the
next session of congress.
That committee has under consideration a
plan which provides that the federal government
issue and sell l billion dollars in bonds running
fifty years at three per cent, the proceeds to be
apportioned loan to the several states for the
construction of permanent roads, the apporton-
ment between the states being determined on the
basis of the average of the total land area popula
tion, assessed valuation and road mileage.
Under this apportionment the state of California
would be entitled to borrow 80 million 500 thou
sand from the federal fund.
The state of Washington would receive sixteen
million 400 thousand
The state of Oregon would be entitled to 16
million 600 thousand
The funds thus provided are to be expended
under the supervision of state highway commits
sioners and not by the federal government.
The states to issue their fifty-year 4 per
cent bonds and deposit them with the federal gov
ernment security for the funds thus obtained
The states also are to provide upkeep fund
of per cent year, to which the government will
add per cent.
Therefore, under the plan, the charge to the
states will be per cent year for sinking, inter-
est and upkeep cost
For the state of California this levy would
amount to million 13O thousand year, or 1O6
million 500 thousand for fifty years.
For the state of Washington it would amount
to the of 94S million year, or 49 million 200
thousand for fifty years
For the state of Oregon it would amount to the
sum of 996 thousand year, 40 million 500
thousand for fifty years
l have purposely dwelt on these computations
in the hope of impressing upon you the heavy
interest and upkeep charges to the states in con-
structng adequate highways under the plan pro-
posed by the joint congressional committee.
Three-fourths of the annual interest payments
of the states will go to liquidate interest on the
government loan and per cent is to be deposited
in sinking fund where, being compounded annu-
ally by the government for fraction less than
forty-seven years, will retire the state bonds with
out further principal payment
If the government borrows / billion dollars for
fifty years at per cent the interest charge alone
for the term will amount to and half times
more than the principal, and the additional charge
for upkeep for fifty-year period will amount to
another billion Therefore, under the congress
sonal joint committee plan the country will get
billion dollars worth of highways for fifty years
at a net cost of " billion dollars To me this
appears an expensive and wasteful plan.
The work of the joint committee is timely and
in some points very acceptable, and, I doubt not,
will meet with favorable consideration at the next
session of congress. Therefore it is doubly mpor-
tant that the matter be seriously considered by the
people before the regular session convenes in De-
cember. 1t is proposition and has been little
discussed or as far surface indications present,
little thought by the people. There is danger
that other great national questions will overshadow
it in Immediate congressional consideration, and
deprive 1t of the careful analysis and intelligent
action it deserves. The like of it has never been
before undertaken or, think considered by the
government. The general principle of internal
federal improvement has long been conceded as a
proper government function and some attention
has been given to improving internal waterways
but great national system of scientific highway
development has not been before approached
This is an age of petrol power and the motor
truck and passenger bus are largely supplanting
and no doubt will entirely crowd of the high
ways beast-drawn vehicles in rural traffic
Systematic, scientific construction of rural ways
is, therefore, the chief economic problem of this
century, and the proper solution of it depends upon
both the character of construction and the method
employed in financing the enterprise 1t must be
remembered that road construction unlike profit
earning project contempates absolutely nom
productive outlay. The investment is made for
the benefit and free of the public and involves
continued outlay for betterment and upkeep
Road development, while adding value to already
existing property and affording economy in trans
portaton, creates wealth and is not div-
dend-earning enterprise. All of the wear and tear
it comes from its free use by the public and
because it is purely public project for free use
there should be devised economical plan
for financing it than would be required for diy-
dend-paying enterprise.
In the main would follow the line laid down
by the congressional joint committee with this