Pioneer press. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1882-19??, 1916-04-22
FORTY-THREE STATES
WILL GET i. s. AID
Indiana, South Carolina, Georgia, Mis-
slssIppI and Texas Have Yet to
Provide Organization.


Provide Organization.
From the Washington Post)
Forty-three Of the 4S states will
qualify for federal aid in roads under
the Bankhead bill. recently reported
favorably to the senate by its COM
mittee on postofflces and post roads
Indiana, South Carolina, Georgia,
Mississippi and Texas are the five
states which have yet to equip them
selves with centralized direction Of
roads improvement. Indiana has an
active campaign In progress, which
ought to prove successful, energized
in great degree by the Hoosier State
Automobile Association, which is af-
filiated with tho American Automobile
Association. Indiana is a great au
tomobile producing state and large
percentage Of it's farmers have adopt
ed the self-propelled vehicle
Conditions There are Hopeful.
South Carolina is giving the ques-
tion Of state highway department
serious consideration. Georgia Is in
an equally hopeful condition, while
Mississippi In It's house Of representa-
tives recently voted against the ere
alton OF state commission. The
legislators opposed the legislation be-
cause 1t called for an engineer with
salary Of $4,000 year. Maine pays
$4,000 and possesses an unusually
competent official.
Texas under the Bankhead measure
would obtain moro federal co-opera-
ton than any other state in the I'm
ion, it's area taking 1t into first place,
though 1t falls behind many other
states in population and road mileage.
1t is a certainty that Texas will pro-
vide a highway department within
three years, for Section 3 OF the sen
ate measure contains this provisO:
Except that amounts apportioned for
any fiscal year to any state which
has not state highway department
shall be available for expenditure in
that state until the close Of the third
fiscal year succeeding the close OF the
fiscal year for which such apportion
ment was made"
Points to Phenomenal Growth.
The memorandum which accompan-
les the senate substitute bill contains
this reference to the phenomenal traf
fic growth:
"Backwardness in the building Of
public roads has been all the more
marked by contrast with the enorm-
Gus development of traffic. Within
the brief period Of about 10 years the
motor vehicle has been introduced
and developed until 1t Is now asserted
that there are over 100000 motor
vehicles In use, or about one for ev.
cry mile OF public road. II these ye-
hicles are estimated to average only
25-horsepower, It would mean a to-
tai OF over 0O,000-horsepower
brought into use on our public roads
with audiences which has no par
allel In industrial history. This new
and domestic traffic has, by its pecul-
lar effect upon road surfaces, and It's
great strain upon tridges and road
foundations, rendered Infinitely E.oYe
complex tht prob n 6. r. ad cons;rrc-
ton and malntenaAcr, hich our 3, 9.
TENS Of n nagamn1. Eih already pcjv-
ed utterly inadequate 10 meet.
"Ordinary horse-drawn traffic has
also increased to such point that we
now speak OF tonnage, not in mil
lions, but In hundreds of millions, and
OF the ton mileage in billions. 1t has
been estimated that removal OF the
wheat crop alone In 1915 involved the
hauling OF more than 10000 900 tons
over the public roads at cost OF ov-
er $50,000,00o. Some conception OF
tho immensity Of our farm production
and the consequent movement OF farm
products over the country roads can