The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1916-01-23
FLORIDA SENATOR INTRODUCES
MEASURE DESIGNED TO AID
STATES IN BUILDING GOOD
ROADS.

~ United States Senator N. p. Bryan
has introduced In the senate of the
United States the following measure:
A bill to provide for federal aid to
good roads, TO permit the several
states TO utilize the superior credit of
the United States in raising road con-
struction funds, to aid the states in
maintenance of roads, and TO create
a national highway commission.
Be it enacted by the senate and
house of representatives of the Unit
ed States of America in Congress as
sembled, That in order to establish,
construct, improve, and maintain
public roads that are now or may
hereafter be needed for use as post
roads, military roads, or for interstate
commerce, there be, and hereby is,
created a fund to be known as the
United States highway fund. Said
fund shall be raised in the manner
herein provided, but the treasurer of
the United States is hereby author
lied to receive and place to the credit
Of said fund any money that may be
contributed from other sources and
to expend the same upon the order
of the United States highway COM
mission or in accordance with the con-
ditions of the contribution.
Sec. 2. That for the purpose of
providing money for the United States
highway fund the secretary of the
treasury is hereby authorized and d.
rected to issue and sell, on and after
Til, Rs,.n4 ..sno4na,, dr4V,d9aod and
eighteen, at par with accrued interest,
coupon or registered bonds OF the
United States in such form as he may
prescribe and in denominations of $40
or multiples of that sum, said bonds
to be payable in coin fifty years
from date of issue, and to bear in
terest, payable in coin semiannually,
at the rate of three per centum per
annun1, the total amount of said
bonds not to exceed $500, 1000, and
the issue and sale of same not to ex-
coed such amounts as may be nee
essary from time to time to enable
the treasurer of the United States to
make payments from the United
States highway fund to the several
states in accordance with the pro-
visions Of this act. Bonds issued un-
der authority of this act. or the in
come therefroin, shah not be subject
to taxation of any kind for any pur-
pose. Bonds authorized by this sec
ton shall be first offered at par as a
popular loan under such regulations
prescribed by the secretary of the
treasury as viii give opportunity to
the citizens of the United States to
participate in the subscriptions to
such loan, and in allotting said bonds
the several subscriptions of individ-
uals shall be first accepted, and the
subscriptions for the lowest amounts
shall be first allotted. Any portion
of any issue of said bonds not sub
scribed for as above provided may be
disposed of by the secretary of the
treasury, at not less than par, under
such regulations as he may prescribe,
but no commissions shall be allowed
or paid thereon; and q sum not ex-
ceeding one twenty-fifth of one per
centum of the amount of the bonds
herein authorized is hereby appro-
priated out of any money in the treas
ury not otherwise appropriated to pay
the expense Of preparing, advertising,
and issuing the same.
State Supervision.
Sec. 8. That before any state shall
be entitled to take advantage of the
provisions of this act it shall estab-
lish by law state highway com
mission, which said commission shall
have general supervision Of road
construction and improvement in that
state and of the expenditure of mon
ey received from the United States
highway fund, subject only to the pro-
visions of this act and of state laws
not inconsistent herewith. It shall
be the duty of each state highway
commission annually, on or before the
first day of January, to make to the
governor of the state in. which it Is
located a full and detailed report of
its operations, including a statement
of receipts and expenditures, copies
OF which said report shall be sent to
the treasurer Of the United States and
to the United States highway Com
mission.
Sec. 4. That the United States
highway fund shall be apportioned3
and credited to the several states in
the following manner: The United
States highway commission, herein
after created, shall ascertain in the
most practicable manner from the
best information available the total
land area, the population according
to the last federal census, the total
assessed valuation of all. taxable
property, and the total assessed valu-
alton Of all taxable property, and the
total mileage of public roads in each
of the several states, and shall COM
pute the percentage of the total of
each of these four items possessed by
each state. They shall then COM
pute the average of the four per