Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-08-27

reau whereby the service can be ex-
tended. 1t 10 probable that the fore-
caste will be sent out in the same way
as at present, except that they VIII De
much more widely distributed.
One Of the most interesting of our
government departments. and one whose
functio n 8
Better Equipment for the are eon.ln-
Commerce Department. creasing, is
the Department Of Commerce. Within
the past few years Its scattered parts
have been nodded into an almost per-
feet whole.
The equipment for the departments
work. Just within the past few years.
| was pitifully inadequate. It's seagoing
vessels were without wireless. Many
of the ships used in ocean work were
worn out and in dangerous condition.
The physical condition Of large part
of this government plant was bad.
The effort to right these conditions
has been successful. No longer does
| the bureau of fisheries have to borrow
from Gamers the boats its officers must
| use when inspecting canneries. Its own
!
vided. New ships have taken the place
of those ships whose use menaced the
! life and hindered the work Of the Of
ficers and men of the coast survey.
Legislation has authorised wireless for
vessels lacking it and outfits designed
in the department are in service. No
ship in the services had line-carrying
gun. to aid vessels in distress, but sew
eral had been added within the past
couple OF years. Automobile trucks
n
Washington and in the field services.
New vessels for the lighthouse service
have been designed and built, among
| them the largest and best of the kind
the government has ever had. Each of
the four maritime services of the de-
partment has been furnished new YES
sells for its work. The scientific serv-
ices have received new buildings and
apparatus. In other words, the de-
partment Is now properly equipped to
do it's normal work and to be of serv-
ice to the people.
1t has been found by the Office Of public
roads. Department Of Agriculture, that 30
per cent Of the registra-
Growth of ton and license fees paid
A. in 1915 by automobiles
0uIo rees' to the states, or in
spent for the building and maintenance
Of county and state roads.
officials of the Office found that
2.445,664 motor vehicles were registered
during 1916 and that their owners paid
a total of about SIS, $50 900 for registra-
| ton. drivers and dealers fees. This is
an increase of nearly $4,000, 900 in fees
over what was paid in 1914.
hv ho CHI hot
| automobile fees now defray nearly per
cent of the total amount spent on rural
road and bridge building, where, for in
stance. in 1906, the income from this
source was less than three tenths of l
per cent OF the total expenditure.
The enormous growth of the fees rev.
enue can be noted to best advantage by
the fact that in 1901 in New York state,
was realized. In 1906 throughout the
whole United States there were only
$4,000 cars registered. against the
2.445,664 above mentioned for 1916, a
period of ten years.
Complete figures have been gathered by
the office of good roads, and some of
them are very interesting. For instance,
it has been found that there is only one
| motor car for every six miles Of rural
road in the state of Nevada while, on
the other hand. there are nearly six
motor cars for every mile of such road in
New Jersey. Again, there is an average
OF one motor car registration to every
forty-four persons in the whole United
States Iowa apparently leads, with one
motor car for every sixteen persons; on
| the other hand, only one is registered for
every 200 persons in the state of Ala
bama. In thinking over these figures
the fact must be taken into account that
some states do not require annual regis
tration, while others group pleasure and
| commercial cars and motor cycles in their
accounts. and still other states do not
require registration of motor cycles.
Fees for running cars vary greatly
| throughout the country. 1t is said that
the average for the whole country is
S7.46. Vermont. for example, secured in
1915 gross revenue of $3.50 for each
motor car, while Minnesota received only
about SO cents for each car. In Texas
and South Carolina no annual registra-
ton fees are collected. the only require
ment being a county fee of so cents and
81, respectively. for perennial registra
ton. Most of the states, however, also
levy annual taxes on motor vehicles. and
these add greatly to the public revenue
contributed by the owners of motor
propelled vehicles.
found, during their investigation of con-
ditions, that there seems to be general
policy of applying the major portion of
the fees collected from automoblists di-
rectly to road betterment. In forty-two
of the states all or the major portion of
the motor-vehicle revenue must be ex-
pended for the construction. improvement
or maintenance OF the public roads, or
for the maintenance of the state highway
department. Many of the states also, it
was found. in addition to applying license
fees to road construction, expend for this
purpose a large part of the fines and
penalties collected from owners
The coast and geodetic survey has
distributed $4,000 navigators' charts
during the past year
Coast Survey Doubtless very few of
Charts. ,...a go, ".o 'eoe,.e'
even in a small degree, the vast amount