New Britain herald., 1916-11-20
MOTORIST ARGUES
 AGAINST TAX LAW
Exemption Of Horse Drawn Vehi- CleS Termed Auto Discrimination

Washington, Nov. 2O.-State au- thorities and motorists generally were affected in the suit challenging con- stitutionality of New Jersey motor ve- hicle license laws of 19OS It pre-
 sented for the first questions of whether a state has authority to raise 1 revenues for maintaining state roads by imposing automobile license taxes
 ana whether automobile pleasure touring is interstate commerce"
 Although the supreme court in Jan- uary, 1915, by unanimous opinion up held Maryland's motor license laws as not burdensome upon interstate con- merce, the new questions were raised in an appeal by Frank J. Kane, New
 York citizen, from conviction of vio- lat1ng similar New Jersey laws.
 Both Maryland and New Jersey sta- tutes impose a graduated autom obile license tax, upon both residents and non-residents, based upon horsepower.
 In the New Jersey case, however, the state authorities admitted that the legislature proposed to raise revenues for maintaining state roads by means of the licenses and that such taxes
 were not solely for administration
 costs of regulation and registration of motor traffic, as was the case in Mary land
 New Jerseys courts held that the raising of money by such Hncenses- imposed on the use of automobiles on New Jersey roads and not upon the vehicles themselves, as direct prop erty tax-was clearly within the states police powers to compensate it for improvement of and wear and tear upon the highways. Kane, how ever, contended that the courts opin- ion in Maryland case merely upheld a law not designed for revenue pur- poses and that the New Jersey rev.
 enue-raising law was void as discrim- inatorv and a state burden upon inter state commerce.
 Upon the question of whether mo- tor pleasure touring is "commerce', in defending Kane's suit the New Jer
 sey authorities contended that, "com- merce is more than mere pleasure' and that Kane could not successfully attack the New Jersey laws as he was
 convicted of their violation while
 merely touring through Paterson to l Delaware Water Gap, Pa.
 The New Jersey state attorneys also contended that a license tax is not a property tax and that the New Jersey | laws impose license taxation with reg l istration of resident and nonresident
 
 ! vehicles themselves but merely upon 1 their use and operation on New Jer- sey highways as a toll.
 | Exemption of horse-drawn vehicles l from taxation in New Jersey was at 1 tackled by Kane as unreasonable dis 1 crimination against motor users. The ! states attorneys contendel that abnor- | nal wear and tear caused upon roads l by automobiles makes the exemption 1 reasonable; also it was contended that ! nonresident have no legal right to 1 free use of other states roads. An l other feature of the New Jersey laws attacked by Kane was a, requirement. 1 upon nonresident motorists, in reg l istering, to designate the New Jersey l secretary of state their agent for
 service of process in legal proceedings l caused by operation of their vehicles ] The New Jersey law imposes li-
 censes of $3 for automobiles with ten
 horsepower or less; $5 for ten to l twenty nine horsepower and $1O for more than thirty horsepower. Non residents are, like natives, required
 to register and pay the licenses,
 which are lower than the Maryland
 fees upheld by the supreme court and
 may also secure a limited license good