El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-09-23

: one motor car for each mile Of rural
/ road in the United States, if the dis
3 tribution Of the cars were uniform for
all the states But II is not, as IN the
state Of Nevada there is one motor
car for every six miles OF rural road,
and IN New Jersey SIX motor cars for
every mile Of rural road In the United
o states there is one motor car registra-
ton for eevry A persons. IN the state
of Iowa there is one registration for
every IS persons and in Alabama
only one registration for every 203
persons
No Uniform Fees.
There Is no uniformity in the fees
required OF motor vehicles. and there
are wide differences in the require
ments for the registration Of licensing
OF chauffeurS, owners. dealers and
operators The tendency is CROWNS
10 base registration fees for pleasure
cars on straight horsepower; for com
mercial vehicles the tendency is 10
require q part OF the fee on the horse
power Of the car and the remainder
OF the fee either on the CARVING
capacity OF the vehicle or on its weight
The average fee Of the motor cars
in the United States. taking them by
and large, is estimated al S7.96. RecE-
oning on the same basis the state OF
Vermont received in 1915 a gross
revenue OF $3.50 for each car while
Minnesota received only about so cents
annually for each car. the registration
in that state covering a period OF three
years. In Texas and South Carolina
no annual registration fees are col
lected. the only requirement being
county fee Of so cents and 81, respec-
lively. for what is called a perennial
registration Many states made no dis
tinction so far as the registration rec
urds 20 between pleasure and com
mercial cars A few states register
all motor vehicles. including motorcy-
cles- under single class: in some
states the registration Of motorcycles
is not required.
Steadily Increase.
The registration and revenues in
several typical states for the last three
years show the steadily increasing
growth Of the motor car in the trans
portation business OF the country
Three years ago there were $4,000 mo-
tor cars in the state Of Connecticut.
last year there were 41.121 In 1913
there were $3.50 cars in Massachu-
setts- in 1915 there were 102.e33. In
1919 were 1871 cars in Nebraska. in
1915 there were so 600 In 1913 there
We're 134.495 cars in New York state
in 1915 there We're 255.242 In 1913
there were 5000 cars in Oklahoma; IN
1915 there were 25.032. In 1913 there
were $4,000 cars in Texas: in 1915
there were 10000 In 1913 there were
1896 cars in Wisconsin; in 1915 there
were 1871.
The total gross revenues from mo-
tor cars in these states increased in
Connecticut from S21G.667 in 1913 to
S"36,9I0 in 1915; in Massa chusetts from
o. q
from $4,000 to S1S3. 600: in New York
from S1.275. 727 TO s199I1S1: in Okla
homa from $4,000 % s15fS92. in Texas
from $4,000 70 $4,000: in Wisconsin
Bad Roads No Bar.
One Of the pulling things about
the matter is that the increased use
Of the motor car does not seem to be
roads. For example. in the state Of
Nebraska. in the three year period
severed by the figures in the official
report the number Of motor cars in
creased more than four times and the
gross revenues eight times. while only
275 miles Of the so 33S miles Of roads
in that state are improved In Nassa-
chusetts. where n little more than one
half Of the rural roads have been i'm
proved. the number of motor cars AMI
the revenues from this source have
not quite doubled. In 1913 there Were
in the United States I25S.062 motor
1915. 2.4fJ.664 In 1913 the gross rev
enues from motor car taxes amounted
T. SS.192. 263: in 1914 to $l2.3S1.951, and
in 1915 to SIS 2f5.711- Of the revenues
from this source available for road
work 1855. f59 is under the control
OF the state highway departments and ,
S4.654,929 is under the direction OF the
local authorities.
Increase In Traffic.
The enormous Increase in motor car
traffic is bound TO affect favora bly,
the condition. of the public roads Of the D
country as the number Of cars and the
revenues increase. In the good old
patient days when the horse drawn We
hicle was the only means OF trans
portation in the rural districts and
time was no object to the people. who
took things as they were. IL did uor
seem TO matter very much how mrHv
holes and ruts and swampy pla~.s
there were on the roads to market, ,
but il is different now and the mo-
tor cars are making smooth and sub I
stantial highways necessary TO their !
favorable progress and to the success
OF business. II is worth noting from (
the time Of the old Cumberland high
way surveyed by Washington and built f!
by the national government, It was NOT .
until the automobile had come and /
proved its practical value as the great I
est burden bearer OF the centuries tha-
there was any serious thought of in /
terstate and trauscOntinenta highways 4
that would hold the country together {
in the closest neighborhoOd. It was /
not until wise men at the capital dis /
covered the rural free delivery postal I
routes that a constitutional way was /
found to make the government at \
Washington an active partner in the