Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-06-04
BLACK DECLARES
MONEY Is NEEDED
Defends Big Appropriation
and Says That State Can
Get Results For 1t

State Highway Commissioners
Black, in statement issued last
night, made 1t very plain that he did
not agree with those who believe
that it would not be a good thing
to make an $1S.5OO.O00 road appro-
priation this year. lie also made
plain that the department Will not
suspend work, but will build roads
itself if contractors do not come to
the mark.
Mr.. Black said:
"At the present license fee for
automobiles, we figure revenue oil
$3,000,000 year from this source or
$6,0OO,000 for the appropriation per-
iod. There are 10000 miles OF state
highways in Pennsylvania and II
costs an average of $500 mile a
year to maintain them. rms Wln
mean that practically all of the au-
tomobile money will be used Tor
maintenance. This is a part of the
work that cannot be stopped.
"Of the $7,O0O000 item for con-
struction, about $6,000,000 of this
would be available for new high
way and work and the remainder
would go to paying the expense OF
building the unimproved sections oil
IOStuS III "ilSAS ~
highway route is improved up to
each end of the municipality.
II fully appreciate the high cost
of labor and material at this time
and believe it would be wasteful to
pay eXtravagant prices to contrac-
tors. At the same time | think 1t
the part of wisdom to have money
available for the department in case
it can be spent to advantage. In the
spending of the $7,0O0,000 item, we
will insist upon reasonable bids or
the money will be kept in the treas
ury. The same is true of the $2,-
100000 appropriation, which it is
proposed that we spend on the fifty
fifty basis with the counties.
THE recent prohibitive bids. we
have received were evidently put in
as 'feelers. The contractors are
feeling their way and now that they
have found that we will not build
roads at the rate of $45, 900 a mile as
was asked for the Bridgeville high
way, they will lower their prices.
Owing to conditions, l consider 1t
reasonable to allow a 20 per cent.
advance, but to my mind that is as
high as we should go unless some
urgent situation presents itself.
Somerset county wants to join with
the state in building fifteen miles of
road to connect Somerset and Mey-
ersdale. We are about to enter into
contract with the county for this
work at a price averaging $4,000
mile. 1t is a concrete highway and
the cost of that construction in the
past has been between $4,000 and
$4,000 a mile. 1t is our intention
to confine new construction to con-
crete.
1.-The purchase of toll roads will
be on the fffty-fifty basis with the
counties. These turnpikes are prac-
tically all in the eastern end of the
state. They were freed in Western
Pennsylvania largely without state
aid"
Commissioner Black looked upon
the item of S1,142,0OO to pay the
deficiency in the dirt road fund ow-
ing second class townships as a ne
cessity. 1t is for the years 1913 and
1914.
The commissioner says that while
his department is equipped to do
$10,000,000 worth of construction
work a year, the overhead expense
is held down to seven per cent. If
the department is sufficiently or
ganized to handle so much work, the
Legislature would be justified in kill
ing the provision of the bill which
provides that the s16,647,OOO appro-
priation shall include the payment
of salaries and expenses of such ad-
ditional engineers assistants, in
spectors, superintendents, clerical as
sistants, draughtsmen, employees
and laborers, skilled or unskilled
necessary in the judgment of the
State Highway Commissioner to
carry out the purposes of the said
several acts herein sentenced"
| In estimating the revenue of $3,-
100000 a year from automobile Ii
censes, no consideration has been
given to the Buckman bill, which
would increase this figure many hun
dreds of thousands of dollars per
annum. The action of Congress in
placing a war tax on automobiles is
quite likely to put an end to legis-
/ lation increasing the state license
rates unless real necessity for an
advance is shown.