The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1918-12-12
NO BRIDGE TALK
AT GOOD ROADS
CONVENTION
State Meeting is Kept Free from
Sectionalism by Vote of the
Resolutions Committee
WANT ONE THRU ROAD BUILT
Two Plans for Financing States Road
Building Program are Outlined
Yakima Next Meeting Place

Except for casual mention in some
of the addresses the question of
bridge across the Columbia river be-
tween Kenncwick and Pasco did not
come before the annual meeting of the
State Good Roads association in Pas
co Thursday and Friday of last week.
Yet insofar as it was possible to test
it, sentiment seemed to be entirely
favorable to bridge. Good roads men
from all parts of the state apparently
are Of the opinion that the states good
roads program must include the bridg-
ing of the Columbia and that the log
ical place for the bride is at this point,
but the accepted policy seems to be
to build the roads first and the bridge
afterwards.
The Benton and Franklin county
delegations gave up the intention of
putting the bridge question up to the
convention when the resolutions COM
mittee voted unanimously to keep the
meeting free from all sectionalism
and to recommend no one road nor
project but to urge the early compile
ton of one thru state highway.
Two distinct methods of financing
the states road building program
were brought out at the meeting.
The first, known as the Carlyon
plan, was presented at the afternoon
session by Senator Carlyon, of Thurs
ton county, and consists of increasing
the automobile licenses to an average
of SIS each and bonding the proceeds
for an extended term of years and go
ing into the paving of roads on
large scale early next spring: Sena-
tor Carlyon showed by charts and fig
ures that it would be possible to carry
on an extensive program and have a
surplus left after paying principal
and interest.
The second plan, as presented at
the banquet by State Highway Com
missioner Allen, provides the identical
methods of raising the revenues as
does the Carlyon plan, but Mr.. Allen
takes issue with the bonding prop
osition. He states that the proposed
plan would provide means for paving
200 miles of road per year without
bonding and without cent Of expense
for interest. This amount, he de-
clared, is the maximum which the
state can economically construct. I'm
less the state is ready to do as the
government has done in the matter Of
war contracts and disregard the real
values, an attempt to pave more than
200 miles per year would he believes,
unstable both the labor and material
markets, and compel the state to pay
largely in excess Of the actual value
of the work done.
j. L. Dumas, of Columbia county,
spoke in the caucus favoring the Carl
yon plan, while Congressman-elect
Summers favored the plan Of State
Highway Commissioner Allen with the
added recommendation that the state
association recommend an average of
SIS as the auto license fee, declaring
that with the added federal aid it
would provide for paving program Of
300 miles, which is ample for the state
in his opinion, unless it is willing to
pay both the interest and a premium
on work done in order to attain great
er speed and he did not think this adj
visable.
Among the resolutions adopted by
the convention were the following:
"That the permanent highway law
is our most effective road law and that
it should not be tampered with, ex-
cept that clause should be inserted
therein which will permit counties to
apply their portion of the fund to an
interest and sinking fund account for
taking care of county bond issue for
road construction if they so desire.
This should apply not only to the
permanent highways, but to state
roads or other roads which may be
provided for by supplemental legisla-
tion.
"We recommend that the legisla-
ture continue the +wo recognized road
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