The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-01-30
BUSINESS men
APPROVE STATE
HIGHWAY BILL
John Mueller Instructed to
Express Favorable Opinion
for Commercial Club at
Hearing.

highway Dill Ey IL. II. wright, duIHOT
OF the bill, at the Richmond CONNER
cial Club Wednesday evening, the
members present voted in favor of the
bill and John Mueller. club representa-
tive to the joint hearing in Indianapo-
lis Thursday. was instructed to ex-
press q favorable opinion of the bill
for the Richmond Commercial Club.
Mr.. Wright. member Of the state
highway commission, gave data and
statistics showing why the state
should own the highways, explained
the bill itself. and where the money
for the carrying out of the bill would
come from.
TT is wrong" said Mr.. Wright,
"that the smallest unit in the state
should have to bear the burden OF
building and maintaining the high
ways. Going back fifteen years it was
right that the township should keep
up its own roads. We did not travel
far from the roads that we kept up.
There was not much travel in auto
mobiles. AS a result the three-mile
gravel road law was made.
Mode Of Travel Changed.
''Since that time. mode of transpor-
tation has changed. Our desires are
different. We will not tolerate the
roads now that we would then. Con-
ditions have changed and in order to
prove this / shall give you some data
that I have collected myself. Take
figures made in Iowa by the Iowa ag-
ricultural college. Eight highways
were used as examples. It was found
that three per cent Of the traffic on
those highways was tourist traffic
that is, people travelling from coast to
coast. Eighty-seven per cent original
ed in the cities and towns along those
highways, or state traffic and ten per
cent originated in the township which
constructed and maintained the roads
This is an indication that condi-
tons have changed to the point where
the township is too small to bear the
heavy burden any longer. The state
must have the roads and we must
have federal aid.
THE federal government realized
that it must help construct highways
for in 1916 it appropriated $S5, 900
for this purpose, Of which Indiana will
receive three per cent If she does as
the law provides. She must have a
highway commission. What the gov
eminent gives us must be spent on
construction alone and Indiana must
furnish as much money as the govern
ment gives her. We must have an
agreement with the federal govern.
ment to maintain the highways after
they are constructed for efficient
travel.
Is State Proposition.
Indiana has until June 80 to qualify
fer the money that is to be her appor-
tionment. If we meet all our qualifi-
cations We shall get three million dol
lars annually from the federal govern
ment.
Business lis badly disarranged and
the government is anxious to have a
large constructive and building pro-
gram as soon as possible to give work
to idle men. Several road bills are
being introduced into congress.
In Indiana it is state proposition.
IT is impossible to have good roads
under the present law, which does not
permit the state highway commission
to aid a township unless that town
ship asks for it, and the township
must furnish as much money as the
state. Along a highway then we are
going to have a good road through
some counties and poor ones through
other. The ten smallest townships in
the state are valued at one and one
quarter million and the ten largest at
51S,000,000. If we are to have con-
tinued good roads the big and wealthy
townships must help the small and
poor.
Provides for Commission.
after the old bill was declared con,
stitutional it was the idea to put all
CT the new bill into the old bill as
amendments. This was found to be
impossible and it was decided to in
troduce a new bill.
THE bill provides for a non-salaried
commission. director, and three divi-
sions, construction, maintenance and
auditing. The head of each division
will be responsible to the director, and
the director will be responsible to the
commissioners. Men employed in the
divisions must meet the approval of
the director.
1T provides that a system Of high
ways shall be laid out which shall
reach every county with town with
population of 5000 or more, which
means that every county shall have at
least two good highways. l believe
that it will take four or five years to
build this system, possibly eight.
There will be $500 miles of road TAX
en- over Immediately, costing $1,000
900 to maintain these.
There are three financial sources
for constructing and maintaining the
highways. They are the inheritance
tax. one mile tax, and the automobile
license tax. So far as l know there
are no objections to the first one, but
much opposition is being made to
changing the automobile tax. The au-
tomobile tax belongs to the state be-
cause SO per cent. of the traffic Is
state traffic. This tax cannot remain
where it is at any rate because bills
are now being introduced to change
1t. The money in the state highway
fund would be reverted to the com.
mission as provided for in this bill"
Following Mr.. Wright's talk gen.
eral discussion took place.