The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-10-10
SEEKS TO FORM
JOINT SOUTHERN
HIGHWAY PLAN
Chairman Of Chamber Of Com
merCe Good Roads Commit
tees Opposes Townshend
Bill Highway Program.

-" highway TIU9l 0ttts
Organization of the state bighwa,
commissions and other ~roadbufidlng IN
terests In the 10 Southern states for
the purpose OF co-ordinating their road.
puildlng programs for the benefit Of
.nLerstate transportation, will be at
yeihPted at a meeting which Thomas
{. hlhs, chairman of the chamber Of
commerce good roads committee, homes
20 mold in Memphis early In November
| a Cali TO the meeting will soon be sent
throughout the South.
There are three fundamental things
when Mr. King hopes to bring about
by such an organization:
7 proper linking OF trunk highways
ting states.
Uniformity Of construction.
E~Apeuitlon Of the movement Of ma
t1rials for road building and he secnr-
ing oI sufficient railroad equipment for
interstate n state TRANSPORTATION uf
materials through organized petition
10 the railroad administration.
The time has gone" MIR. King de-
CARED Friday morning when discussing
!ho coming meeting, "when a state can
build; roads without considering its
neighbor states, With the development
Of motor-driven vehicles Interstate traf-
nc on public highways isS becoming
quite as Important as II is on rail-
roads and waterways. Roads can no
longer be built to serve. a small number
oi persons, but must be built with the
ldea or serving the largest number Be-
cause Of this, | believe the states Of
the South ought to get together to map
out a Joint road building program,
which VIII demonstrate that states can
work together in the building OF high
ways TO the advantage of ALL
May Lose Federal Aid.
II the Southern states do not demon
strate that they can do This. Mr.. King
is OF the opinion that the Townshend
Din viii be passed by the Federal con
gress n ultimately result in the
southern states losing q, great deal of
Iedefal ard IN road building which they
might get II II is not passed.
The Townshopd till provides for the
creation Of a Federal Highway com
mission composed OF five men, not more
thai three Of whom shall be from any
! one political party, with power to lay
cut and construct interstate and trans
continental roads and to regulate traF-
ticAon these roads, Under this bill the
federal government would no longer
assist the states In building roads, but
would carry out its wi road projects
as 4 does its waterways improvements,
and the states would get no help and
have no rights in the matter. except
/ RtNi h1 II iTANEai koNtIifIltll p Gbi~
eeded. According TO the governments
rules and regulations some states have
federal highways projected through
their territory and thus benefit by the
plan. while others might get nothing.
Mr.. King Athlnks the Southern states
would come nearer getting nothing
han the states Of any other section.
The T~ownshend bin provides that the
federal highway commission shall build
as many as two highways across zach
state" Mr.. King said, but does not say
how many more II may build across
other states, thus leaving a great lee
way there for favoritism II the commits
sioners so desired. You find that in the
method Of apportioning the federal high
way funds the states might be very UNI
Just and inequitahle to many states that
BY virtue OF geography. topography and
population would be very much operated
against. II provides In the first place
that one-third of the highway moneys
shall be apportioned according to area
second, one-third according to popula-
ton, and, third, the balance according
to public highways constructed: the
mileage OF highways to be determined
by certain reports that are In the hands
q tho United states agricultural de-
partment received in 1914 or 1915
Thus small thickly populated northern
or eastern states might get more mile
age OF federal highways than the large
comparatively thinly populated South
ern states And, too, the fact that some
or the Southern states had not pro-
crossed as far In road building as the
states OF other sections, would mitigate
against the South. 1T seems to me"
MIR. King continued. that In this bill
there Ia too much power vested In the
federal commissioners In giving them
the right to build more highways In GER
tain sections than others II they desired
a. ..1 LaEt NIat 4A.E-. AnA -
communities to the hurt OF others, My
Interpretation of the bill gives power to
the federal highway commission to take
over for federal highways certain high
ways through certain states that may
have been built by their state highway
commissioners out of state funds and
reimburse the state treasury for the
amount of money expended in the build
ing of said highways. This would give
them the right to increase the funds
greatly In the states that have already
built highways, and take from those
states which had not been so fortunate
nor 80 progressive as to have built these
| highways
The Townshend bin IL receiving great
favor in the North. East and West. Mr..
King said. There are over 600 com-
mercial and semlcommercial and social
organizations In the United States that
have approved this bill, most of these
DRbNE IN Ine NOFlH, i've Ntuuis w OhA dIiu
western sections Of the United States, :
Mr.. King Ia afraid, too, that the han
ding OF highway improvements, In so
far as the federal government IN con :
cerned, might become a ''pork barrel
proposition, Just az waterways improve
ments Have. This would be bad for the
South, he thinks, as already there
seems to be d tendency upon the part Of
nan Of our leaders In the advocacy Of
better highways. especially Ia the North
and East. to get ADVANTAGE over the
South In highways LEGISLATION
THE principle underlying the estah-
lishment OF a federal highway commits
sion may be good to a limited degree
nv. King ot Included. but when such ali
solute power Is conferred MS In the
Tawnshend bill, we are very much
afraid OF the outcome In so far as our
section OF the country Is concerned, We
do not mean by this to he extremely
sectional, but we do think that we
should take care OF our interests and do
not censure men of the North and East