Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-04-25
MR.. VALE THINKS TOWNSEND
ROAD MEASURE IS ADEQUATE
Colorado Representative Believes Present
Highway System Is Wasteful and De-
fective In Underl lying Theory

| - ~ AAA ~ AAN&S
That our present plan of highway
| construction and maintenance, while
possessing many good features. is de-
receive in it's underlying theory. and
is wasteful, was the statement made
by Representative William Vale of
Colorado in the House of Represent
auVes recently. Mr.. Wales conten-
ton is that the time is ripe for the
adoption of the better more logical
and more effective plan proposed by
the Townsend bill. which would es-
tab1ish federal highway commission
and national highway system.
Without denying that the Shake
ford plan was productive of some
benefits. and heartily approving the
more liberal provision of apportion-
ment contemplated at the Louisville
meeting of the state highway Off
Gals" said Mr.. Naile, Il am con-
! WINGED that the present plan is not
! productive of the benefits expected,
either to the federal government or
to the states and that better results
! to both can be accomplished with
small appropriations on the different
and in my Judgment. far superior
plan presented %. tne townsend plE.
Analyses Two Reasons.
! In support of this view Representa-
tive Eails shows that III al least two
principal respects the present plan
| has proved not conducive 10 lHe best
| interests of the state or the nation.
These he analyzes as follows.
% THE requirements OF equal APP
o.
! construction OF post roads prevent
! the proper main tenance OF other state
| roias and the development of tripu-
! tary roaas.
/ - state supervision of construc-
ton means a lack of that co-ordina-
| ton which is essential to The deve1-
opnient of truly national system.
| -tnalyzng the first IMITATION, MIR.
/ Naie points out that in his own state.
/! Colorado. federal aid has been concen-
, trated on SS2 miles of highway. Since
the state fund is only s245,000 more
! than the federal funds, the require
| ment of the dollar tor dollar APP
preparation by the state means that the
$1,000 miles of secondary highways are
entirely ignored. while there is still more
! than 5000 miles OF primary state roads
| left uncared for.
Stimulated Road Building.
served that the federal aid plan has, in
actual practive, apparently stimulated
! road building in an inferior rather than
a superior type of construction. re-
| port of the bureau of public roads for
| the year ending June 30, 1919. showed
that so per cent of all the mileage APP
| proved to date is of dirt, sand. gravel
or clay construction. If we assume this
type to be adequate. then per Sc the
| road is not of primary Importance since
! any highway carrying any considerable
| volume of traffic must be of durable
| type, according to all engineering au-
! thorities. If this type of construction
| is employed in roads of primary i'm
other states is necessarily neglected.
! From point of view. however, of
| developing through traffic and the feeder
| roads Of such traffic there is still more
| important objection, and that is that
| the state funds all tied up to tho less
valuable projects. and the general i'm
provoment of the states road system
| and its correlation to the system of
other states is necessarily neglected"
Since we have not developed, and
we are not likely to develop under the
federal aid plan. primary system of
highways. diversion of funds to second
airy roads is neither permissible nor
practicable. We have not in the United
States today one transcontinental high
way improved for it's full distance
Nothing in the federal aid act would
ever require the construction of any
such highway"
Becomes Current Expense.
THE mere fact that maintenance
from government funds is specifically
forbidden makes government expendi-
| ture current expense instead of an in
vestment
I'm western states maintenance is i'm
pOSSihIp because IF cf, 70,
funds is absorbed under the dollar for
dollar plan.
TN my judgment 1t would be great
mistake. for my own state at least, to
! accede to the further continuance of any
| plan of road financing. though some
| adaptations may and should be made
| from the present law IN view of the
! peculiar situation of the public land
| states.
In developing the second point.
| Mr.. Vale says: The project in which
the state is interested are inevitably
those which viii best serve it's own
needs. though for the reasons already
suggested. the state needs are al best
poorly served under the present sys-
TEN. Where state highway depart
ments retain final authority to select
the roads which shall be improved
even though such selection must have
j government approval. it does not in
Nolve any change Of narrow minded
ness or SectionaliSm against the state
highway comm ssioner to point out
| that he is sure to consider interstate
I ahead of interstate needs. The latter
/ concern him only when they are
| Identical with or subservient u The
needs of his own state. That is his
( buSiness-to look after the road needs
of his own state first.
! Il am firmly of the opinion that in
/ stead of tying the hands of the fed
; eral government by permitting con-
struction of roads necessary to the
| national business and che national
defense to remain subject to the Sc
! lection and supervision of state au-
thorities. and Instead of tying up state
funds to the construction of dislocated
projects and to their entire main
/ tenance when constructed, we should
! concentrate our national funds on
/ both the construction and main
/ tenance of great through arteries of
! travel that we should. indeed, spend
/ the national funds with a sense
of Just proportion between the sew
/ eraI states and particularly with
sense Of the federal obligation to
those states which have great areas
of public and withdrawn lands, but
] that the application of the state funds
should not be coerced either to the
/ construction or the maintenance of
such great through arteries.
used for state Roads.
! The state funds should be released
for the primary and secondary state
roads, the local roads. which are to
feed these through arteries. | hope
shall not be misunderstood as adj
vocating diminution of federal APP