Evening star., 1920-05-20
A. A. A. CONFERENCE
ASKS D. c. HEADS
TO REPAIR ROADS
Believes Revenue From Auto
Owners Should Be Used
for Highways.

Believing that the revenue collect
ed from automobile owners should be
used for the maintenance of the
streets and roads in the District of
Columbia and that a weight and
horsepower basis for taxation should
be substituted in place of the present
method of horsepower and valuation.
the District committee on better
roads at a meeting today in the rooms
of the A. A. A., adopted a resolution
urging the Commissioners to take i'm
mediate action for the improvement
of the highways IN Washington.
The resolution will be presented to
the Commissioners at a hearing to be
held in the boardroom of the District
building Monday morning at IL
o'clock.
Text OF Resolution.
The resolution follows:
"The owners of passenger autos and
motor trucks in the District of CO.
1umbia are annually paying substan-
tial taxation on their vehicles on
basis of horsepower and valuation.
The money thus raised is placed
in the general funds of the District
of Columbia, without reference to
highway maintenance and street re-
pair.
Therefore, the organizations rep
resented on this committee petition
Columbia to urge Congress to provide
whatever funds may be necessary for
the immediate repair of the follow
ing roads:
from Good Hope road. Anacostia. to
the Maryland state line. four miles:
Good Hope and Naylor roads, from
Nichols avenue to Maryland state
line. one and three-quarter miles:
Pennsylvania avenue southeast and
TO
nue. to Maryland state line. two miles;
Benning road northwest and Central
avenue to Maryland state line, two
and one-half miles; Minnesota and
Dean avenues and Dix street, from
Benning road to Maryland state line.
burg road, from 18th and n streets
northeast to Maryland state line.
three miles; Rhode Island avenue.
from 18th street to Maryland state
line, one and one-half miles; Bunker
Hill road, from Harewood road to
Maryland state line, one and three
quarter miles; Rock Creek Church
road and Riggs road. from Georgia
avenue to Maryland state line, two
and one-half miles; Georgia avenue,
from Rock Creek Church road to Crit
tenden street, and from Military road
to Maryland state line. two and one
quarter miles; Blair road. from Riggs
road to the Maryland state line. two
miles. and 18th street and Alaska
avenue, from Columbia road to
Georgia avenue and the Maryland
state line, three and three-quarter
Three~ 2AaAs IN Northwest. ~sSsss
30 the northwest there are three
main roads, two Of which connect with
the Maryland state system and one
with the Virginia system. They are:
Connecticut avenue from about Ma
of "a ChAvv Chaaa Cfrcla a
Maryland line. two and one-hah miles;
Wisconsin avenue from NJ street to
Maryland state line; Potomac avenue
and Canal road from AQueduc bridge
to Chain bridge. to its connection with
the Virginia line.
I'm addition to these suburban
roads connecting with important
thoroughfares in Maryland and Viz
ginia, there are two streets in the
District which are paved at present
with Belgian blocks and which are
in a very unsatisfactory condition.
These streets are: Fourteenth
street from about B street northwest
to the end of Long bridge. where it
connects with the Virginia system.
and 1fth street southeast from about
PENNSYLVANIA avenue to the Anacostia
bridge"
1t was brought out that at the pres
ent time there are, approximately,
forty miles of suburban roads which
pTODdO1y as IdTSc d VOluHne Ol
traffic per foot of width as any of the
main streets in the city proper. 1t
was urged that these highways be
paved with cement, concrete or sheet
asphalt, with a width of at Last twen-
ty-four feet.
Concrete and Asphalt Compared.
Figures were submitted to show
that the present cost of concrete roads
. in the District of Columbia is about
$4,000 per mile, with a width of
twenty-four feet. and about $4,000 a
mile with sheet asphalt, or a total
cost of concrete, for the forty miles.
Of 8, 100000. or for sheet asphalt,
The new system of motor taxation,
as advocated by the committee, will
bring in an annual return of $s17,-
600. according to figures. while at
are paying in the neighborhoood of
100000 a year. with only about
$2oo.ooo being appropriated by Con-
Eress Tor the upkeep of the roads.
IN other words. the new system
will bring in $4,000 more revenue
than the old one, and will be used for
the maintenance and repair of the
District of Columbia roads
Ihe present horsepower tax on
automobiles in the District of Colum-
bia is badly graded into three widely
separated classifications," said A. &;
Batchelder, executive chairman of
the A: A. A.. in addition to which
poorly collected personal property
tax.
Furthermore the money thus OH
tanned from these two sources goes
into the general funds of the District
of Columbia and thus becomes dis
associated with road and street main
tenance and repair. Valuation of an
automobile under the personal prom
erty tax is variable and unscientific
m to
at ALL OF necessity there Is more or
less guesswork and downright inius-
uce in many cases.
Can Combine Two Taxes.
Congress can combine the present
two taxes into a single tax, either Nv
increasing the charge per horseDower
or by dividing the amount charged at
so much per horsepower and each
100 pounds OF gross weight.
THIS pian would mean a quite sub
stantial increase over present rates,
and because of this fact it should he
in lieu of personal property tax.
Since the fundamental of vehicle
taxation has to do with the use of
roads and streets. a fee based on
horsepower and weight seems at
present to be the best workable plan
cit would be present-day practice
that the money raised from vehicular
taxation be credited to the funds for
construction of the thoroughfares in
the District of Columbia.
'As long as this patchwork and
piecemeaI method of providing funds
for suburban roads is pursued by Con-
gress. just so long will the roads re-
main in an unsatisfactory condi ton
The roads are apt to get worse in
stead of better as time goes on. for
the traffic is increasing at an enor-
nous rate.