The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-01

tion indicate that during -s2o more m-
 tor trucks will be sold in Alabama than in any previous year.
 The Corbitt truck has for nine years
 10 Dc used in building roads, and when l these bonds become due they will be
 paid eff with the money from the sale ol motcr vehicle licenses left after ray
 ing the interest on the bonds.
 If you should vote against the bond issue 1t will not take off the tax If you
 vote for it. it is a guaranty shs,t motor vehicle license will never be increased
 NO other tax has been levIed for this purpose on any person or on any other kinG or property in the state. This is
 the chance for those who walk who ride
 norses or use buggies and wagors to make the owners of automobiles pay
 Tor the road over which they drive. Will yoa let this opportunity go by? Let me illustrate and these are ac-
 tual figures l am giving you: How the ponds Will be issued and paid off when
 they become due: $2.000,000 of bonds VIII be sold in 1920. These bonds are 10 bear Interest at the rate of per cent per year; the interest on $2.o00. 0oo at
 per cent will be $10O,000. A little while ago I stated that the state will receive this year from automobile li-
 
 say that the license will amount to $S0OO OO0 because there has been already issued more tags for cars than were is- sued in the whole of 191S-1919 Set aside slV',Vuo of this amount to pay the inter- est on the $2,000, ,000 bonds and if leaves sS0O,O00 in hand. Set aside another sloOO0o to keep up the roads which S2,000,000 will build
 PROVISION FOR eMAINTEN ANCE
 n ona mistake of the past to build roads and then not keep them up. But when these roaos are built they will be kept in ap- pie pie order the year around They will DC better 20 years after they are built man they were when first completed. lhls will leave, then, $70, 900 of the au- fomobtle license money. This money VIII De loaned to the banks of the state paying the best interest on it. It will be loaned only to those banks which arc oeclareo safe by the state superintend- ent oE banks l
 IS believed that the number of au- | tono2lles will increase 10 per cent in | number for the next 2 years This be- l lief i5 based on the fact that for the | past eight years the number of automo- | niies In Alabama has increased yearly | at Ire rate Of 3S per cent. This estimate IS not above. but far below the actual | rate which the increase will be. For in- | stance, the number of motor vehicles for IslS 10 1920 if 40 per cent more than from 1918 to 1919. At 10 per cent rate or increase there will be s9O0, 900 from motor licenses coming into the state in l21e From this amount there will be set aside s200000 to keep up the roads punt with $4,000,o00. and $2o0, ,0oo to pay interest on $4,000,000. This will leave s5o,00o on hand for 1920. By 1924 there will have been accumulated from this Innd enough money to take up s3oOO.- DUO Of bonds for each year thereafter there will be enough money on hand to pay off s1 900, 900 of bonds and all of the bonds will be paid off in 21 years.
 The people throughout the state want to know, and they have right to snow. two things connected with these bends: First, what assurance have 'hey thattheir county will get it's part 'f The money. Second, what guaranty s there that the money will not be 'tolen, misused or squandered We have ms assurance, that our county will get ts full share of the money. The law governing these bonds. and you will see | on the ballot when it comes up for 'ote IS; The state highway commission mall locate, construct and maintain the highways so as to connect each countyl eat with the seat of the adjoining ounties by the most direct and most easible route by permanent road iaving due regard to the public welfare nd to connect the county seats of the eyeral border counties at or near the tate linA with public road in the bor- Ter state. This makes it compulsory o build roads in all the counties of the tate.
 PEOPLE ARE REPRESENTED
 The state highway commission is omposed of twelve men, no two of 'hom can come from the same section the state. Each congressional dis ricts In the state is represented by al ,ember of this board. It is not con eivable that any man on this commis- ion would sit idly by and see his sec on or the state lose it's part of the toney. Now as to the guaranty thatI nc money will not be wasted, misused r stolen: Every safeguard which ex- erience can suggest or that human in- entity can devise has been thrown round the safeguarding of this money ot one cent of it can be drawn out of le treasury of Alabama without ths pproval of the governor. The state lditor has to draw his warrant for lis money before even the governor 'uld touch it. The contracts for the lilding of these roads are to be let to le lowest and best bidder. The ac- 'unts are to be gone over by the 13 l embers of the highway commission I'd the state engineer.
 All persons handling this money are ider heavy bonds. You must not think at any member of the highway com ission or that any one else connected lth the handling of this money can t his hands on it. When the bonds e sold. the money is to be placed in c treasury of Alabama. When Ala ma gets through going over all of e accounts of f~the money spent on it's ads. Washington. through its officials. es over these accounts again. so that there has been any of the money mis- ed or stolen. the person at fault is re to be found out His bondsmen II, be called upon to make this money od-"