Vashon Island news-record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1919-1954, 1920-10-21
From Auto Club of Western
Washington
(COntributed)

The small home owner, the tax
paying farmer, or in fact anyone
paying taxes on real estate or
personal property need not worry
about any increase in taxation if
Referendum No. !, commonly
known as the Carlyon Road Bill,
is adopted by the voters at the
general election November 2, ac-
cording TO the Automobile Club of
Western Washington, which has
made a thorough and expert study
of the measure.
This bill provides for bonding
the automobile license fees Of the
state and with the money raised,
pave 1916 miles Of state highway,
This bond issue has nothing to do
with taxation; neither will the
motor ear license fees be raised,
as the legislature has fixed them
so that they will yield sufficient
revenue to pay the principal and
interest on the bonds.
The only thing the people Of
Washington are asked to do in
this bill is to loan the credit of
the state to the road paving pro
gram. The motor car owners will
pay all the costs and present the
taxpayers, free Of charge, with
one Of the best highway systems
in America, according to the auto
club
The reason the motor vehicle
owners are asking for a bond issue
is so that the roads may be paved
on scientific, comprehensive,
definite system and so that this
improvement may be made now
rather than waiting for a genera,
ton or two. Under the present
road constructing and paving plan
in this state in would take some
counties through which the pro,
posed paved system would pass,
to pave their share Of the high,
ways upwards Of GO years. It is
estimated that under the referen,
dun No. | plan the road system
would be paved in six years.
How The taxpayers will benefit
by the passage of Referendum
No. ! is indicated by the fact
that road maintenance will be re.
duced by 100000 a year, because
of the lower cost of upleep OF
paved roads as compared with dirt
or gravel highways. At present
Washington taxpayers are paying
$lO7S,000 a year just to maintain
the highway system.
To cut the cost of maintaining
state highways and to eliminate
the necessity of re-surfacing them
every three or four years is ex,
actly what will be accomplished
if Referendum No. ! is adopted,
says the automobile club. As paw.
ed mileage increases, maintenance
cost decreases. Because of this
indisputablc fact, more money
would be released every year for
the maintenance or construction
Of other roads if the trunkline
state highway system as proposed
in Referendum No. is paved. BY
reducing the upleep cost on the
proposed system, funds would be
released automatically for road
work within the counties.
1t is estimated that the auto
mobile license fees will yield 49,
100000 a year, while She annual
installments payable on the bonds
will be 81, 100000 and if the total
bond issue is needed the interest
will amount to about 100000, so
the annual revenues will be ample
to take care Of the payments and
leave surplus for road mainte-
nance.
Because the motor car revenues
are ample to take care of the bond
issue it is declared by the auto
mobile club it will not be neces-
sary to call upon the taxpayers
for a cent of money to make this
Improvement.