The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-08-04
AUTO LICENSE FEES
run INTO MILLIONS
] Reports from Office of Secretary of
State Show That in Ten Years
Large Sums are Elk
pended.
$1,000, GOO THIS YEAR
Lee County Has 1890 Vehicles and
License Fees Amount to
$4,000, According
to Report.
$1,000, COO THIS YEAR

s5 Iowa has collected SD,Olo,9i5.1;
In license fees from 1911 to July 10
1920 a period of ten years, from
& owners of autos, trucks, and motor
vehicles that ply the highways Of
the state
During that period of time, Iowans
have purchased 3S4,717 more gasoline
md electric motor vehicles than they
had in 1911. Up to July Is, 1920
iowans had registered 414,7S6 motor
vehicles while in 1911 they registered
and paid license fees for only 3O,O6s
motor vehicles.
Collections for 1920 by Walter
Ramsay, secretary of state, from
owners of motor vehicles, will be ap-
proximately $7,0O0,000, when delin-
quents are rounded up, and the 4S4,,
600 license plates purchased by the
state issued to owners of motor
vehicles used for business and plea
sure purposes. The 1920 collections
to date are s6,7O9.361.07 and 414,7S6
license tags for 1920 have been ap-
pended to motor vehicles.
The 1920 collections are hitting the
high mark They are practically
double the 1919 collections when
l$3,077, 1851 was paid into Ramsay's
office. The 1920 fees by comparison,
show to be one-third of all license tag
collections for period of time be-
tween 1911 and 1920 or ten years.
They are three times as great as
the collections for 1917 and 1918 and
-four times more than the 1910 and
1916 collections respectively. r'or
1911, 1912, 1918 and 1914, the state
collected $2,335,S54 in motor license
H ha
being three times more than the
amount collected during that period
when autos putting along the high
ways sent frightened horses scamper-
ing into ditch or field.
Auto Trade Barometer.
The rapid rise of the automobile
Industry is marked throughout Stats
tics gathered in Ramsay's office. BY
means of comparison, one can trace
the years when pleasure and business.
cars fell into the high tide of popu-
lar approval, and Old Dobbin sent out
to pasture. incidentally tables OF
comparison show that the state has
obtained from motor vehicle owners,
vast sums of money, nine-tenths of
which at this time goes into the state
highway fund.
That this fund is needed for high
way building, is shown by Edwin
Gose, deputy state auditor, who with
one girl assistant last Saturday, wrote
checks for $250,000 on the motor TAX
fund, at the request of the state high
way engineer. Gose predicts tnaI
within another year, two voucher
clerks will be needed in the state
auditors Office to handle the checks
and vouchers drawn on the auto tax
fund for highway improvement.
This is Just one part Of state bust
ness, of which the general public has
but passing knowledge i
The auto license and motor vehicle
tax bids fair to be one Of tic big
revenue producers for the state of
Iowa. AS practically the whole
amount collected goes into highway
building, bridge improvement, and
lateral roads, taxpayers are watching
the expenditure Of this vast sum and
asking to know more about its COZ
lection.
Polk County Leads.
In the table printed herewith, Polk
county leads in collections, having
forwarded s33o,7S2.43 to the secretary
of state. Woodbury. comes second
with 1922, 745.42; Scott is third with
SIZE 81; Linn is fourth with lis
s16S ,SS2.13; Black Hawk fifth. send
ing in s152,456S1 up to July IS of
this year.
The state began registration Of
motor vehicles in 1911, on an annual
license fee basis Since that time,
and down to the present, the plates
issued annually and fees collected are
as follows: