Evening star., 1921-02-06
|OVERRECULAT|ON
BRINGS PROTEST
Transportation World Says
Industry Must Not Be
Hamstrung by Laws.

The motor transport industry must
not be hamstrung by iniQuitous reg
ulation laws. says an editorial in
Transportation World. There are
forty-eight states in our American
Union, and each state passes different
regulations under which motor trans
portation must be operated. In other
words. we have "forty-eight varieties"
of motor-truck laws-some of them
SO drastic and ill-advised that the
very backbone of one of the four
great transportation systems is in
danger of being paralyzed. In one
state the license fee for operating a
motor truck for one year may be IS.
while in another state 1t may jump
into the hundreds. The officials OF one
state appreciate the Importance. of
motor transportation and seek to tax
1t only to such an extent as IL abso-
luteiy necessary, while in another
state the screws are clamped on the
owners and operators OF motor trucks
without a thought or care as to
whether the producer and the con-
sumer suffers or not
The officials of half of the states in
the American Union are SO far behind
the times in thought energy that the
motor truck proposition is to them an
unknown factor in the business and
home life affairs of the people Of the
states which these officials govern.
The big side Of the motor truck idea.
and the amazing progress 1t has made
In the last few years. are as Greek to
the officials Of some of the states. BY
the same token many state officials
are working upon the theory that
motor trucks destroy the. highways.
These officials keep their eyes glued
to small patch of wornout or badly
constructed highway bed, and in their
spirit Of narrowness they never OBJ
serve the part the motor truck Is
playing in the continuous develop
ment of industry and commerce-yes,
and Of good roads and agricultural ex-
pansion as well.
Value IntO Millions.
In some Of the states. the yearly
value of manufactured products runs
into many hundreds Of millions: the
weekly pay rolls in some OF the states
amount to millions upon millions, and
in some of the states hundreds of
thousands Of men and women would
and the commercial houses to close
down. In some of the states none of
these facts appear to impress the Of
ficiak or legislators who make and
enforce the license fee regulations
govern geyerning motor motor truck operation;
they are white" appears to be the
motto that is being followed in some
Of the states generally known for
their spirit of progressiveness on all
subjects save one-that of motor
transport.
Every dollar that is unnecessarily
added to the motor truck license fee
must come from the pockets of con-
sumers. And who are the consumers?
Are they not the people who produce
and consume? Isn't it time that the off,
cials of some of the states throw of the
yoke Of prejudice. and isn't 1t time that
some Of them became better acquainted
with what has happened in the motor
transport field since motcr trucks
played SO important a part in bring
ing to close the greatest Of all world
wars?
Added to Price.
No state can enact unjust or ex-
cessive motor truck license fee laws
without adding to the price the pro-
ducer pays for materials and to the price
the consumer pays for finished products.
No state official can longer ignore the
fact that the motor truck has become
an integral part of the general scheme
of transportation. Motor transporta-
tion is today one of the four great
arteries pumping lifeblood into the
nations business. and the motor truck
is dovetailed into the business affairs
carriers and the electric traction in
dustry SO closely that even hampering
laws cannot destroy its recognized ef-
ficiency. From now on let the watch
words of all state officials be Let us
encourage and make safe motor trans
port service"
The officials Of those states which
have enacted license fee laws only
sufficient to produce a reasonable rev
enue are to be congratulated upon
their wisdom-upon their ability to
realise that the more motor TRANSPORT
is encouraged. the better it will be for
producers and consumers from the
viewpoint of economics. 1t is inter-
esting to note that the states which
desire the motor transport idea to
keep on expanding. not only REQUIRE
II reasonable license fee, but spend
money literally in the construction
and maintenance OF improved high
ways. The prosperity Of the people
OF every state depends entirely upon
the prosperity that prevails among
industrial, commercial and agricul-
tural interests. and the state that rec
ognizes in high-grade motor transport
service the solution of short haul
transportation problems. Is laying the
foundation for general prosperity
among it's neop1e