Arizona republican., 1921-05-18
WEDNESDAY MORNING. MAY IS. 1921
ALI sOish to possess knoaOledge, bat fesc, comparatively speaking, are uilling to pay the price.
 .JuevendL.
Ths Tewnssnd Highway siII

Tho Townsend Highway Bill
 Tho revised Townsend federal highway bill uhscA vas introduced into the senate on April 20 ssts the objections the west entertained against ne or1rin., measure which 1t was contended ppposed to the purpose of federal highway lesisa- ucn in that it favored the populous and uualthy eastern and middle states to the dsadvan- hss Of the poorer and more sparsely settled west orn states.
 Theueh providing measure of cooperation be- ewssn the states and the federal government the original hin cooperation rather nominal giv hg to federal commission to be created. sole lAesity to the highways to be constructed Ii ans savs preference to the roads between states ovsr thoee within statea It did not provide for eeugfaphical representation in the commission of shrss memberA
 Tho new bill proposes commission of five mem beFs to appointed with due regard to fair rep rssoatation of tho geographical divisions Of the uniss6 states~ Not more than three members shall bsleng to the same political party. The first com uaudoneru shall appointed for terms ranging from ons to Ave years After that commissioners shall be 6ppednted for five years each and shau be reunov- abls only for cause. Commissioners during their ornu shall kaus other vocation but shall give thenselvss exclusively to earning their salaries of e1oooe each.
 An annual appropriation Of s1oo.oooooo is made r post roads and appropriation of $12,eoo.ooo = eorest The bill provides rigid regulations Or unaintenance of surfaced roads. thus complying with recommendation of the president in ad- 6ress to congress in joint session April F. in whieh he depored the waste of public money on esads which. constructed were left and doomed 0 GeterioEakion-
 esonry of agriculture -shan approve any project 6 any state until said shall provide fund ouafe for tho uaintenance federal roads, and by law shah place said maintenance work under tho direct control of the state highway department"
 If it is later brought to the attention Of the retary any federal aid road is being prop- erly maintained he shall notify the state highway department if within sixty days that notice is net acted the secretary shall thereafter refuse to approve any project construction within that state until the road complained of has been given attention. If ninety days elapse without ac- ton by the state highway department the secretary may proceed have the road put into proper share and the against the federal funds allotted to that state
 In the allocation of federal funds to the states there are taken into account the factors. of area popuiaon and the mileage of post they contain
 An important provision of the bill is the graduated scak formula, of special value to the wsstern states those in which public lands lie It provides that the federal shall bear half the of construction of federal projects 1n addition percentage of the estimated equal to half of the percentage of the unappropriated lands of the state of the total of the state. s table which has been prepared of the public land states shares of $10o worth on federal aid roads shows Arizona's be ss55o. The highest states share of any public land washingtor's e4S, and the lowest is Nevadas $11. interest 1ng to know that 1t the state engineer of Ne yada who chiefly instrumental in securing the inclusion of the graduated scale formula in the Fill
 This arrangement affords no federal money to the states in which public lands lie but enables them easily to match the federal aid funds alo- cated to them, something which they have al- ways been able to do A result has been that the of the states the federal aid which they could not absorb redistributed to wealthier states which could match them
 Thus. will the spirit federal aid legislation be carried out, system of real federal highways, bs established There be such system until its links constructed in the poorer states as wei in the wealthier
 We do not know what if any. amendments Have been will be offered to this bill. But there little doubt of its enactment There is surely enough interest in enough of the states pas,ag and it may be considered to have had in advance the approval of the president