The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-02-28
County Assessment Is Not ON q
Smooth Road.
TRIED TO ELIMINATE FARMER
But Suggestion Did Not Go far
With the Senate.
Hint of a Plan to Tax Trucks
From Other States.

Senator Kyle, Of Dickinson county
chairman of the senate committee oh
roads and highways. furnished the ma
terials for the daily war in the senate
this morning when he secured consid-
Grafton. as an emergency measure, of
the automobile registration bill which
IS to supply the funds for the alleged
good roads bill which has passed the
two houses. providing for a highly
and none too eXpertly camouflagep
county road aid fund, known as the
state aid fund"
The bill 1evies a graduated tax Of
from IS to nearly $50 on automobiles
in the state. depending upon their
weight, to be used as a state road
aid fund" tho the money is kept in
the county and handled by the county
commissioners.
The bill came under fire at once.
Representative Jones of Lyon county
sat beside Senator Kyle during the dis
cussion. Jones is chairman of the
house roads committee and Kyle of
the senate committee.
Amendments began as soon as the
reading was started. The committee
had presented bill which would have
exempted the automobile trucks of the
farmers from the payment of any reg
istration fee whatever, and would have
levied the entire fee on the trucks
FUSED for commercial purposes"
Whether or not the committee thought
this was a bit too raw, as a sample of
class legislation or not, is doubtful
1t may have been that the difficulty
of getting it thru the senate was rec
ognized.
Remove Commercial Clause.
At any rate. Senator Kyle proposed
an amendment which removed the
words, used for commercial pur-
poses" The amendment was passed
with a unaninlity which spoke volumes
as to what would have happened to
the clause if the committee chairman
had not withdrawn it.
Senator d. A. n. Chase, of Linn
county succeeded in having passed an
amendment which permits an auto
mobile dealer to use a demonstration
tag on the car which he maintains ex-
clusiyely as a service car for the relief
of motorists in trouble.
Senator Gray. of Phillips county,
then wanted dealers TO pay an occu-
patton license of $25 for each make
of car they handle. instead of a flat
rate of $25, which the bill provides,
and which is an increase of $40 over
the present rate. The amendment was
lost.
When the entire bill had been read,
Senator Howard, of Cowley county,
rose to amend the clause which pro-
vides that the automobiles shall pay a
LAX Oh Genus peT-huIQTeQ pOu1lQS
of gross weight above 1000 pounds.
Senator Howard thought SO cents a
hundred pounds was enough.
Sarcastic With Bill.
He was supported in his views by
Senator Hegier, of Wichita, and SEN
ator Ridgway of Kansas City. Senator
Hegler declared that the title of the
bill should be IAN act to buy homes
and automobiles for county commits
sioners," since it places in the hands
of the commissioners for administra-
ton, some three and a half million
dollars, with road building laws passed
at the present session totally made
quate to provide for a road building
program which fits the amount of
money to be collected. Senator Ridg-
way declared that the tax which would
be levied against the automobile own
ers under the law is excessive, and
that it is unjust both to the man who
drives a small car and to the man who
drives a larger one, considering the
very limited return in the road i'm
provement which they might expect
under the present bodybuilding law.
An amendment proposed by tae
committee brought up some quick foot
work on the part of the members OF
the committee. The bill, as originally
, drawn, prohibited trucks with a car
rying capacity of more than five tons,
from using the highways of the state
at all. The committee was afraid
that this was unconstitutional, SO they
brought in an amendment this morn
ing fixing a tax of $500 a year on