Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1921-01-05
TO ATTACK AUTO
AND ROAD LAWS
Present Statutes to be Object OF
Legislative Revisionists When
5Iowa Legislature Meets.
SEVERAL CHANGES MAY
BE MADE THIS WINTER
Method For Handling Fees and Di-
vision of Auto Licenses May be
Brought About--Dealers i'm
Used Cars Seeking
Needed Relief

Used Cars Seeking
Needed Relief
Des Moines, lathe highway
law and the motor vehicle law as
passed by the Thirty-eighth general
assembly will without question re-
ceive much attention in the forth
coming session. Various amendments
and revisions are already being pro-
posed so that the Thirty ninth gen.
eral assembly probably will not be
unlike those of the past ten years in
the matter of giving prominence tc
highway legislation. Legislation af.
fecting these two laws already being
discussed f'includes the following:
Bill by Senator Perry C. Holdoe-
gel, of Rockwell City, providing fol
the keeping of automobile fees in
the county treasures instead OF
forwarding this money to the state
treasury.
Use of a portion of the automobile
fee money within the corporate lim-
its of cities rather than using it all
on the primary roads of the state
outside the cities. This plan is be-
ing advanced by Mayor Robert S
McNutt, of Muscatine.
Reduction in amount of license
fees required for trucks which con
Germs dealing in these machines
claim are excessive.
To provide that dealers in used
cars may operate under dealers
numbers.
These are scne of the proposed
bills which have already come t.
light and others are in prospect
Statutes of such far-reaching i'm
portance as the highway law ane
motor vehicle law naturally are due
for more or less revision after they
have been tried out for a while.
The work of road building just
the same as other construction work
has been hit hard by the high prices
and there has not been as much
paving done as was anticipated. Con
siderable paving is in prospect fol-
the coming season.
The state highway commission has
completed grading and draining Of
the primary roads in a number OF
counties and it is the intention to gc
forward with these improvement.
and complete the paving the com,
ing year if prices Of paving materia
and construction are not too high.
The state treasurer distributed thru
the highway commission more thar
So, 100000, in the automobile fund uI
to Dec. l., of this year and another
distribution is to be made this month
of the 1920 fees. The balance OF
hand in the state automobile func
on Dec l was $2,853,482.l
Senator HoldoegePs bill would pro
vide for the keeping of this automo
bile money paid in by the motol
owners to to the county treasurer,
in the home counties until it is re
Iquired for distribution.
Mayor McNutt, of Muscatine, ha.
addressed letters to the mayors o.
Iowa cities urging their cooperation
in securing legislation to use por
tion of these fees for city paving. HI
points out that in Muscatine county
sixty-five per cent of the automobiles
are owned by persons living within
the city of Muscatine and eighty-fvt
per cent of the mileage of these cars
| is within the city. Yet the fees these
motorists r1ass fas ave to BE used entirely
on roads outside the city as IS pro.
vided BY the present state law.
The truck manufacturers anc
dealers have contended from the
first enactment of the motor We
hicle law that fees were too high OF
trucks. The theory ON which tn,
solons worked however was that tn,
weight Of the trucks with theil
heavy loads caused much of the veal
and tear on the pavements and thai
they should therefore be taxed more
heavily than automobiles.
Dealers in used cars were given :
blow when the Supreme court recent.
~ held that they could not operate
Under the dealers numbers. This
therefore necessitates their registra,
tion Of the cars they have on hanc
before the first Of the year. An sd.
justment of this section of the law
will come before the, Legislature.
O-----
/ -.