Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-01-21
AND SPEED
MUST BE REGULATED,
GRAIN DECLARES
Head of Vehicle license Department
Receives Many Complaints From
Over State.

Bismarck, N. D., Jan. 21.-"Either
this or some other department should
be given authority n power by the
legislature to regulate and enforce
speed and headlight laws" said f.
P. Grain, chief of the motor vehicle
registration department, when asked
what his Office would ask of the pres
ent legislative assembly.
1--WE get letters every day asking
what speed limit is Legal, and we have
hundreds of complaints on the i'm
proper use of automobile glazing
headlights. Towns and villages and
cities at present set their own speed
limits, ranging from six to a courteous
be reasonable sign at the city limits.
Fifteen miles an hour is certainly rea-
sonable. With eight miles as a speed
limit, it is practically ignored, but with
fifteen miles an hour it could be en-
forced.
w are not making any requests
OF the legislature for special laws. but
some provision should be made for
enforcement of statutes re.ating to au-
tomobiles other than that on collec-
ton of license money" said Mr.. Grain.
Say Fec Too High.
MANY people think the North Da-
kota automobile license fee is too
high" according to MI. Grain, land
comparisons are constantly made with
the Minnesota fee OF IS for three
years. However, in Minnesota all cars
are listed as personal property and
taxes are assessed against them as
such, and as a matter of fact, the Min
esota a pays more to the state for
operating his car than does the North
Dakota man."
o the matter of glazing head
lights, there are few officers anywhere
who have the equipment to tell wheth-
er a bulb is the legal four candlepow-
err which may be used without n
special diffusing lense, and there are
a headlight SO hat the beam at Is
feet is not more han forty-two inches
above the road. Glaring headlights
. cause more accidents at night than
any other cause
How about the horse-drawn We
hicles?" he was asked.
Would Light All Vehicles.
which would make all traffic carry
lights of some kind at night"
The motor vehicle registration de-
partment will not raise the fees this
| year.. it was stated. Under the pres
, ent system the basic fee is determined
by charging ten cents per horsepower.
"1lANIl III IAN CASS " ~ VIZ ""atN w
$2.25. The new Ford touring car
weighs approximately 1900. pounds
and a charge Of 20 cents per hundred
| weight is made or $500 more. Then
five mills additional is charged on the
purchase price, which using the
word as an example, costing $50,
would be an additional S2.25, a total
of So.
Some agitation was started for the
:, or f tl,> r,tr e., = mills IN
the argument that it would more
nearly make the taxes on automobile
property pay h same taxes as like
amount of money invested in land or
buildings. There is no special need
for this increase and the North Da-
! kota citizen is already taxed heavily
enough. why make him pay more for
what enjoyment he a get out of mo-
toring, is the attitude OF the officers.
Fewer Motorcycles.
According to the officials Of the de-
partment n total of S691. 500 in IL
! cense fees was collected during tho
year 1920. This vas an increase OF
s54,65S over 1879. While automo-
losing their interest for gasoline fans.
In 1917 there were 1894 motor bikes
licensed and last ear but $40.
There were very few cars which
were not licensed last year, according
to E. P. Grain. These were in i'm
poverished districts where crop fail
ures mad it hard for even a whole
family to scrape~ together enough
money to legally tag the old jitney.
Costs of operation of he depart
ment in the last two years and a half
were $3.50, 9S4.60,; of which ~$53,644.41
went to the manufacturers of the tags
which in. 1919 cost $22,4l1.67: in
1920, :$~17,152.74, and this year will
cost approximately $4,000.
The biggest days business of the
department was on May 13, 1920,
when receipts were s21.4OS.10. On
that and the preceding day 5,400 tags
were mailed to purchasers.