Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-24

Ihe motor vehicle license needs nt
de1ense. 1t is a universal practice. We
propose to base our license on weight
because this connotes the destructive
FACTOR on the road. Horse power has
no relation, or very little, to this fac
tor; investigation shows that weight
q impact are the chief factors ir
causing road deterioration.
"A tax on gasoline gets nearer to
lndlcatlng the use of the road thar
anything else. 1t indicates weight as q
beaver car uses more gasoline than 9
ugat one. 1t indicates mileage travelled
for an obvious reason, and for the
same reason, speed.
The valuation tax is a common
method of taxation-the taxes being
based on the value assessed against
the owner. Motor vehicle owners are
laying this tax in Wisconsin, but it is
not going into the road fund and they
would sooner have it go there.
mUnder the plan proposed, our funds
Will increase from year to year as
the number of motor vehicles increase
n co-ordinately road expenditures in
crease with the increase in the road
traffic. To sum up the major users
of the road the motor vehicle owners
Will pay a fair share of the expendi-
lure which they cause.
Situation in Montana
From the little knowledge I have
Cleaned recently, you have a bad prob
lem before you in the road situation
in this state. You have a state system
of roads without any state funds to
build them. You have no state funds
to meet the federal aid and recently
a,a 81 Onh mn -G fa.-e1 - L. A.
izing the funds on the Indian reserva-
to match the federal fund. This is an
anomalous situation.
You have another anomalous situa-
ton in the fact that the $4,000 motor
cars in Montana are paying somewhat
over S550,0OO in license fees, half of
which goes to the counties, and one
half to the state highway department.
But the state highway department is
not permitted to utilize any of these
FINDS for construction or maintenance,
but only for overhead or administra-
ton. 1t is not all needed for that
purpose. What justification can be
conjured up for not permitting the use
of motor license funds for road on
~struction or maintenance-in a word.
for the benefit of the people who pay
the licenses. None whatsoever that /
can see.
tax on gasoline, part of which goes to
the general fund and part to the school
fund, ! can find no justification for
this practice in the two dominating
theories of t~axation-the theory of the
ability to pay, or the benefit theory.
No one can claim that the motor We
hiele owners can be segregated in a
class as those better able to pay taxes.
No one can claim that the motor We
hicIe owners are especially benefited
by your school system. If there is any
justification for a gasoline tax it is
on the grounds that the proceeds shall
be used for road improvement and thus
those who pay the tax are getting the
benefits.
Another practice in Montana which
is contrary to the general rule is that
in levying taxes for rural highway i'm
proyemeuts the municipalities are not
required to pay a share. The city
of Chicago pays one-third of the high
leyies collected in the state of IL
linois. The city of Milwaukee pays
one-fifth of the taxes in Wisconsin and
S5 per cent Of the taxes in Milwaukee
county.
.The average city. especially in a
country like this. is merely the clear
inghouse through which the country
producer operates. Around every city
is a zone of trade, defined by the con-
dition of the roads. Improve the roads
and the zone of trade is greatly en-
Improved rural roads is adj
ding to the population Of the cities.
1t is a business proposition for the
city to assist in building rural high
WAYS. Shut off the rural schools from
the average city in the state. and it
would ~stagnate and grass would grow
in the streets. You viii say that YOU
build your city streets and the farm
ers should build the country roads. The
out in the rural districts are used
wholly by the farmer and paid
for BY him. The use of your streets
is almost wholly by the people living
the city and the streets are
paid for by them. The main rural ar
teries are a joint traffic media and
be paid fir Jointly. How many
motor vehicles would there be IN this
city today if they were not permitted
to use the rural highways. Not 10
per cent of those you have. They are
bought for rural highway use
and they should contribute to build
the roads for which they create a de- ,
mand and which they tend to destroy.
Conclusion
"In conclusion let me say that Mon
tana is in the<same position that Wis
ronsin was agriculturally 30 years ago
and in the road movement, 10 years
ago. Your state is a vast empire. Its
lay is coming.
AT the close of the Civil war things
we're in bad condition in Wisconsin.
We had been a great wheat growing
dependent on largely n crop
md our soil was becoming exhausted.
we had men Of leadership and
developed the spirit of teamwork
ind we had a great university with
They set about to make Wis
,onsin a dairy state. The movement
in 1872 and went over the top in
1912, and since then we have been
.oing forward by leaps and bounds.
Let me cite some facts that leader
hip and teamwork and education have
lone. We have today the greatest
larry state in the union. Our dairy
'utput runs to 0,O00,o 600 a year,
more than all the silver and gold mined
n this country. We have in Wiscon-
in $3.50 cheese factories, 762 cream
ries and 81 condenseries. Our 1000
700 dairy cows produce every year
5000. O00. 900 pounds of milk--25.0 00,-
100 pounds a day, 10000 600 an hour.
6,666 pounds a minute, and 80 II
POUNDS at every tick Of the clock. We /
311,OoO 900 pounds of cheese
war vnl,aa mr. cDn 000 000. 1n5 n0O FL