The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-02
MIR. CRAFT ON HIGHWAYS

MIR. CRAFT ON HIGHWAYS
 There is no more staunch, respected or widely known advocate of goot roads in the South than State Senator John Craft of Mobile. All who know him or of him are convinced that hi efforts are absolutely unselfish anc that his ideals for roads are high. H. is the author of Alabama's highway amendment and of Alabama's highway code. Perhaps no other man in the entire state worked so long or SC zealously, certainly not so successfully for the passage of laws enabling the state to undertake highway program Therefore, his letter in an adjoining column will be read with interest and attention.
 It is feared, however, that in advo- eating the proposal of the highway commission to turn maintenance of state highways over to counties, MT. Craft permits his enthusiasm to over balance his judgment. Nobody knows better than he that counties in Ala bama do not maintain their highways, with inconsiderable exceptions, and that to expect them suddenly to make an aboutface in this direction is un- safe. The majority of the people agree with MT. Craft that the state high way commission should proceed with the construction of highways regard less of whether federal aid is avail able in sums sufficient to match all state funds or not. As he says, the con- stitution now commands such course. The constitution also commands that the state highway commission main tain the roads it builds, and gives maintenance equal prominence with re- pair and construction wherever any one of the three is mentioned in the amendment or in the statutes. Main tenance was given such emphasis largely because of Mir. Crafts appre- citation of it's indispensable importance in administering state highway sys- tenn.
 The state highway commission, how ever, would turn this most important matter over to the counties and would undertake the relatively unimportant matter of construction. But in the event the counties, or any county, should fail to maintain the state roads, does the commission propose to take them back under it's own maintenance? No. The commission says that state aid will be withdrawn from any county that fails to maintain such state roads as come within the question. Thus the commission proposes violation of the constitution and the statutes in two ways-it evades maintenance: and would halt equitable distribution of road work among the counties as called for by law and constitution alike, in the event of failure to maintain. This would be to penalize such counties ;.s were sufficiently unfortunate as TO fail in task in which they have never
 
 the proposal is thoroughly unsound.
 Let the state go ahead and systema- tize its highway work, maintain all it's roads as provided by law, and other wise carry out its program. The in- direct method is proposed by the gov ernor and others for getting back for the highways some of the gasoline tax which was wrongfully, and with the approval of the governor, put into the general funds of the state and coun- ties, instead of into the highway fund where such special tax belongs. One wrong cannot be made right by fol lowing another policy equally wrong. If the governor really thinks the gas oline tax should go to highway main- tenance, let him have the legislature put 1t there at the disposal of the state highway commission In justice to MT. Graft, let it be stated that he was opposed in the senate to the dis position made of the gasoline tax and earnestly advocated it's devotion spe- officially to state highways. That he was right is proved by the present ef- fort to get it back there indirectly. All the service the gasoline tax now rem ders is political one.
 
 Declaring that when an able states man like Senator Underwood criticises
 a our foreign policy there must be some thing wrong with it, the Houston Post asks: What is our foreign policy?" Perhaps the metaphysicians can an swer this