Evening star., 1923-02-12
AUTO RECIPROCITY !.
R|TCH|E'S THEME.
Governor Talks of Gasoline.
Tax Proposed for Mary. !,
land and D. c.
BENEFITS POINTED OUT.
Address at Luncheon rendered
County Newspaper Editors, at
Which He Was Host.
Special Dispatc TO The Star.

HYATTSv1LLE. February 12.-Gov.
Albert c. Richie, assisted by bevy
OF attractive women. including the
governors mother, entertained the
members Of the Maryland press at the
executive mansion. in Annapolis, Sat-
! urday. Upward Of fifty editors Of
county newspapers were present.
Preceding a delightful luncheon. the
governor made an impressive address
upon the work and plans of the state
! government. The governor said that.
| in his opinion. no county press in the
! country was more ably edited than
| that Of Maryland, and declared that
the combined circulation of these pa
I pers was over 10000 and that their
influence on public sentiment was
pronounced.
! ID. C.-Marylnnd Reciprocity Topic.
Speaking of the automobile gasoline
\ tax imposed for state road mainte-
| nance. and the bill now before Con-
gress to impose a similar tax in the
District Of Columbia, Gov. Ritchle
said:
THE matter of most interest In this
| (the state highway department now
road maintenance. At present, the
roads are maintained from the pro-
ceeds of the automobile licenses.
! which are based on horse power.
! A tax on gasoline is much fairer. be-
| cause 1t places the burden of ma I'm
tanning the roads upon all who use
them In the exact proportion in which
the use them. The tax has been
adopted in seventeen states. Mary
land having adopted it in 1922. The
distinctive feature about our tax Is
provision that the amount collected
from 1t shall. beginning January !.
1924, be applied to reduce the horse
power license fees. .
ION the basis of receipts to date. the
Maryland tax. at cents per gallon.
license fees. which are now so cents
per honse power, to 26 cents per horse
power. Taking the example of
Ford car Of twenty-three horse
license fee of $3.50 will, in 1924. be
s5.9S.
Effect OF Increased Tax.
IAN increase in the gasoline tax
from cents to 3la cents per gallon
would enable the state to charge no
license fee at all. / am disposed 70
think that the next legislature should
tax perfectly equitable and fair. but
our method OF collecting it from the
wholesaler works admirably, and L
venture to believe that most motor
| lists do not oven know they are pay
ing it.
| "The Maryland gasoline tax. in con-
nection with a like tax for the Dis
| trict of Columbia. a bill for which.
| has been faVorab(y reported in. Con
gress, will render it unnecessary to
/ have a Maryland license when they
come into Maryland. or Maryland
cars to have "a District license when
they go to Washington, and Will en-
Ia Hrny rn.tr noV q
tsubject between Maryland and the
District of Columbia. : have. al
ready assured the District authori-
ties that upon the passage of the
thorize reciprocity effective January
4, 1924. This will end a long-stand-
ling source of controversy and irrita-
tion." :. > -. '-
!; State LseisIation Discussed
| The governor declared that the
Estate reorganization and fewer cleo
tion laws enacted by the 1892 session
most far-reaching which that body
has ever passed in a governmental
/ way. The FORMER reyoluntIonjzes
the machinery for performing the
! states departmental work. The lat
! ter revolutionizes long establish
| ganizatiou scheme eighty odd boards.
| commissions and departments of the
state government which exist
| ed before have been reduced to nine
! teen The ENACTMENT OF the fewer
elections. bill will save the taxpayers
in election expenses several hundred
thousand dollars each year. but the
governor considered this secondary
to the saving in the economic waste
J which general and primary elections
every year always cause.
The fewer-elections amendment
iprovides, in brief, that beginning with
November, 1926. all state and county
elective officers. except judges. shall
terms. and that. elections. therefore,
shall be held every fourth year, the
elections thus always falling In con.
gressional election years, but never
in n pr. sidentiai election year. Inc
, result is to abolish all elections in
the state. except municipal elections,
every other year. -
|. Speaking of tho public school sys-
tenn in Maryland. the governor: de-
ciared that tae present state adminis-
tration had been endearoring to I'm :
prove and develop It,. and that the
maintenance of a public school sys-
Item as near 100 per cent as Is hu-
imanly possible is the first duty Of the
state government
Increase in Teachers Salaries.
"It may not be generally known
that Of the 8,o00 elementary school
teachers about zoo have never had
any training beyond an elementary
school educat ton, and most of these
+ are in the rural schools. where good
teachers are particularly desirable
! The reason lies largely in the more
attractive return which other pro-
fessions have offered. To remedy
this condition, the governor stated
! salaries have been increased, and 6
campaign conducted to attract youns
men and women to the teaching pro
u fessiOn. - =. E.
state Highways. Topic :
) Speaking of roads, the governor
Z said, in part: ~.-s-...
1.-The system of state highways,.a,
laid out, has been substan TALLY com
pleted. and in 1890 the state begal
building lateral roads. with count,
: and federal aid. About $3.000.000 il
| spent annually on new roads, o
: which the state contributes one.haif
the federal government one-fourtl
and the counties one-fourth. In ad
dition to this, two important speeia
constructions are underway, the Rob
ert Grain s1.O00,000 highway, con
Meeting Baltimore city with southern
Maryland, and the Severn river 'bridg
near Annapolis"
From counties of southern Mary
land those attending the conferene
were: A. F. King, st. M1ry's Beacon
| Leonardtown; Briscoe Bunting, Cal
Z vert County Journal, Prince Freder
. ick; George Dowd, Maryland Repub
lican, Prince Frederick; Frank Z
: Smith, the Prince GeorGNan, Noun