The border vidette., 1926-04-03
FEDERAL AID FOR ROAD BUILDING

WOulu O0 uOtuluk SuOTt OI I'D
tional disaster, as it would de.
stroy the principle underlying
the building of highway sys
tenn on a plane sufficiently broad
to meet not only transportation
needs, but also assure the social
and economic cohesion of the
country.
This was the keynote of a de
claration on federal aid in which
Senator Simeon D. Fess of Ohio
undertakes to show the hollow
ness of the logic and the argu-
ments used by the critics of fed
eral aid, at the same time point
ing out that the people as a
whole are getting more in return
from government co operation in
re ad building than they are get
ting from any other federal func
ton.
The manifesto of the Ohio sen
ator was issued in the form Of
an article in the February issue
of the American Motorist, the
official publication of the Amer
ican Automobile Association, and
is regarded as the opening shot
in the 1926 campaign to continue
federal aid on an undiminished
scale.
Among the points stressed by
Senator Fess are the following:
/. From the constitutional
standpoint. federal aid is clearly
a government obligation, as it is
vitally linked up with national
defense, Transmission Of the mails,
the furtherance of commerce be
tween the states and the promo
ton Of International welfare.
| 2. It is in no wise discrim
ination against wealthy states,
but fitting appropriation to a
public necessity, indisputably
national in character.
8. The benefits from govern
ment cooperation are national
and not sectional and every state
takes advantage Of every cent
available under the law. the
eastern states benefitting even
to a greater degree because of
their dense population.
| 4. Federal aid has not led to
extravagance nor has it tended
to undermine state and local in
itiative, the latter fact proved
by figures showing that of the
federal aid system hitherto com
pleted the states have built in
dependently more miles of high.
way than they built with the
help of funds from the treasury.
S. The policy assures that
the building of interstate roads
will continue on high plane of
Standardization, which would be
Impossible if every state and
local road. building unit built
merely for their own needs and
without a view to the national
stream of highway travel.
"Opponents of federal aid, :"
said Senator Fess, "often put
forward the argument that it is
| unfair that eastern states should
be paying taxes that are used to
aid other sections of the coun.
try. This argument is highly
specious. It overlooks the basic
fact that the states are political
and not economic units and that
from an economic standpoint all
the states are independent" He
continued:
1T is believed that our inter,
state roads are at the moment
tagging behind the gigantic re.
quirements of highway trans
portation.
THE government is not spend.
ing too much for highways. No
federal expenditure is paying a
higher dividend to our people
than the annual appropriation
| for roads. To scrap this policy
would besnothing short of disas.
ter. Public sentiment would not
stand for il and national self.
| interest commits the government
to the fulfillment of the present
program. Not until it is com.
| pleted can we have assurance
that we have a truly national
highway system.
The building of good roads
bas, next to the esta blishment of
schools, been the greatest factor
in bringing better understanding
and in developing solidarity and
cohesion between our far flung
communities and states. There
is no one effort for unifying the
whole country into one people
like road building,