Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24
REDUCTIONS of another
. banner year in the automo-
bile industry are being full
Gl11-J

IN REDUCTIONS of another
- banner year in the automo-
bile industry are being full
filled, so far at least, &C
cording to sales figures compiled
by the Department of Commerce
During the month of January
sales amounted to 402,l54, Of
which 350,617 were passenger cars
and 51,537 were trucks. During
the same month a year before,
the sales totaled 233, 907 passen-
ger cars and trucks. The Com
merce Department figures give
the total sales for 1923 as 1853, $50
as against 3,401,326 for 1927.
Spring Versus Snow.
Last weeks snow brought an
end for a while to thoughts OF
warm weather and Spring. It
caused Rudolph Jose, director of
the Washington Automotive Trade
Association, to prepare a story on
Spring driving. The article was
written during the warm spell,
but arrived with the snow, max
ing it a little inappropriate now.
News that the grade crossing at
HyattSville is to be eliminated
soon is good news, indeed Grade
crossings do not belong in this
modern age.
An interesting article in Manu-
facturerS' Record by H. H. Rice,
chairman taxation committee Of
the National Automobile Cham
Der of Commerce, entitled Shall
We Divert Gasoline Tax Revenues
to other Than BODYBUILDING
PurpoSes?" is hereby given as
food for thought.
Ten years ago the people of
Oregon, by initiative vote, i'm
posed upon themselves a gasoline
tax Of l cent per gallon for the
purpose CT meeting highway costs.
One month later North Dakota
and New Mexico took similar ac-
ton, and 80 days later Colorado
followed.
Massachusetts, Joins.
AS 1929 opens, Massachusetts
Joins the RANKS Of gas-tax States
with a 2-cent levy, and New York
remains as the only Common
wealth in the United States which
has not at some time voted for
this tax. Illinois has no gasoline
levy because its Supreme Court
has held the act of 1928 unconSti-
tutional, but number of legisla-
tive proposals are pending which
have been drafted to meet the OBJ
jections of the court to the earlier
measure. So, III a single decade,
a direct sales tax enacted for the
specific purpose of assessing part
of the costs Of road building
against the users of the highway
has swept the Nation, and while
1t would be eXaggeration to say
the levy has been popular, since
this term is never applicable to
taxation, apparently taxpayers
have found it more equitable than
alternative suggestions of various
kinds.
Not alone has the tax become
almost universal in application,
but there has been sharp in
crease in total amounts collected,
as well as a trend in the direction
of increases in the levy per GAL
lon. Thus an examination Of the
figures of the Bureau of Public
Roads shows that in the first half
Of 1928 the total returns on fuel
for motor vehicles amounted to
$l40, 100000. in round figures,
which was collected on a net gas
oline use of 4,652,000,000 gallons
Of gasoline. taxed at an average
rate of 3.02 cents per gallon. This
amount is greater than the entire
years collection in 1921.
Consumption Estimated.
While final figures are not yet
available for the second half of
the year, it can be safely eSti-
mated from data already available
that the total for the year will be
1926, 100000, on a gas consumption
of 10,700,000,00 gallons and at a
rate of 500 cents UNITED States
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