The Carbon County news. [volume] (Red Lodge, Mont.) 1924-1931, 1929-07-11
NATIONAL ROAD LEG
ISLATION PROMISING
By Congressman Scott Leavitt

DN congressman DSOtl ISdNitt
1t is extremely encouraging tc
those of us interested actively in the
building of highways to observe the
growing national sentiment for great
er federal appropriations.
There have been several bills in
troduced during the special session of
Congress which will be pending for
consideration when the regular ses-
sion comes on and the committees are
organized for their consideration, and
it is hoped that discussion now dur
ing the summer will then make
possible the enactment of at least
some of them OF courseit is not to
be expected that all ideas they eX-
press can be written into law es-
pecially since there is already a con-
flict of bills dealing with the same
subjects. To illustrate: The present
law authorizes $75,000,000 year for
the building of roads on the federal
system and an increase of this
amount to $15O,000000 is proposed in
a bill by Representative Hastings of
Oklahoma, and an increase to $225,-
100000 is in a bill by Representative
Mcleod of Michigan. The bill by Mr..
Hastings leaves the forest highway
fund at $7,500,000 while both Senator
Oddie of Nevada in the Senate and |
in the House have already introduced
bills to increase the amount to S12,-
100000.
But these differences in detail are
only incidental and emphasize that
there is a determined movement to in
crease the appropriations for federal
roads.
What is known as the Cotton Oddie
bill to amend the Federal Highway
Act is of great interest to the western
states having great areas of public
lands. As itlwas introduced by Repre-
sentative Cotton of Utah on the 18th
of April of this year and by Senator
Oddie on the 18th, the bill differs in
some important respects from the
original Cotton Oddie bill which has
generally been discussed. The original
bill authorized $2,500,000 year for
three years on roads across lands be-
longing to the United States without
requiring state cooperation. The
present bill is to make a general
authorization without specified a
mount or period of time, but it con-
tains one clause which would seem
to limit its value in Montana. That
clause excludes its benefits from the
National Forests, the idea being that
such work can already be done there
without state cooperation. There
may be contest to amend the bill IN
that provision. 1t is partly to meet
the situation that | have introduced
my bill, along with Senator Oddie, to
increase the forest highway author
ization from $7,500,000 up to $12,-
100000 a year for two years. That
added amount would bring the work
up in the national forests. 1t is in
tended to push the bill vigorously at
the fall session. As I write it is just
yesterday that | discussed this pro
posal with the executive head of the
America Forestry Association to en-
list general support.
The special session Of Congress
was called for specific purposes and
the House Committee on Roads is not
organized to consider bills. Neither
is the Committee on Agriculture,
which handles forestry matters, con-
sidering legislation generally. This is
the case with nearly all House COM
mittees, to limit the work of Congress
to its called purposes.
Later on, when all the committees
are formed, road matters will be |
taken up and the indications are that
the regular session starting in De-
cember will be marked by great pro-
gress.
The place of organizations like the
Montana Automobile Association in
such program is that of a moulder
of public sentiment behind those of us
who carry on the battle in Congress.
The American Automobile Association
with which our state Association is
affiliated furnishes medium through
which we can carry the country. The
work done by the organization in
Montana has been effective in many
helpful ways to those of us indi-
who are members, but it is
likewise very evident to me here that
it is also considered an important
part of the good roads movement
nationally Scott Lea
witt in Tile Montana Motorist.