Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-21
FARLEY ADVISES
DOUBLING GAS TAX
AT TER HARD FIGHT
Full Traffic Council Backs
Proposal, However, by
Vote of 8 to 8.
HIGH REGISTRATION FEE
Is ALSO RECOMMENDED
Frame, Battling Against Gross
Weight Levy on Trucks, Loses
by Count of IA to /.

cars, enormously increasing the regis
tration fees for trucks, especially solid
tired trucks, emitting personal property
tax on both-these were some of the
recommendations made to the District
Commissioners at j2.lt meeting Of
the Traffic Advisory Council and Trafic
Committee last night.
These revenue-boosting measures had
a hard road to travel in the committee
particularly the gas tax increases. But
they came through, by a vote Of 8 to 6,
after a bitter fight led by Theodore r
Noyes.
The fight on the gas tax was the
hottest of the evening, put an eVS 81
more forelorn hope was leo by y. n.
Frame of the Merchants and Manu1ac.
t,Irers' Association, who tried TO nolo
down the Proposition to tax trucks by
gross weight instead Of rated capac!ty.
He produced elaborate figures tenoing
to show how unjust such a proposltlon
would be to feet owners in the city, put
los. by a count Of IA to /.
Need Is Denied by NOyes.
In his attack on the proposed IN
crease in the gasoline tax, as well as the
Increased reg .stration fees, Mr.. Noyes
declared tn re had been shown no nee1
for the increased reyenuav-$3,6O 500 ,OOO-
which these increases had been estl-
mated to yield. The District Will come
through the fiscal year with surplus
of 81 800 900, he said. The streets are
in good condition. Congress Is paying
lar less than its just proportion OF the
cost of the highway system now. Tnls
a the time to be working for reduced
taxation, instead Of coming forward WIN
propositions for increasing 1t, ne SAID.
He particularly condemned the pro-
posals of the committee to turn the en-
tire sum raised over to the Highway
Department for all of its expenditures,
including salaries, and for the expenses
of the Office Of director OF trafnc.
instead OF showing why the money
Is needed" he said, they show that
with this additional money lovely
things could be acquircd--cuch as
ghoulCering onto the automobile users
OF the city the entire cost Of highway
extension, paving and Improvement.
But still there is money left over. SO
the salaries Of the Highway Depart
ment are to come out OF revenues paio
by automobile users. Still there Is
money to spend. Ali Put it in the
trafic directors ONCE and shove the
cost of this organization onto the sl1oul-
ders of the automobile users. If there
Is any excess give the trafhc director
an increase in salary or hire couple
more assistants TO the assistant direc-
tor Of trafic.
Public Wants Economy.
Carving the principle embodied in
this report to its logical extreme, the
next proposal we will have will be TO
exact a school tax TO support the
schools frcm those whose cnildren 60
to school, a police tax to support the
police from these who call on the po-
lice, fire tax to support the F.rc De-
partment from those whose houses
catch on fire and a prison tx to sup
port the prisons, exacted from t-iose who
60 to jail.
1T is safe to say that this Is enc Of
the strargest reports ever delivered by
a committee of Washingtonians. What
the public wants from this committee is
how to save money-not how to spend
more. II this report Is adopted, the
committee might as well throw up its
hands and quit. before It Is laughed
out Of existence"
Mr.. Frame said that ne had signed
the committees report without reading
1t and that he supported Mr.. Moves
views He was especially disturbed about
the enormous increases proposed Tor
Federation of Citizens Associations
likewise opposed the report. as did
Harry M. Bedell of the Chamber OF
Commerce, who pointed out that in
cluded in the Highway Departments
expenses which would De shouldered
onto the automobile users was the cost
Of building and repairing sidewalks.
He finally won his point, and the
sidewalk item, amounting to about $780,
mn q x,aar efrfrkpn from the
port, but the rest Of it was adopted
by a vote Of 8 to 6. G. p. Clark OF the
American Automobile Association made
q brief speech in favor Of the report.
Provisions in Report.
The report. as adopted, recommends:
I. Motor fuel tax of 4c per gallon
Establish a mctor-fuel tax Of 4 cents
II. Restricted registration of solid
tired vehicles.
Restrict registration Of solid-tired
vehicles to those owned and heretofore
registered in the District of Columbia,
thus accomplishing the gradual elimi-
nation Of this most destructive type OF
vehicle.
III. Registration fees to be based on
gross weight.
Adopt gross weight as the basis for
determining the schedule OF registra-
ton fees for all vehicles with gross
weight in excess of 5000 pounds.
~ Formula for determination OF
registration fees.
To determine schedule Of registra-
ton fees for vehicles with gross weight
in excess of 5000 pounds, use the en-
pirical formula: Fee=A Plus B (groSs
weight where A is a basic fee,
V. Basic fee for commercial vehicles.
Establish basic fee of 81 for COM
mercial vehicles except that the basic
fee for electrically-prc PEELED commercial
vehicles shall be SIS IN lieu of motor
fuel tax.
vi. Schedule of registration fees for
solid-tired vehicles.
Apply formula: Feel (gross weight
in tons)s plus 81 to determine schedule
OF registration fees for sclid-tired We
hicles For Solid-tired vehicles Of over
10 tons gross weight establish fees sum-
GENTLY high to encourage the owners
to equip said vehicles with pneumatic
tires.
WI. Schedule Of registration fees for
pneumRtic-t vehicles with gross
weight In excess CT 5000 pounds
Apply formula; Fee 70 (gross weight
in tons)s plus 81 TO determine schedule
Of registration fees. For vehicles with
gross weight In excess of 10 tons es-
tablish fees suficiently high to encour-
age the owners 70. replace them, Wnen
worn out, with lighter vehicles.
VIII. Registration fees for private
passenger vehicles.
Establish registration fee Of 81 for
private passenger vehicles, except that