Evening star., 1932-01-31
BY ROY ID. CHAPLIN,

"h nv ~ NsEhi iAN'
| tional Automobile Chamber OF Commerce and
Board of Hudson Motor Car Co
Working in the dual role of road
builders and large employers of labor,
! the highway forces of the Nation have
again pushed forward to new heights
| of accomplishment in the year which
has just come to close.
/ Thousands upon thousands of miles
! of badly needed roads have been i'm
proved in the Federal, State and local
systems Main arteries have been
/ strengthened and widened. New stand
ards of safety have been built in
| through the elimination of many
dangerous crossings Gradients and
curves have been bettered. Drainage
bitches have been covered. Shoulders
| have been raised to new standards.
Marking and direction signs have been
standardized.
Labor Aided.
In this task. the highway engineers
! haze been in close touch with the pub
| lie bodies interested in employment
Gnd much has been done to give work
! to common as well as to skilled labor.
BY careful administration 1t has been
! found possible to single out projects for
| Improvement even during the Winter
months. and so the Nation has re-
| ccived the double benefit Of lessened
! transportation costs and sustained
! labor
When We look back over the vista
of the last quarter of century. the
results which have been secured are
amazing Most Of all they are a trib-
ute to the integrity and ability Of the
men in charge.
I nynpoInI Wet
! there has been little mal-admnistra-
ton The Bureau OF Pubic Roads.
working IN cooperation with State
| highway officials, has become a great
! instrument in public progress.
Looking forward. the large problems
which confront highway development
Rre financial rather than technical in
character.
Designs Improved
Through constant cooperation and
research the highway and sutomotlve
engineers have gradually brought road
! and vehicle designs more closely to-
gether.
The DEVELOPMENT of low cost roads
and higher standards of heavy duty
highways has ben matched by new tire
and axle specifications, new standards
Of speed, safety and control on the
part of the industry.
Out of the combination. the public is
receiving a greater value for its in
vestment in highway transportation
| than has ever before been possible
The highway traveller of today can
90 farther at lower cost more COM
tOr,ablY. more safely and more quickly.
than any man could 60 in the past.
The same statement applies equally to
the carriage of commodities. Undue
damage to our roads has been virtually
eliminated
TIE Job, Of course. is not ended With
all that has been done. we still have far
to go. but We are well past the pioneer
ing stage. The course is definitely
charted. We no longer guess at the
benefits We know them.
IN times Ike the present when every
penny of public expenditure must be
subjected to rigid tests OF economy
highway finance becomes a matter of
paramount concern.
The sums involved are very large
/ They touch the pocketbook Of every
car user and Of every tax payer. They
: affect the living cost of all of US
Fair Distribution Urged.
Because Of the benefits they bring,
however, these expenditures continue
to be necessary investment-insurance
if You please. They must be extended
until all receive them. Yet the cost must
be distributed fairly.
Several years ago, the Joint Highway
Transport Committee. consisting Of
representatives Of the Federal and State
governments, the investment bankers
/ and motor vehicle users, laid down a
series Of principles for the control of
highway finance which have Weathered
the test Of time and experience.
Put briefly. this declaration recog-
nized special benefit to the motOrist in
the Improvement Of highways which he
/ uses.
Waving the fact that fundamentally
all benefit from road Improvement. the
motorists of the country have accepted
| this principle and as a result they are
today paying virtually the entire cost
of the State highway systems of the
country through special taxes.
As the gasoline taxes and license fees
have grown however, they have at
, traCted the attention Of tax SpenderS in
search Of new sources of revenue.
Many have sought to divert them to
all kinds of other uses. Others have
eVaded payment.
This movement represents one of the
most serious dangers which Confr0nts
highway transportation and 1t should
the tax-the motor users.
Need for Readjustment.
Within the field of highway develop
ment itself, there is a constant need for
readjuStment which brings with 1t
changes in fiscal practices.
Two outstanding examples are found
in the field Of street improvement and
secondary or local rural highways.
municipalities generally are demand
ing some return from the motor vehicle
levieS on the ground that through trafflc
should pay its share of the cost of city
thOroughtareS.
There is justification for this point of
view as long as the expenditures are
confined to through streets and the pro-
portion is held to the cost of similar
roads in the country-not made a
means Of paying the cost Of city real
estate Improvements.
The other situation also has its equi-
ties. The farmer needs roads but too
often in the past. he has had to pay
more than his fair share Of their cost.
Today we have a clearer conception
of road costs and benefits than we
once had AS States expand their
main systems and take in more mile
age they take over the more costly
work.
The locality is left only with the
cost Of local roads, roads which are
not generally used, which serve the
land and which consequently do not
cost so much. AS the division between
the two types of highways-those
which are Of general use and those
burden on the farmer will be lightened |