Evening star., 1932-11-27

A Job for the unemployed has been
suggested in the Identification Of
American highways by the removal or
remodeling Of unsightly billboardS and
the general cleaning up OF the road
sides. President-elect Roosevelt has
put forward the suggestion that many
thousands of unemployed could profit
ably be engaged in reforestation work,
especially on the public domain. He
made the specific suggestion that the
bonus army which was gathered at
washington early last Summer might
well have been given work at survival
wages in forest and Identification work
in the National Parks. Healthful out
door work would be provided at a min
imum of expense to the Government
and actual relief would be achieved
without any suggestion Of pauperism or
dole.
While Gov. Roosevelt has not yet
spoken in the matter of use OF the un-
employed in highway beautification, 1t
is believed that he would readily fall in
with the idea. 1t is closely in line with
his own ideas, with the added value OF
more widely extending the incidence OF
the employment. SO many highways
now are under partial Federal control
that the matter of jurisdiction, II WORK.
ed out in collaboration with the several
States and with municipalities or even
with county authorities, would, II Is DE-
lieved, form no bar.
Inasnuch as the whole theory of
highway Improvement on a national
scale is predicated on joint action and
expenditure of the Federal and State
governments, it Is thought likely that
a scheme could be perfected whereby
appropriations would be made by botn
Under the Federal aid law the Federal
Government provides a portion OF the
money for the building OF new roadS
and the improvement of old ones, Sc
no innovation repugnant to lawmakers
would be involved in the extension OF
the idea to road Identification, espe-
cially when accompanied by unempioy-
ment relief.
Standards Need Raising.
The subject of highway and roadside
Identification has been before the
American people for some years, Re-
sponsible organizations have carried or
campaigns in the interests OF improving
conditions and generally raising the
esthetic standards. They have met with
stern resistance on the part of the out
door advertisers and also the owner:
of property deriving revenue from the
rental Of their properties for advertis'
ing purposes. 1t is true that tnt
members of the outdoor Advertisine
Association of America, which repre-
sents the organized billboard business
have pledged themselves not to builc
upon locations where advertising struc'
lures would obscure natural beauties
nor upon purely residential streets, mol
yet upon any location where the re-
sentiment of reasonably minded people
would be justified"
This cooperative attitude has beer
appreciated by the champions OF road
side beauty, but many hold that there
often Is wide difference OF opinion
as to what constitutes interference witt
a view and what constitutes reasonably
minded resentment. This probably l
an inevitable clash of opinion, the ad
vertiser III the interests Of his owl
business and that of his clients believ'
ing that he is performing a valuabl!
function, while the artistically minded
would prefer to have all signs com
pletely banished. Certainty the two
groups are far from being in accord.