The Daily Alaska empire., 1933-07-06
AN UNJUST TAX.

The license fees imposed upon the operators and of automobiles that use all or any part of Richardson Highway by the Interior Department constitute a tax that is wholly indefensble. The argument of Secretary Ickes who inherited the plan from the Hoover Administration and made it his own with refinements is weak that it requires no refutation and so inconsistent that it defeats its own purposes He postulates that competition over the highway hurts the Alaska Railroad; that because both were constructed and maintained out of Federal funds that toll is justified over the highway to protect the rail line. Even if that were true, and it isn't there would still be no Justification to tax traffic that does not compete with the railroad. Yet it Secretary Ickess own idea to put fee privately owned and driven automobiles pleasure vehicles that could not under any combination of circumstances compete with the railroad Such an imposition is the height of absurdity and cannot be defended either in theory or practically.
 The Secretary is wrong when he takes the posi- ton that Richardson Highway constructed and is maintained wholly by Federal funds. Twenty five per cent of the money so expended was de- rived from Territorial sources-from money collected in taxes upon business and occupations in Alaska taxes that peculiarly Alaskan and have no counterpart in the entire nation. In addition to that, thousands of dollars have been turned over by the Territory to Federal authorities to be ex-
 
 aska thus releasing money appropriated by Congress for expenditure the highway that would other wise have had be diverted to other projects less important but which had to be maintained Lack ing Territorial funds, money that the Alaska Road Commission received from Congress would have had to be diverted from the highway to these other projects
 Thus it is clear that Alaska has a substantial equity in Richardson Highway. Without its con- sent, any tax imposed traffic it by Federal authority is the arbitrary action of an autocratic despot ought to be resisted to the last Congress last year authorized the Secretary of Interior to make regulations for traffic over the highway That officer has interpreted that to mean to make out of it toll road But Congress did not then and has not since then fixed penalty for those who do not conform to the regulations. That is to say, the Secretary of Interior is probably within his power when he fixes tolls traffic passing it.. But he is powerless to penalize anyone who refuses to pay the tolls. The road is publicly owned. The Interior Department can fix tolls, but it cannot under existing laws successfully prosecute anyone who declines to pay them. And the Department of Interior hardly used armed force to close the road to those who do not pay
 Congress may sometime in the future pass leg islaton providing penalties for anyone convicted of nonpayment of the license fees imposed It hasn't done so yet When it shall have done so, it will be time then for the Territory of those injured to question in the proper court the right of the Secretary of Interior to put tax traffic over public road that has been built and is main- tained partly out of funds derived from Alaskan sources. That such action will follow is inevit- able for the tax is unjust unAmerican and in violation of all the precedents heretofore set by Congress.