Evening star., 1936-12-15
D. c. HIGHWAY AID
EQUALITY
Chairman King of Senate
District Committee to
Urge AI!otments.
BY j. A, O'LEARY.

n1 j.. a. " LChh1s
The Board of Trade today won the
support OF Chairman King of the
Senate District Committee in its effort
TO have the District placed on an
equality with the States and Terri
tories in ALLEGATION of normal Federal
aid highway appropriations.
After studying resolutions on the
subject submitted to him by the trade
body, Senator King said:
~1 am inclined to believe the posi-
ton taken by the Board Of Trade is
sound, namely, that the District
should be treated the same as the
Territories in this legislation"
Back in 1916, Congress began max
ing grants to the States to match State
funds in development of Federal aid
highway system, but for II years the
National Capital was not permitted to
share in these allotments.
Shared in Emergency Grants.
IN 1898, when Federal highway
construction became main feature
Of the public works program to re-
Ieve the depression, the District was
allowed to share temporarily in these
emergency grants TO reduce the un-
employment that existed here as well
as elsewhere.
WheE the last Congress drafted an
enabling act for resumption of the
normal highway program, however,
the District again was excluded, ex-
cept for grants to eliminate railroad
grade crossings.
Federal aid for grade crossing
work was q new field of national aid
which the Government turned to in
Its efforts to create work for the un-
employed during the last few years.
At the last session, it was continued
as . part of the normal road pro-
gram, and, while provision was made
for continued District participation in
Embarrassing sllotments Washing
ton was not mentioned in the high.
way section of the new law.
Inasmuch as Washington has very
little grade-crossing work remaining
to be done in future. its inclusion
under that section of the law is not
nearly as important as the question
Of equal treatment under the highway
section.
Links Key Highway.
The resolutions transmitted to King
by the Board of Trade point out that
the Capital is connecting link be-
tween the Northern and Southern
States, and that the city must main
tain expensive arterial highways for
the heavy flow of interstate traffic,
particularly busses and trucks.
The trade body further cited the
fact that the Territories of Hawaii and
Puerto Rico have been included in
the Federal highway program: that
the District pays into the Treasury
annually about $2.100000 in gaso-
line and other automotive taxes, and
that for the last fiscal year the Dis
trict paid total internal revenue taxes
to the Federal Government of more
than $17,000.000, which was a greater
sum than that paid by each of 25
States. Those States. the board en-
phasized, have been sharing the bene-
fits of the Federal highway act.
The board sent Senator King the
draft of proposed bill. under which
the District would be included in the
Federal aid highway act of 1916, as
amended and supplemented by subse-
quent acts Of Congress, to take effect
In the next fiscal year. The measure
would authorize the District Highway
Department and the Bureau of Public
Roads to agree on the system of high
ways on which the Federal allotments
would be spent. and when the system
first mapped out shall have been COM
pleted, additions thereto could be
agreed upon in like manner.