White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1937-03-11
Secondary Road
System Needed
a#faIf- Cent Gas Tax Increase Will
Y Make Available $500, 900 Fed
eral Annual Road Aid


took effect, it was found necessary
to divert gas tax money to the cit
les and ITO the counties for road
purposes. Then, four tenths of a
cent was diverted to interest cllarg-
es and retirement of the ten mil
lion dollar bond issue hoated for re-
lief purposes.
This has greatly reduced the
funds available to- the state high
way department. and, though it has
been great help to the taxpayers,
it has seriously restricted the extern
sion of the permanent highway
system, the needs of which have
continued to grow.
Now, if we are to have these
roads and have cut taxes in one di-
rection we must raise them in am
other, and on a more equitable ba-
sis, which is the gas tax. We can
mot have roads without paying for
them.
There is a great demand that
roads be added to tine permanent
highway system fu. the reason bfas
so many of Aalem are carrying a
large volume Of other than local
traffic.
A secondary system is the ideal
answer to the problem. Such roads
do mot need to he built at the cost
of and to the high standards of the
permanent highway system. They
will reach out into the rural conn
n,uldties and serve also as farm
and mine to -irsarlset roads Devei-
opangnt is taking place all over our
state; and our road development
must be sept aS nearly in step with
this development las possfble.. : E
The large cities are going to OBJ
jert to an increase in the gas tax,
but lit must be remembered that
most of our larger cities have great
utility properties which are free of
the state property tax and this
should be taken into consideration;
also that lit is to the interest of the
cities in commercial way to sup
port the development Of the rural
road system; that many of these
rural sections have been for years
contributing to the permanent high
way system when many of them are
miles and miles from such roads.
The construction of such secon-
dairy system is an investment which
will pay good dividends in the say
ing of time and transportation costs.
These savings will far exceed the
small raise i'm the gas tax proposed.
3 There is a federal fund of APP
proximately 100000 annually set a.
side for such secondary system
which will be lost to the state I'M
less such secondary system is set
up.
Senate Bill No. 395 has been pre-
sented to the legislature to meet
this need It provides for half
cent increase in the gas tax for a
period of four years and for the
placing in the secondary system OF
some $500 miles Of the more i'm
portant county roads. The County
Commissioners organization is not
unfavorable to diverting a quarter
of a cent of the gas tax money the
counties are receiving to such a
system upon the taking over of the
above mileage and am additional
quarter cent should be diverted ell
ther from the cities or from the
permanent highway fund or divid-
ed between them.
Please get behind this movement;
write your legislators ait once. There
are but few days of the session
left. Quick action lis necessary.
Editors note: This should have
been printed last week. However,
,,rintinp it now will serve to clarity