The journal. (Caldwell, Ohio) 1934-1961, 1950-04-13
BY CONGRESSMAN
Bob Sccrest

In 1910 congress passed d Dill
granting federal aid to the states
for the construction of highways.
For many years the money was
used exclusively on roads which
were a part of the federal high
way system.
In 1881 | was able to get a
bill through the state legislature
allotting a part of the Ohio gas
oline tax TO the counties and
townships for the building of ru-
raj roads. A percentage of the
I gasoline tax was also allotted to
municipalities for use on streets.
! Under the terms of this bill in
1949, the townships of Ohio re-
! ceived over six million dollars.
the municipalities received over
eleven million dollars.
This legislation has Deer the
primary source of rural road
FUNDS for the past eighteen years
and has resulted in the improve
ment of many thousands of miles
Of county and township roads.
When l came to Congress in 1888
| joined with several members
of both parties in an effort to
get some of the federal money
spent on farm-to-market roads.
We were successful and for many
years now federal funds have
been used in the construction of
secondary roads. This construc-
ton is done by the states.
Every two years Congress
authorizes the appropriation of
funds to carry out the federal
highway act. For several weeks
the committee on public works,
of which l am a member, has
been conducting hearings on the
Legislation for 1852 and 1858. All
highway directors in the coun-
try have appeared, together with
many other witnesses.
The federal aid program
amounts to about five hundred
million dollars each year. The
federal highway system today
consists of six hundred and thir-
ty-two thousand, thirty = seven
miles of roads, fourteen thousand
of which are in towns and cities.
This system is maintained by the
states, but the federal govern
ment pays one-half of all con-
struction costs on the federal
highway system and the state
pays the other one-half. Routes
81, %, 40 and so in my district
are on the federal highway sys.
tenn.
Last year nineteen thousand
eight hundred and fifty miles OF
news highways, three thousand,
one hundred and forty new
bridges and six hundred and
forty-five railroad crossing elm
ination projects were constructed
under the federal aid highway
program. Of these, one hundred
and e~ighty-six miles of highways
~fffty-seven bridges and twelve
railroad crossing elimination pro-
iects were in Ohio.
The history of highway con-
struction in the United States is
closely allied with the growth OF
the automobile industry. In 1900
there were only eight thousand
automobiles in the United States
Today there + approximately
forty-five million motor vehicles
using our highways. California
alone has forty-five million mo-
tor vehicles registered. In 1915
six million motor vehicle units
were produced. If these were
placed bumper to bumper, they
would extend twenty thousand
miles, or a little more than the
total miles of federal highways
completed in 1949. The new auto
biles produced last year, if placed
bumper to bumper would form
seven solid lines from Washing.
ton D. c. to Los Angeles, Calf.
and there would be enough left
over to form another solid line
back to Denver, Colo. 1t is easy
to see why parking is one of the
biggest problems facing every
city in the United States today
and maintenance is just as acute
The problem of road building
in rural areas where travel in,