The people's voice., 1959-02-27


has the backing only of long haulers.
He said in Wyoming trucks do not
bypass that state where the use
theory is in practice. (HB 269 was
killed in the House).
James S. TIMBER, executive presi-
dent of the AFL-CIO, appeared for
proponents and read a resolution of
the 1857 convention of his organi-
zation supporting weight-distance His
organization, he said, represents 25,-
900 working people in Montana.
Al Mcintyre, vice president of S.
Birch Construction Company, repre-
senting five Montana construction
firms interested primarily in secur-
ing extra funds for highway construc-
ton, said they believed passage of
Sub. HB 228 was "of the utmost i'm
portance, and is apparently the only
means of passing the one cent gas
taxi. He said truckers are in accord
with the theory but say it just doesn't
work. Mcintyre presented review
of the success of the Wyoming law
which is similar to the one proposed
for Montana, and said the contractors
have concluded from their survey 'it
is reasonable to assume that:
81. The weight distance tax can
be collected without excessive cost.
"2. The possibilities of evading
weight-distance taxes in Montana
should not be any greater than in
4 Il
perience has been good.
SO. Considerable funds will be
received from the proposed law"
John Shields, Butte, representing
our construction firms, urged passage
of the bill to insure continued en-
ployment and investment by the firms
building news highways.
BRIDGE TRAFFIC" EMPHASIZED
BY OPPONENTS
Randall Swanberg, Great Falls at
torney, in opposing 228, emphasized
the majority of cargo road traffic
in Montana is ''bridge traffic., where
as Oregon is a state of "origin and
destination.
He said there is no equitable plan
of highway financing, and asserted
the inequities in GVW are much less
than in weight-distance, and the leg
islature should be sure they are "doing
something that is going to produce |
If more money is not going
to be raised we could hurt our pro-
gram rather than help it, he con-
cluded.
John J. Mclaughlin, representing
three truck stops, opposed weight
distance because the rs to IS per
cent of the truck business of truck
stops is out-of-state and these people
will bypass Montana rather than pay
higher highway taxes. He said wheth-
er a person used the highway once
a year or 365 days year they needed
the highways when they needed them.
He said truckers will do anything,
do anything, he repeated, to get
around ton-mile or weight-distance
fees.
The auditor of Babcock and Lee
firm said his firm would lose
therefore their freight rates
would be increased and the people
will start using the railroads.
Hazel Robertson, bookkeeper for
Western Express, Great Falls, called
,he bill extremely unfair to her COM
oany, and that the jobs of the 25
people working for them would be in
jeopardy by its passage.
James Briggs, Rice Truck Lines
mechanic, said he would like to live
n Montana and not have to leave here
and find employment elsewhere.
Russell Cunningham, small trucker, :
said HB 228 twill about be the end
'or me''. ,
In summary, Swanberg said it
would cut service to small towns and {
yillages in Montana; that collection t
would be so difficult it would take ,
IN "army of road agents to collect +
rom the 500 of private or unlicensed {
-agabond truckers. $
Schotte in rebuttal said that GVW !
vas opposed at one time by the truck $
RS, and there is no evidence that the
lse-tax principle, such as W-D., as |
Employed in other states, has dis t
outraged the industry. He said with
lis fleet of 20 trucks the one that ,