Page:Motoring Magazine and Motor Life December 1913.djvu/17

 De(i:mi'.i;r, 1913.

��MOTORING MAGAZINE AND MOTOR LIFE

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��The idea of national highways, built and maintained entirely by the govern- ment, has no stauncher advocate than Judge J. M. Lowe, of Kansas City, Mo. Judge Lowe, who is vice-president of the National Highways Association, and president of the National Old Rails Road Association, the national old trails road department of the National Highway As- sociation, does not believe that good re- sults can be effected by what is known as "Federal aid" or "National aid;" least of all, by that form of aid which proposes that the government appropriations should be spent, not on main roads, but on roads radiating from railroad stations. In a letter to Governor Major, of Mis- souri, Judge Lowe says: "If $50,000,- 000 were appropriated annually, it would average about one million to each State if distributed equally.

"If Missouri should get $1,000,000 and should distribute it equally to every county throughout the State, she could build about four-fifths of a mile of hard- surfaced road in each county.

"But there are those in Congress (I do not think they are to be found else- where) who seem to have a vague notion that the thing to do is to make the rail- road depot the hub, and radiate from that point to reach the farmer's produce ; but let's see how that would work:

"In a great many counties there are several lines of railroad. Who will de- cide which line to prefer? If all lines are to be treated equally, what would the result be?

"Take Missouri for example. She has an average of, say, ten depots in each county. If each county can build only four-fifths of a mile out of each $50,000,- 000, appropriations were kept up.

"At that rate, it would take twelve and ore-half years to get one mile of road out from each depot.

"The average haul in Missouri is nine miles, so it would take 12 years to build one road out from each depot to meet the requirements of an average haul, and to 'radiate' in only four directions would take 448 years if an appropriation of $50,000,000 were made annually.

"What is the reasonable thing to do? And how are we to get roads? If $50,- 000,000 is appropriated annually for only six years, and applied to a system of National highways, it will build 30,000 miles at an average cost of $10,000 per mi'e. I believe that this is a reasonable estimate for a first-class road.

"This system could be made to furnish an average of two trunk lines, across each State and across the continent, and all connected with the national capital."

��Umatilla County'- lax levy for road purposes is 2V2 mills. As the assessed valuation of the pro, -,rty subject to the county road tax is about $40,000,000, this will provide a fund of $100,000. No road districts in this country have made special tax levies.

In speaking of the purposes and plans of the court in expending this money. County Judge Maloney said: "It is the policy of the court to avoid a bond issue if possible. We are, therefore, building permanent roads just as fast as we can get to them. During the past two years we have built about 10 miles of macadam road each year at an average cost of $5,- 000 a mile, and we expect to build at least 10 miles this year.

"By the end of the month we will have spent $118,000 for roads and bridges in the country during 1913. There has not been a wooden bridge built in the county since I have been a member of the court, and there will not be one built with my consent so long as I am a member. We believe there is economy in permanent bridges.

"We constructed 14 steel bridges dur- ing 1913. Most of these were small. We have our own engineer, do our own ce- ment work, and are as well equipped as any contracting firm in the country. By having our own equipment we are able to cut the cost of constructing concrete piers and abutments nearly in half. As an illustration, the court recently asked for a bid on a piece of concrete work. The bid was $22 a cubic yard, whereas we have been doing the same class of work for approximately $6.50 a cubic yard.

"Approximately half of our road fund is consumed each year in the repair of dirt roads. This work has to be done over each year, but there is no way to avoid the difficulty until permanent roads are constructed.

"The first ambition of the court is to complete the Pendleton State Line High- way. This will extend from Pendleton through the towns of Adams, Athena, Weston, Milton and Freewater, to the State line. In addition to the towns named, it will pass through a number of wheat shipping stations, thereby proving a great benefit to the farmers. At pres- ent, but 15' 2 miles of the 40 have been built. The road now built is in three sec- tions. The first section extends from Pendleton to Havana station, a distance of eight miles. This section is being ex- tended daily. The second section is the three and a half miles connecting the towns of Athena and Weston, while the

��third section extends from the State line southward for a distance of four miles. We are making the road 14 feet wide, and are constructing it of water-bound macadam."

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A. A, A. ISftsdts ©IRIksire

John A. Wilson, of the Pennsylvania Motor Federation, has been elected presi- dent of the American Automobile Asso- ciation, succeeding Laurens Enos of New York, who declined a second term. Dr. H. M. Rowe, of the Automobile Club of Maryland, was advanced to the first vice- presidency; R. W. Smith, of Colorado, was named as second vice-president; F. L. Baker, of California, third vice-presi- dent; H. J. Clark, of Minnesota, fourth vice-president; and Preston Belvin, of Virginia, fifth vice-president. John N. Brooks, of Connecticut, continues as sec- retary; H. A. Bonnell, of New Jersey, as treasurer; and A. G. Batchelder as chair- man of the executive board. In the ap- pointment of board chairmen. President Wilson named the following: Good roads, George C. Diehl, New York; legislative, C. C. Janes, Ohio; touring, Howard Longstreth, Pennsylvania; contests, Wm. Schimpf, New York. The executive board contains members from practically every State.

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin has decided that if a man rides in a motor car on the invitation of another, he takes the risk for whatever may happen during the ride. The decision was made recently and reverses the decision of the circuit court in the suit of M. J. Hannon, of Green Bay, against the Van Dycke Co., of Green Bay, for $2,500 damages and costs as compensation for two broken legs and other personal injuries. The Van Dycke Co. hired a touring car to take Hannon into the country to inspect a farm, which it was offering for sale, and on the journey homeward the party met with an accident, in which Hannon was thrown from the car and badly injured.

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��There will be a clear saving of $1,000,- 000 to $1,500,000 to automobile owners and a loss of the same sum to the State, if the fight against the new auto tax is successful. At the office of Attorney- General Webb it is said that the elimina- tion of the tax provision of the new auto law will remove all possibility of a tax on motor driven vehicles for the time be- ing, as the law contained no saving clause.

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