OCR Text |
Show STATE-FEDERAL ROAD 5CT IT TAINTED It is the general opinion among autoists that the co-operation between states and the government in the betterment bet-terment of roads throughout the country coun-try will be the means of establishing a line of highways across the continent conti-nent that will redound to the credit of the country and make for the uplift of tho nation. It will moan better automobile auto-mobile travel which educates the people peo-ple of tho various sections pertaining to the commercial interests of all sections. sec-tions. For the national and state governments gov-ernments to join hands in the great enterprise of building roads presages an advancement in tho next decade that can hardly be calculated at this time. It means the institution of a federal system of highways which will connect tho different sections in a way that will prove beneficial in every part of the nation. Speaking of I the plan, Chairman Georgo C. Diehl of the good roads board of the American Automobile association, has the following fol-lowing to say: "Motorists generally are sanguine that the roads co-operation just established estab-lished between the national government govern-ment and the several states will accomplish ac-complish a big step toward the evolution evolu-tion of a federal system of highways which will connect tho different sections sec-tions of the country as effectively as the French plan of national routes. "The most refreshing feature of the federal aid road act Is its freedom from the taint of 'pork barrel.' "An automatic check is placed upon any raid on the United States treasury," treas-ury," continues the road authority, "in requiring that the states must match each federal dollar with at least an equal amount. Of course, this means that the state will not squander its money for makeshift construction or repair. "The law further guards against 'pork barrel' by requiring all of the co-operation to be between the state highway departments and the secretary secre-tary of agriculture. No political of-flclal of-flclal has any power over the work at all, and it is a credit to the members of congress that they have so worded the act as to make the state the smallest small-est unit of co-operation, rather than the congressional district or the county. "The federal aid road law is fundamentally funda-mentally as sound as any measure that could be enacted, and its only weakness, other than those of a minor character, is in its failure to require iron clad assurances from tho states that the roads will be properly maintained. main-tained. Abundant and beneficent results re-sults should flow from this legislation during the next few years. "Putting this great new policy Into operation involving an outlay of $85,. 000,000 of government money has made of the United States office of public roads and rural engineering about the busiest bureau in the government gov-ernment service. While tho federal aid road law designates the secretary of agriculture as the exocutlve officer for carrying out the act, he will very largely meet this requirement through the agency of the public roads office, of which Logan "Waller Page Is the director. "The first step in getting the work under way was the issuance by tne secretary of agriculture of a formal certificate to the secretary of the treasury, tho state high-way departments depart-ments and tho governors of states, showing the exact amount which each state will receive for the first year of the law's operation. Rules and regulations reg-ulations for the administration of the act have been completed in tentative form, and these were discussed with state highway officials at a conference held in Washington, so all of tho states may have an opportunity to set forth their position with reference to each and every point before the secretary sec-retary of agriculture adopts and promulgates pro-mulgates the rules and regulations in official form. oo |