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Show ROAD CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON " CALLED BY SECRETARY HOUSTON Representatives From Many States Federal and State Gov- ernments to Unite -in Road Building Law of Great Importance, Draws From Government Treasury. Washington, D. C, Sept. 2. Thirty-five Thirty-five States sent representatives to the August conference in Washington called by the Secretary of Agriculture to discuss the rules and regulations for the operation of the Federal Aid road act. Colorado, Delware, Georgia, Missouri, Mis-souri, New Hampshire, Nevada North Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Washing-ton, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Wyoming were the thrirteen States which were unrepresented. Of these, Georgia, Texas, and South Carolina have yet to provide themselves with State hlhgway departments In order to quality for participation in the $75,000,000 Federal appropriation, to be expended in the next five years. Though Indian also has to provide a State highway commission, Governor Gover-nor Ralston sent Carl G. Fisher to the conference as the Hoosler spokesman. spokes-man. In the course of his address Secretary Secre-tary of Agriculture Houston said: "You highway officials represent the states. I represent the Federal Government. Gov-ernment. Together we are charged with the execution of very difficult and very important law. "This law appeals to me as of especial importance, not so much because be-cause it carries with it out of the Federal treasury an appropriation of $85,000,000, not because It will be met by appropriation of ?75,000,000, or more out of the State funds, if all the States accept this act, but because be-cause as great as is the aggregate, it Is relatively insignificant in comparison com-parison with amounts the States are now annually expending and will spend during the period covered by the Act. "The main question that I am 1m-rediately 1m-rediately concerned with, that the people of the Union are Immediately concerned with, is whether we shall get a dollar's result for every dollar we expend for roads. I am quite sure that If we do so, and we can convince the people that we have done so, they will be willing to put much more money into good roads where they are needed. Therefore, the matter of administering this law, of devising good road system, of careful selection of roads, of formulating 'projects, of developing plans and specifications, of having all matters considered on their merit by competent men, seem to me to He at the root of this business. busi-ness. "If, as the result of this act, tho people are Induced, fully to realize the the necessity of placing skillful and experienced men In. charge of road building and road maintenance, a great advance will have, been made and the efforts of those who labored to secure tho legislation will have been rewarded. Unofficially, there- w'ere also present pre-sent at tho conference men prominent promin-ent in the road movement and indent-ifled indent-ifled with leading organizations interested in-terested in the subject. Among these were Chairman George C. DIeh, of the Good Roads Board, and Executive Chairman A. G. Batchelder, of the American Automobile Association; Associa-tion; John N. Goodell, the American Higtiway Association, and W. A. Alsdorf, of the Ohio Good Roads Federation. Fed-eration. It is rather significant as indicating indicat-ing the desire of the several states to have road connections with one another that at the meeting of the American Association of Setate Highway High-way Officials held the day previous to the conference It was unanimously adopted as the sentiment of the meeting meet-ing that the joolnt Federal and State funds should be expended upon the main roads. Sevcretary Houston has borrowed from the State of California its chief engineer, Austin B. Fletcher, to aid Director Logan Waller Page in a consulting con-sulting capacity in the launching of the Federal aid road work. Mr. Fletcher Flet-cher was chief engineer with the Massachuetts State Highway Commission Com-mission for many years, following which he had charge of the building of the superb county road system of San Diego Conuty, and has now nearly near-ly completed, as state engineer of California, J!e $1S,000,000 state highway high-way system." The experience which he has thus gained in both eastern and western states is expected to prove invaluable to the Government through giving to the Federal officials offici-als a clearer insight into the matter from the standpoint of the states. |
