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Show STATES ARE BUILDING IS WELL AS PUTION 1 WASHINGTON. P C, April 23 --('That --('That the building of a national highway high-way system will take away the work I of the various state highway depart ments is a contention frequently mad 1 1 but entirely at variance with facts and j logic," says John A Wilson, past pr-ai-jident of the American Automobile Association As-sociation 'I "Fortj-four states have established I definite systems of main highway Neither bj legislative action or by ac-j ac-j j tion of state and local officials, aggro-I aggro-I ' gating according to the latest statls- tics 203,523 miles exclusive of a con-1 con-1 Biderable mileage of local roa) - 00 I which the states are granting aid. Those state systems are as follows, suae. Mileage. : Alabama 2,700 I Arizona 1,600 Arkansas ?,,000 ' California R.QOO I Colorado . . 7,0ST ! Connecticut 950 Delaware C50 ' I Florida not given ' Georgia 5,500 Idaho 2,200 j 1 Illinois 4,100 I Indiana 2.000 j Iowa i 6.J00 I Kansas . Kentucky . . p000 ' Louisiana 5,000 Maine 1 353 Maryland 1.300 Massachusetts 1.200 Michigan 4.500 Minnesota 12,700 ' Mississippi j Missouri 7.5C0 Montana -'.400 Nebraska C00O Nevada 1,400 New Hampshire - ... l.oSO .New Jersey . . CG0 I 3,487 New Mexico , b,-5v" New York 12 27 North Carolina 'J.35C. North Dakota 1. 000 Ohio 9,880 (iklahorna (about) 10,700 Oregon 3,800 4K3 522 1,880 Pennsylvania 10,223 Rhode Island 800 South Carolina 2,550; South Dakota 6,000 Tennessee not given Texas 12.620 Utah 3.660 Vermont 4.300 Virginia 3,740 Washington 3.371 West Virginia 1,600 Wisconsin r.,000 j Wyoming 3,100 203.523 "With additions which are being made from time to lime to these systems, sys-tems, " continued Mr. Wilson, ' and taking into account the fOUt additional! states on an average basis, we may1 look io see at least 250,0iO miles of I stnt.. highways or 10 per cent of the' total mileage as the approximate length of main tnte highways. A lh years go on this will Increase so as probably to always lorni about 10 pel cent of the total highway mileage. If the federal government takes over a system of fifty to seventy-five thousand thou-sand miles It will cut into the state system only to the extent o! some 2 to 25 per cent and there will still r main enough trunk line highways to say nothing of the local state ad roads to keep every dollar of state money and every man of the Ktate forces busy for a good many years (o come "Any talk, therefore, of encroachin? upon the useful Held of ihe state b.r.h-way b.r.h-way departments by the building of a national highway system is utterly out of tune with ihe facts. Really what will happen Is that the federal government govern-ment and the state governments Will or,er;iie un.l.T .. ll.i;i of in ! Min miles instead of dollars and will run a pretty race as to the quality and quantily of work. Showering government govern-ment money like manna and leaving tho states to put it where they will is doing with the states what they found impracticable to do with the counties. "The sooner the goernment real Izcs that the doing of a definite tnsk by a compact organization whose duties du-ties and responsibilities are clear-cut is superior to the method of spending the same amount of money without plan or system the sooner will the goal of co-ordinated national, state, countv and township highway systems be attained at-tained Intelligent public sentiment must take the form of practical public pub-lic counsel and this the American Automobile Association Is endeavoring to bring about through co-operation with other great national bodies directly di-rectly eonterned in the vital sub." ct of highways and at the same time it is endeavoring to make clear the real facts in regard to just such questions as that of encroaching upon slate ac-tivltlc ac-tivltlc ' |