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Show II Congressional Record Prints Adresses Made Before Keystone Club I WASHINGTON. A speech of Senator Sena-tor Phlpp iofori- tii Keystone Automobile Auto-mobile club of Philadelphia Jan. 7 n the subject, of highway development was ordero.l printed In tho Congressional Congres-sional Record ly tb senate. Mr yJ'Mpps spoke in part ns follow. ' The subject ol road building is ine w hicli has boon given xerloun study iy every progressive people on rth ylnco tlic earliest days of liiMory. The outstanding nniple of nations which built permanent roadways Is that o( Roma, and it is possible today, or at least is possible as late as the year 1912, to drive an automobile over tbe original ina.ll.rd nf the old Appi.".n Way constructed by those wonderful people during the curly years or ihe 'hrlstlan pra. Tl S problems of efficient road construction con-struction are not nil o!' tlu past, nor have they yet been solved, i cause new conditions arc motnsntarilj celling for more suitable construction Roadways Which were adequate for the traffic r j ten years ki are today breajtlng down under "ip beavj traffic who ), psspt over Diem. Formerly an ordinary type 't macadam road was ideal for general gener-al country use. whereas toda) we must resort to more expensive type of con-( Mtructlptv; Including heavy wear and w crtther-reslstinR surface. I isvep the type or subsoil upon which the foundation is laid must studied to determine if special treatment treat-ment is necessary. The naturol tend ncy i to adopt a more and more es pensive type of constrnetioii for oui roads, and like every o'her movement dangerlles in the probability t its being be-ing carried to an unnecessary decree. 'Instead of building all of our road"? so that they will withstand the heaviest heav-iest possible traffic, thai can he put upon them, is it not possible to place .' limp on tne weight of loaded trueics, to limit the speed at which they may travel, and to prescribe the width and type of tires according to the weigh ol Ihe load which they are designed carry? "It is also possible to expend Ldo much money in endearorltig ti ihortt the mileage or reduce grades to a minimum, and there is also h tendency! lo make the highway wider than Is justified by the traffic It mutil carry This movement to-- federal activity in the matter of good road building was crystallised In the Shnr kiefru .1 t ,, which became on July 11. 1 y 1 r. . carrying total appropriations of 185,-000,000. 185,-000,000. of which amount $10,OQOrOOO ppU was assigned for use in constructing! roadways In the for si reserves, and' the remaining ?6, (100,000 to be pendedfdollar for dollar, ol state funds available for use In the construction of highways. The allotment for the fla-j CSJ year ending June 8fj, 1 : 1 7. vas 155, 000,000, the annual appropriation i lie Increased by an additional amount of $5,000,000 each year until 1931; in-elusive, in-elusive, when It aggregates the sum of. H $26,000,000. The money has been allotted to the various states based one-third upon crca, onc-thlrd upon state populatii i and one-third uppn mileage of rural I delivery routes Tbe ppropria - arc safeguarded by customary provi-slons, provi-slons, Including the approval, of the! secretary of agriculture on all projects submitted by the state;- r-r government 1 Bn.I. ( VKKH l. "The postoffice appropriation bill of 919 carried, under similar conditions..! additional appropriations of 150, oon for the year ending Jutio 30, 1919; $75,000,000 for the year 1920; and $75, 000,000 for the year ending June '.!. 1021, for expenditure In matching Istate appropriations dullnn for dollm ! also an additional amount of (9.000,-1 (9.000,-1 000 for the construction of roads in, forest reserves; and In this hill the! limit on' federal contribution was raised from $10,000 to $20,000 per mile Of road. "The general plan upon which the Shacklcford bill and the act of ion are based bus not worked out an satis-' Ifaotorlly in practice as had been an-, ticlpated bj li"- proponents of these measures. The requirements of an equal proportion of State funds to' ! match the federal aid results in leaving leav-ing little, if any. money In the road funds of the ftatc available for needed .upkeep and the development of sec-j ondary or tributary roads. This Is particularly par-ticularly true In the western states. "Construction ,.t the toads. aft-r ap- prosal of the products by the federal! 'authorities. Is under the direct super-j vision of the si tie highway board, and the Icndenc;. has been to devote .Iten-liou .Iten-liou almost exclusively to local interests inter-ests without any reference to the highways high-ways of oilier states which should af-1 fo.d connoollons as parts of national routes. s) ROXti i I i I I 'J'he.-e Is unavoidably a strong in-fhience in-fhience always al work In eV.ery coJn-;munM coJn-;munM which might possibly be reached by a main thorofare lo have that road was buill right through the 'center of the particular town or vii-lage, vii-lage, a ei . : s in the majority of cases ' tvould be much better for the community com-munity itself If It would construct a liihort connecting road, thus avoiding jthe unnoyuncc and over present dan-Jge, dan-Jge, of through traffic, while at the same time obtaining the advantages of shorter length and better grade for the main route. j "The fedora aid plan dues not re-stricl re-stricl the application of the funds to the construction r main or through routes. .Many expenditures for -now roads are made without any reference I whatever to national thoroughfares. MUch of the construction W of inade-dnate inade-dnate tj p- and not substantial enough; iO ;i,ml up under the ordinary traffic' When the choice and dctornii.at:o;i of routes is loft to local hlghua official they arc apt to be too strong influ-onoed influ-onoed by local rleeds. The shortest! and most economical routes for new' j roads will be departed from in order! ;lhal they may pass through every Small settlement, village, or tow n to j meet the leuuestc of their inh ihltants. Dlrefct routes with minimum grades j should be developed and the neoessarj connecting .siiort stretches constructed the town or village requiring the! connection. "It ha oeen climated that Ihe ex- penditures for highway constructlou selvea which reads would in turn be: amounted to about $600,000,000. and1 the Indications are that at leust this j rate r expenditure win be continued.) "It seems to nic that we should dqpt B s stem Of national routes to curry the principal traffic between tbe largest centers Of population in the various states and that theSe. roads sh.m'.d be constructed and maintained ". tlie federal government that they be supplemented by state roods built and maintained by the states them-,elves, them-,elves, which roads would In turn be fed by the county or township roads built and malptamed by the various towns and communities 'within the states. 'The provisions of the Towsend bill! seem to mo to meet most of tho objections ob-jections which have been raised to or.-' IstliiR federal laws, yet It Is frani:l ad-1 jnittci by the author of this bill hat I baa not yet been perfected, that It I must include proper provision for the , construction of highways In forest re-; stpi ami possibly Other amend-I ments " |