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Uncle Sam and His Nephews, the States,
Are Collecting Over a Billion Dollars in
Yearly Tolls on Motor Vehicles and Fuel
More Than Meets the Nation’s Billion Dollar Highway Building
Biil —Thomas H. MacDonald, Chief of the U. S. Bureau
of Public Roads, Tells Striking Details,
By JUDSON C. WELLIVER
America has reverted to the ancient system of collecting
tolls wherewith to build and maintain highways.
In 102;) these tolls amounted to $1,004,000,000, collected
through motor licenses, gasoline taxes, property, corporation,
income production and other taxes on automobiles, automobile
manufactures, tire petroleum industry, etc.
In the same year $1,003,000,000 was spent on rural roads.
It took near a century to build $20,000,000,000 worth of rail¬
roads. A highway system costing that much will be created in
twenty years at present rate.
These nre Home of the high points
presented by Thomas 11 MacDonald,
Chief of the Bureau of Public Roads,
Department of Agriculture, in an in¬
terview on highway development.
The equipment of this continent
with modern roads has been the most
amazing provision of a public utility
that any community ever accom¬
plished in a similar period,” said Mr.
MacDonald. “Historians say the
Unman Empire was held together by
its highway system, radiating from
Pome to the Provinces. But America
has converted a continent into a
neighborhood within a few years
“This accomplishment really repre-
gents the inauguration of a new sys¬
tem of taxation; a system of licenses
end excises levied against particular
privileges or classes of properly, the
proceeds being dedicated to highway
development.
'For 1925 state taxes on gasoline
aggregated $143,000,000. Add to that
$263,500,000 for automobile registra-
tion and licenses; $1 HO,000,000 as
property tases on the 20,000,000 auto-
mobiles: $143,430,709 as the Federal
excis > tax on automobiles, parts and
accessories for 1025; $50,000,000 to
represent wheelage taxes, special
taxes on gasbline or cars, and fines
collected from motor drivers. The
total reaches approximately $749,
930.709
Nearly SI, 100,000,000 Yearly Toils
"But these figures do not include
income and corporation taxes derived
from the motor car business. Nor do
thty include state, local, production,
corporation or income taxes of the
petroleum industry Yet that Indus
try has a Capitalization of about
$9,000,000,000 A modest estimate for
these, added to the preceding figures,
makes a total of $1,094,930,709, which
is considerably more than the entire
amount spent on country roads.
“You observe that 1 have not in¬
cluded the government’s expenditures
of nearly $100,000,000 in Federal aid
to road building. In the eight years
from 1918 to 1925 Inclusive, the Gov¬
ernment ims contributed $400,000,000
to help the states build roads. That
is considerably less than half of what
the country spent on roads in either
1924 or 1925. Moreover, in the same
eight years, while the Government
was distributing that $100,000,000 to
the states, it collected $873,000,000 in
internal revenue taxes on motor cars
parts and accessories. Other hun
dreds of millions were collected in in
come and corporation taxes from mo
tor car manufacturers and dealers
Thus it appears that Federal con
tribution to roads as compared to the
contribution of people who make and
use the ears and the gasoline has i
been decidedly modest.
“But, while Federal contribution is
only about 10 per cent of highway ex¬
pense. it has accomplished results al¬
together out of proportion to its
amount. First, it was an Incentive to
the States. Tim Government required
them to Invest as much as it con
tributed Then the Government takes
part in a general supervision of con
struction and a share in determining
routes. So we have built roads on
better standards, arnd have got them
organized into a truly national sys¬
tem instead of forty-eight state sys¬
tems.
Unifying the Road System
“Some day it will be realized that
tliis was the most valuable contribu¬
tion. Driving from Boston to New
York, a man may pass through four
states. Every one might have a I
splendid highway system; but if these I
did not articulate at the state lines j
the trip would be almost impossible, i
Thanks to the systematization under
Federal influence, country roads are
as superior to state boundary lines as
are railroads. i
“The Federal highway act of 1921 '
required that a complete nation-reach- j
ing system of roads be designated
within two years, as the roads to
which Uncle Sam would give assist¬
ance. It was found that there were
2,866,061 miles of highway in the j
country. Of these 7 per cent, or 200,- j
Boost Dade County
624 miles, were to be included in the
national system, eligible for Federal
aid. Nearly every mile of that 2,866,-
061 was a candidate for designation
as a Federal highway. But in the end
the system was laid out as a truly na
tional one.
“When the map was published it
showed nearly the 200,000 miles ot
designated routes. Since then 46,48c
miles of these roads have been im
proved, nearly 13,000 more are undeT
construction, and over 2,000 have been
approved for early beginning o? work
In addition to that many states have
built, without Federal aid, extensive
sections which are included within
this national system. In fact, these
state contributions aggregate 55,000
miles, so that approximately two
thirds of the 200,000 mile national
highway system has already been im
proved.
Uncle Sam as Road Supervisor
“Along with all of this, there is the
Federal supervision over construction
and maintenance. When Uncle Sam
helps build a road he reserves au¬
thority to require its proper main¬
tenance. Then there is the business
of uniform marking along highways,
which makes it possible for motorists
to drive thousands of miles on a des¬
ignated route whose markings be¬
come so familiar that after a few
miles he need not ask directions.
“Finally Federal participation has
made possible a great number of
bridges at strategic points. Some of
these have been needed for years, yet
state and local authorities have been )
unable to provide them, partly be¬
cause of the cost, partly because of
competition between routes. When a
stream separates two counties, or two
states, it is often impossible to get
them to agree where to build or how
to divide the cost of a bridge. In
such cases the Federal authority has
repeatedly mediated differences and
secured construction. Let me men¬
tion some instances.
“Missouri has been a state for over
a century. Divided east and west by
the Missouri river, communication be-
tween the two sections has been lim-
ited. to the state’s disadvantage. Four
bridges across the river were required r .. a
in the national highway program, and
Federal co-operation with the state of
Missouri has made them possible.
Two are completed, the others are un¬
der construction. The four will cost
a little more than $2,000,000, the Fed¬
eral contribution being nearly $1,000,-
000 .
Getting Bridges Constructed
“Another bridge that has a peculiar
importance, both locally and nation¬
ally, has been needed for generations
acrosg Raritan bay> New j er sey. It la
one of the links in the chain of com- i
munieation between New York city
and the country at large. In 1924
New Jersey had some $700,000 of Fed
eral aid allotted to her roads and in 1
1925 over $1,000,000. So the state
agreed that this Raritan bridge should
be built, costing about $4,000,000.
Federal funds made up about one-
third of the amount. The bridge, over
a mile and a half long, is now nearly
completed.
“Such illustrations might be multi¬
plied indefinitely. National participa¬
tion has repeatedly made possible the
accomplishment of vitally important
highway development”
According to the American Petro
leum Institute, the gasoline tax was
first imposed in 1919 in Oregon. It
has now been adopted by all the
states except New York, Illinois, New
Jersey and Massachusetts. The ten¬
dency has been continually to in
crease the rate of tax per gallon. As
late as 1921 gasoline taxes for the en
tire country were only about $5,000,-
000; in 1922, $12,000,000; in 1923, al¬
most $37,000,000; in 1924, $79,000,000,
and in 1925, $142,987,749.
With good prospects that the ‘‘gas’’
tax will be adopted soon by states
which do not have it now and with
the gallonage rates being increased in
other states, it is calculated that this
tax alone will soon raise $200,000,000
a year, quite possibly during 192$.
Casserole Combinations
7K
Tome nflrac- HE
tbe dishes BL. casserole
made front ft fers many
canned foods. pleasing
iation of
daflv
banning three meals a day, for
days a week and fifty-two weeks
a voar, becomes a tedious Dsk,
if the housewife is not ingenious
invent'nr new ways oi serving
oid, familia" foods.
Fortunately, the list of
serve foods is a long step in t' a
tion of variety, and is available
anv sffison of the year. The fascin¬
ating possibilities they offer in
serole combinations are almost
limited.
This is especially true in regard
vegetables. And best for
purposes are those you can get in
because all tiie preliminary work
prepara'ion has been done and
need only to mix them with other
gredients before baking in the
serole. You are thus saved
time and work. And, if you
had the forethought to stock up
pantry shelves with an adequate
ety of -hese prepared foods, you
make any casserole combination
happens to strike your fancy, without
having to send out tor the necessary
ingredients.
Particularly desirable for
dishes are such vegetables as tomatoes,
corn, peas and stringiess beans. These
are always available in cans, and in
that form are more economical than
the fresh vegetables. They are staples
of the diet, as they are rich in most
«• the elements the human svstem
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❖ Fruit & Nursery Stock ❖ ❖
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needs and arc liked by every mem¬
ber of the family, if properly sea¬
soned and blended with other foods.
Tomatoes and corn combine well.
Corn and stringless beans also “team
up” well. Peas gs better with creamed
eggs, potatoes or carrots. It is en¬
tirely feasible, however, to combine
all four of these popular vegetables
in or.e casserole dish, thus:
Vegetables cn Casserole —First cook
t 1 e canned toma f nes and corn to¬
gether for a few minutes, then stir
n the canned pea-, and stringiess beans
'ran which the juice has been
drained. Blend all these together
j with a white salute, put into a casse-
<\ sprinkle with loadcrumbs, dot
with butter, and brown in oven.
. rn ad Tomatoes an Gratin —
O'ok a No. 2 size can of tomatoes
twenty minutes. Add a can of corn,
two green peppers chopped coarsely,
ne sliced on' >u, one tablespoon but¬
ter, salt, pepper and paprika. Simmer
IS nr mites, then place in well-but¬
tered casserole, sprinkle with bread¬
crumbs and grated cheese, dot with
small pieces of butter, ar*- bake a
delicate brown.
Canned Com and Stringiess Beans,
blended with a white sa’uce and
cooked in a casserole until brown,
make a highly nourishing and tasty
,.oh.
Canned Peas and Carrots, creamed
together with while sauce, should
have a top layer of breadcrumbs dot¬
ted with butter, before browning in
a casserole. j
Canned Pfi.s and Hard-Boiled
Eggs, creamed together make a deli¬
cious casserole combination. The top
of this dish should be sprinkled with
breadcrumbs and grated cheese.
Canned Peas and Mashed Potatoes
always go well together. Left-over
mashed potato may he used up in this
way. Mix the contents of a can of
peas with white sauce. Put into a
casserole and cover with a thick layer
of mashed potatoes. Dot with butter
and heat in the oven until the pota¬
toes are a golden brown.
Canned Tomatoes with Rice and
Cheese is another excellent casserole
combination. Boil one cup of rice,
drain, rinse and keep hot. Melt one
tablespoon butter and blend with one
tablespoon flour. Add contents of a
No. 2 size can of tomatoes, rubbed
through a sieve. Season. Fill a cas¬
serole with alternate layers of rice
and the tomato sauce, sprinkling each
layer with grated cheese. Bake in
a hot oven 15 minutes.
make CannedJTomatocs zuith Mushrooms
an appetizing dish. Cook to¬
gether fof five minutes a few slices,
each, of bacon (chopped), onion and
carrot. Season, add y 2 can of toma¬
toes and cook five minutes. Add 3
tablespoons flour blended with cold
water, and 1^2 cups of brown stock.
Cook in oven about an hour. Then
strain, add y 2 can of mushrooms
drained and quartered Cook two
minutes in casserole. J
Canned asparagus is equally deli¬
cious when mixed with white sauce,
sprinkled with crumbs and grated
cheese, and cooked in a casserole. So,
also, is canned spinach. Using a few
standard rules as a basis, all sorts of
tasty casserole combinations may be
devised from prepared vegetables.