The Mercedes News (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 88, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 25, 1928 Page: 2 of 8
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THE MERCEDES NEWS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1928
PHOTOS SHOWING HAVOC WROUGHT BY HURRICANE IN FLORIDA
Herewith is presemea a most remarkable picture of a business street in ried from the middle of the street and automobile traffic was proceeding.
tho town ™ R?itathp wind wfdfn I d^ 6 th<L—still shrieked over The wreckage pictured here is typical of the wake of the storm.—Photo
the town. But the wind had died down sufficiently for debris to be car- by International Newsreel.
Photo shows part of ruins at Sebring, Fla., where mammoth damage was some instances damage to other buildings was larger, while some pscnnnd
suffered in the worst storm that ever hit the State of Florida. The public with lesser damage.—Photo by International Newsreel. P
service building was practically demolished, as shown in the photo. In
East Texas Chamber of Commerce
Plan for a State Highway System
jpROBABLY the most important
matter coming before the next
session of the Texas legislature is
the establishment of a state road
program and the enactment of legis-
lation by which main state highways
can be completed and new ones
built. Various proposals have come
from several sources, but the plan
which seems most likely to prevail
is that adopted by the East Texas
Chamber of Commerce, in the main
provisions of which the South Texas
and the West Texas chambers of
commerce have concurred.
In order that the public may un-
derstand the provisions of the plan
the East Texas Chamber of Com-
merce has distributed the following
interpretation of it:
“We have been paying a charge
of three cents a gallon on gasoline
without any sense of burden. We
have paid as w*e have used and felt
that we were providing for better
roads which would increase our
mileage and save wear and tear on
our cars. Few of us have thought
about the tax at all; none of us
have travelled less because of the
tax.
“One cent a gallon more would
not be burdensome. Yet it would
provide, with present registration
fees and federal aid, for:
“A. Taking over bonds issued by
counties and districts for state high-
ways and relieving all property
from highway taxes. This result
alone justifies the policy, because
in many localities highway taxes,
especially upon farming land and
timber-growing land, are almost
confiscatory.
“B. Maintaining all present state
highways at high efficiency, and
furnishing $19,000,000 for new con-
struction in the year 1929. The cost
of maintenance would decrease as
the quality of the roads would be
improved. Consumption of gasoline
will increase with population and
traffic. Conservatively estimating
these two factors the net amount
available for new construction dur-
ing the succeeding four years would
be:
“For 1930, $24,101,992.
“For 1931, $28,667,291.
“For 1932, $33,842,385.
“For 1933, $39,718,742.
“No greater amount, perhaps,
should be spent in one year, and if
consumption should continue to in-
crease the tax could be correspond-
ingly reduced.
“This can be done under the pres-
ent constitution without delay and
will insure immediate expansion and
continuing progress.
“Looking at it from the stand-
point of the property tax payer it
seems to us that every fair minded
person must agree that if it is just
and equitable no longer to tax prop-
erty for road construction and main-
tenance but to finance future activi-
ties through a tax upon the traffic,
then it must necessarily follow that
it is just and equitable to relieve
property of any tax for roads here-
tofore constructed which in the
main are not yet paid for, but stand
as a debt against counties and dis-
tricts for which every acre of real
property in counties and districts
that have outstanding bonds is un-
der mortgage to secure the payment
of the bonds.
“Our ideas contemplate doing two
things—one being to relieve prop-
erty of an unjust tax burden, the
other to inaugurate and put in prac-
tice a definite and practical program
under which we may have an ade-
quate connected system of high-
ways, yet as the matter stands to-
day the property tax payers of the
state who make up the greater part
of its citizenship are more in need
of relief from the present road tax
burden than they are of more roads.
“There are several proposals for
state bond issue-—one in the large
amount of $350,000,000, and others
in smaller amounts of $25,000,000 to
$50,000,000. Bonds cannot be issued
without the adoption of a constitu-
tional amendment. Perhaps it can
be adopted, perhaps not. In either
case charges upon the traffic—that
is, on gasoline and maybe oils, and
registration fees—must provide the
income. If bonds are issued, the
charges can be smaller by using the
proceeds of the bonds for construc-
tion and the charges on the traffic
for maintenance and retiring bonds.
“The prudent course is for the
next legislature to provide for ample
funds by increased charges upon the
traffic. Then if bonds are issued the
charges can be reduced. If the peo-
ple refuse to vote the bonds the in-
come from the charges upon the
traffic will still provide adequate
funds for a system of durable high-
ways in a period of less than ten
years.
“Most important of all: It will
fix the policy of building and main-
taining state highways—as all other
forms of public service are provided
and maintained—by charges upon
the traffic.
“Highways are roadbeds of com-
merce. Let those of us who use
the roads pay for them.”
fHE drafting of this plan was the
result of the following resolu-
tion, which was adopted by the East
Texas Chamber of Commerce at
Greenville on May 8:
“Whereas, we realize that perma-
nent road construction, maintenance
and a connected system of highways
is one of the most important ques-
tions with which We have to deal;
and
“Whereas, the method now em-
ployed under the present system of
financing, the burden of which falls
largely upon land owners in coun-
ties through which these highways
traverse, many of which are sparse-
ly settled and undeveloped, and who
are unable to finance their portion
of the construction—that there are
now important gaps which render
continuous travel impossible, there-
by causing expensive stretches of
highways already constructed to be
practically useless as far as through
travel is concerned; and
“Whereas, it is highly important
that this condition be remedied by
the immediate construction of miss-
ing links of all important highways;
and
“Whereas, we fully realize that
permanent road construction and
maintenance is a national and state
problem, and that the burden of
further construction, as well as the
payment of county and road district
obligations now outstanding, should
be taken over and assumed by the
state, it being the sense of this
body, that the placing of this burden
on homes, land and other property
is inequitable and unsound, and that
those who use and benefit from the
public highways should pay for
them—
“Therefore, be it resolved by the
East Texas Chamber of Commerce
that the next legislature be memor-
ialized to take such action as may
be necessary to carry this into ef-
fect; and it recommends the adop-
tion of a plan similar to one now in
successful operation in the state of
Arkansas, which provides that all
future road construction and main-
tenance, as well as the payment as
they mature of county and district
road bonds now outstanding be
financed through a tax on gasoline
and registration fees on motor
vehicles; and that the East Texas
Chamber of Commerce pledge its
every effort to properly inform the
people on this question and give its
unqualified support thereto.”
*pHE West Texas, East Texas and
South Texas chambers of com-
merce, through a joint committee
appointed to formulate a highway
policy and legislative pro’gram,
made the following report:
“We favor the building and main-
tenance of state highways by
charges upon the traffic or use on
the same basis that all other forms
of public service are furnished and
sustained. To this end we recom-
mend the collection of taxes upon
fuels and lubricants used in motor
vehicles and the collection of license
or registration fees upon motor
vehicles, equitably adjusted as to
tonnage and use, as the sole avenue
for the construction and mainte-
nance of state highways.
“Under such a policy the state
should build and maintain all desig-
Autos were wrecked by the storm, and l'ather badly used, too. The may be seen cocoanut palms with their fronds ripped to drooping shreds,
storm wreaked a terrific bit of damage here, piling up automobiles and although their sturdy bodies still bend to the wind.—Photo by Interna-
trucks and smashing them with stones from buildings. In the background tional Newsreel.
Photo shows storm ruins at Avon Park, Fla., where huge property losses the picture, which shows tree blown up under house. Few homes in the
were suffered. Some idea of the force of the wind may be obtained from Avon Park section escaped damage of some sort.-
nated state highways from an inde-
pendent state revenue, and it would
be only just to make the policy
retroactive, by providing for the
payment by the state of the interest
and maturities on the bonds issued
by counties and defined road dis-
tricts, to the extent that the pro-
ceeds of such bonds were invested in
the construction of highways incor-
porated into the state system.
“We might well consider at this
time the advantages of a permanent
highway policy which would give all
the motor vehicles fees to the coun-
ty, and all the gasoline revenues to
the state; only impressing the regis-
tration fees with the application of
such fees, first, to the retirement of
bonds incurred by the counties and
defined districts for the construction
of parts of the state system of high-
ways, and then the application of all
remaining revenues from such fees
to road development purposes of the
respective counties.
“The foregoing proposals which
we deem fundamental in the estab-
lishment of a constructive and per-
manent state highway policy, may
be made effective through statutory
enactments under present constitu-
tional provision, and we would rec-
ommend that legislation to achieve
such improvements in the state’s
highway activities be secured at the
earliest date practicable. In none
of the statutory enactments deemed
essential to effect the purposes in-
dicated would there by any disturb-
ance of the present status of the
gasoline tax as an occupation tax,
with a part of the proceeds going
to the available school fund.
“We would further recommend
that in the provision for rapidly in-
creasing highway requirements it is
our judgment that changes in the
constitution be effected which would
give to the state a wider latitude in
the employment of the revenues to
the state for highway purposes, by
declaring gasoline and other motor
transportation fuels a constitutional
revenue, with the authorization to
the legislature to provide for the
allotment to highway purposes of a
greater part of such gasoline reve-
nues, and would empower the legis-
lature to authorize obligations to be
incurred within definite limits to
meet increasing traffic requirements
or emergency construction needs.
“Before attempting to formulate
a legislative program, based upon
the foregoing policy, we recommend
that this conference reassemble for
a meeting with the members of the
highway commission and its engi-
neering staff.
“Respectfully submitted,
“Clarence Ousley, for the East
Texas Chamberpot Commerce.”
“J. P. Williams, for the West
H. T. Tidmore
It Pays to
Be Insured
Insurance covering
fire loss is not an
expense. It is an
investment which
every home owner
should make: Then
in case of fire your
losses are fully
covered.
First National Bank Building
Phone 164
Texas Chamber of Commerce.”
“Leonard Tillotson, for the South
Texas Chamber of Commerce.”
Speaking of child training, the
best government is the one that gov-
erns least.
DBS'
HELMBOLT
Chiropractic
and Swedish
Massage
ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASES
One-half Block South Elks’ Club—Missouri Avenue
ELECTRIC
IRONS
In every family—espec-
ially if there are babies—
there are odd bits of iron-
ing to do each day. That’s
where the electric hand
iron proves its worth.
Press the little dresses
out on the cool porch—or
in the nursery or wherever
there is an electric outlet.
Almost instant heat and
no walking back and forth.
MERCEDES
ELECTRICAL
COMPANY
Phone 131
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The Mercedes News (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 88, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 25, 1928, newspaper, September 25, 1928; Mercedes, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth651706/m1/2/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.