No. 5. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 195 



ADDRESS OF MR. JONES OF THE STATE HIGHWAY DE- 

 PARTMENT 



Ladies and Gentlemen: There are several tliino^s in Pennsylvania 

 today that make it necessary for anyone from the State Highway 

 Department to have a great deal of conrage when he goes about the 

 State, but I feel that I am in an audience of my friends, and T am 

 going to tell you plainly all about the deplorable condition of our 

 highways, and the condition of affairs in the State Highway Depart- 

 ment at the present time. I am not going to make any attempt at 

 a speech, as you will notice later on. 



At the present time, the State Highway Department is laboring 

 under a lack of funds. There is at present $1,300,000 paid into the 

 State for the receipt of auto licenses. The recent Legislature ap- 

 propriated this auto license money for the use of the State Highway 

 Department, with the proviso that these moneys should be made 

 available at once, so as to avoid the necessity of issuing bonds. But 

 the Auditor-General and the State Treasurer, on some technicality, 

 refused to turn this money over to the Highway Department and 

 have carried the case into the Dauphin County Court, where it is 

 at the present time. And here is a statement that I want to make 

 as soon as I can possibly make it. 



The Dauphin County Court is composed of men of very high stand- 

 ing and character, and if this court should decide that this money 

 should be made available to the State Highway Department, then 

 the parties holding it up, should be made to turn it over at once. 

 This decision may be handed down this week; if it is handed down, 

 and this money is not handed over, then we will have reason to feel 

 that this party is not dealing right by the people of the State and 

 by the State Highway Department. 



I sometimes hear a great deal about the autos tearing up the road, 

 and their reckless driving; but T want to tell you that the people 

 who own the autos are paying for their pleasure. I will give you 

 the figures on this, so that you may be able to judge for yourselves. 

 They have paid into the State Treasury this year |982,000. It will 

 reach a million dollars before Saturday. One million dollars for the 

 maintenance and construction of the State highways, the first five 

 months of the year, and this money tied up by a mere technicality. 

 I am not finding fault with Mr. Powell in protecting himself. I oc- 

 cupied the same position in Lackawanna county that he does in the 

 State. If I considered a bill illegal, I consulted my attorney before 

 paying out the money; but when protected by my attorney and the 

 order of tlie Court, I paid it out. And this is what they should do. 



In 1912 we received from auto licenses, |592,000; in 1913, |862,000; 

 in 1914, it will undoubtedly reach the splendid sum of one million, one 

 hundred thousand. 



Now the recent Legislature passed the new "Township Act." It 

 gives the State Highway Department the right and power to send out 

 engineers to assist the supervisors to plan their roads, construct 

 grades and culverts, etc., get out blue prints, and all free of charge. 

 It was intended to get the State Highway Department and the local 



