420 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



and improved standards, and I think this conference should come up 

 with a series of recommendations that support that thinking. 



Mrs. CYRIL Fox. I have been in touch with Mr. Wolfson. I have 

 a file of very fine material that resulted from your conferences, and 

 one thought keeps recurring, that the automobile industry, in general, 

 is opposed to a tax at the source. I don't know whether you call it 

 an excise tax or whatever. But it would seem to me it is penalizing 

 the municipalities to have to pick up these cars and take them to the 

 processing centers, and I don't think that is quite fair. I think the 

 original purchaser should possibly share that initial tax. After all, 

 it is his responsibility and he is the original purchaser. I heard Mr. 

 Abernethy express disapproval but the thought keeps cropping up. 

 We would like to know, we want guidance, because we are working 

 in Pennsylvania now on an automotive junkyard law in our legisla- 

 ture. We don't think screening is the answer, because too many are 

 on hillsides and our highway departments tell us the cars come all the 

 way to the edge of the road, and that there is no room for screening. 

 I can see a lot of sick trees being ugly, too, uglier even than the 

 junkyard. 



We would like to be informed on that, please. 



Mr. ABERNETHY. I stated in my opening statement that the prob- 

 lem was of national scope affecting everyone. The answers are 

 multiple and not limited to any sector. I do not believe the excise 

 tax has anything to do with it. 



SAM PROLER. As a citizen, I am not in favor of any taxes of any 

 kind on getting rid of cars, whether it is the individual or the com- 

 pany that makes it or in subsidizing wreckers, junk dealers or steel 

 mills as well. I think the problem, basically is a minor one; while 

 the problem stands out in everybody's mind, the greatest majority of 

 the cars move to scrap dealers on a constant basis, as Mr. Marley 

 mentioned. About 30 million tons of scrap are produced each year. 

 A very small fraction of this amount has actually become an eyesore. 



Six words, namely, means to speed up the flow, is really needed 

 here. That is a physical job and is not going to be cured with 

 subsidies and taxes. The tools to do this with are on the verge of 

 being available in the immediate future. 



Mr. MARLEY. Mr. Proler, I wonder if you would be kind enough 

 to tell our audience some of the figures in regard to the new processes 



