422 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



In the meantime the government has the $100 and invests it. 

 These earnings over the lifetime of the car would be given to the 

 proper State authorities charged with the responsibility of disposal 

 of old cars. 



The industry says it is disposing of the cars in 30 days but there 

 are a lot of junkyards across this country that have cars that haven't 

 been moved for years. I have gone through one section of the coun- 

 try for five years in a row, and the yards are getting bigger and 

 bigger. 



HENRY D. HARRAL. I am a little disappointed in our manufac- 

 turers, who feel no responsibility for either improving the arrange- 

 ment of our highways or getting rid of some of the difficulties when 

 the car disappears. It would seem to me that the automobile manu- 

 facturers ought to be perfectly willing to work with the people both 

 in taking a part of this excise tax for the improvement of the high- 

 ways, which benefit them, and also be a party to the assistance in the 

 disposal process. Mr. Abernethy merely says he is against excise 

 taxes, which I don't think is enough of an answer. 



Mr. ABERNETHY. I think you misunderstood me. I said it is a 

 problem of national scope. I don't think excise taxes belong in this 

 particular group. It affects everyone and the answers are multiple. 

 By this I tried to indicate a complete cooperation, not limited to 

 any sector. There is no economic group that can be given unwar- 

 ranted reward or burdened with unwarranted expense. 



I think it is a rather total problem. I am sorry you misunderstood 

 me on that. 



Mr. HARRAL. I still don't understand you. 



RALPH LOCHER. Our problem is the one that was pointed out 

 here before, that the price of scrap doesn't seem to be high enough. 

 When we put up these cars for sale, even though we make steel in 

 Cleveland, nobody wants to bid on them. 



If we have a problem with detergents ( and here I agree with my 

 friend), we would not blame the sewage disposal plant. Because 

 detergents are pollutants, we go to manufacturers of detergents and 

 say, "Don't put them in soap, because they are harmful to fish life 

 and whatever they do to pollute rivers." 



Here we have a problem that has to do with the automobile. If 

 the price of scrap is too low to warrant scrap dealers buying the cars, 

 why don't the big five of which Mr. Abernethy's company is one, 



