374 AGRICULTUR.'yL APPROPRIATION BILL, 1924. 



tionment is made. This interruption means a serious disturbance 

 in the organizations of the State highway departments; a reduction 

 in force and dismissal of trained men who may not be avaihible when 

 the program is resumed. 



STATE REQUIREMENTS. 



Mr. Anderson. Is there any way of knowing whether any one 



f)articular State expects to put on an average program or more or 

 ess than tliat ? 



Mr. MacDonali). Yes, sir; we obtain estimates from the States as 

 to their retjuirements and as to the program which they expect to 

 put under way. While we secure these estimates from them, we are 

 governed to a large extent by our own records of what has been done 

 m the past. We maintain for each State a curve similar to the chart 

 I have shown for all of the States combined, which shows the progress 

 at which their work is put under way and completed, and by extending 

 those curves which snow a rather constant performance, State by 

 State, we are able to arrive at approximately what we think a State 

 will do in the way of putting funds under construction for the suc- 

 ceeding vear. We are willing, of course, to admit that one State, or 

 two or tliree States, may rise above the line of the curve by making 

 an unusual effort to put a large amount of work under way, but the 

 48 States are so balanced in that respect that we find our figures are 

 quite dependable. By running out the curve on the 48 States, and 

 making a composite of the whole, we believe that we have a very { 



accurate forecast of what we will need from the standpoint of total ! 



funds for the succeeding year, and, in fact, we have projected what we i' 



believe the total program wiD be for the next two years. We have 

 done that from a careful study of the curves of past performance. 



Our conclusions as stated above are that there should be an imme- 

 diate appropriation of the SoO,000,000 authorized for 1923, an imme- 

 diate authorization to apportion the $65,000,000 authorized to be 

 appropriated for the fiscal vear 1924, and an immediate appropriation 

 ot S30,000,000 from the §65,000,000 authorization to be followed by 

 an appropriation of the balance of the authorization by January 1, 

 1924. This program, however, will not enable the States to proceed 

 on so extensive a road-building program as they have been carrying 

 during the last three fiscal .years. | 



Mr. Anderson. Even with the $30,000,000 appropriated ( I 



Mr. MacDonald. With the entire $65,000,000 appropriated, there " 



would not be a sufhcient amount to pay the ^States the sums that we 



Eaid them durin«^ the past fiscal year. Tluit is, there is no ([uostion 

 ut what a nmnber of States, proceeding as in the past, will need to 

 (haw their proportion of the entire $65,000,000. 



Mr. A.NDKUso.N. Tlie (luestion seems to be whether we are to leave 

 in the Treasury a consiilfrablc sum of money which is not drawn by 

 some of the States, while there may be a deficit in the amount which 

 will be (hawn by others. 



Mr. Mac Donald. That, of course, would automatically take care oi 

 itself at the end of each three-year period. Tliat is to .say, Congress 

 has fixed a three-year period during which States can take up each 

 appropriation. I my.self think that is rather too long a period, and 1 

 ojjposed that lengtli of time wlien the legislation was pro|)o.seil. 1 ilo 

 not ktj(»w why it was lixed at tliree years. States which do not take 



