GASOLENE 39 



wake up to the desirability of having a few rubber trees 

 in our own yard. So Congress has consented to ap- 

 propriate $500,000 to see if we cannot grow rubber 

 under the American flag in the Philippines or elsewhere. 



Hardly had the automobile been born before it began 

 to complain about the roads, especially in America. 

 In Europe the roads were better than ours, thanks to 

 the Romans who, whenever they conquered a country, 

 made a good road through it leading straight to Rome 

 and so solid that it lasts to this day. The French cars 

 that we first imported groaned dreadfully over our 

 rough roads, sometimes indeed balked at travelling in 

 the dirt. So we resolved to mend our ways and have 

 done wonders in a few years. In the period 1910-1921 

 over two and a half billion dollars were spent in road 

 construction in the United States. The Federal 

 Government has come to the aid of the states and at the 

 end of 1921 there had been completed 12,900 miles of 

 good roads, costing about $221,000,000, of which the 

 Federal Government had contributed 46 per cent. 



Although the improvement of highways is chiefly due 

 to the demands of the motor car they ease the labour of 

 the surviving horses. The automobiles wear out the 

 roads more than horse-drawn vehicles but on the other 

 hand they contribute heavily to the government rev- 

 enues. New York City alone takes in $6,000,000 a 

 in motor fees not counting fines. In 1921 the 

 states received in registration and license fees and gas- 

 olene tax more than $132,000,000. Altogether it is esti- 

 mated that motor vehicles paid into the treasuries, state, 

 national and municipal, $341,300,000 in 1921. 



