R. H. Gantz, Piatt county, rises to ask 



President Shuman a question during farm 



Bureau leaders annual spring meeting In 



Springfield, 



State 

 inds in- 

 small 

 ionsoli- 

 mort 



stakf 



A group of farmers and farm advisers 

 from the I9fh 1X4 district meet at close 

 of farm Bureau Leaders meeting to plan 

 district discussion of farm Bureau problems 

 with lAA Director f. L. Simpson (facing 

 camera, right, center). I. t. Parett (cen- 

 ter, speaking) of lAA calls meeting to 

 order. 



rations, underpasses and wider two and 

 four-lane highways. 



"The question the average motorist 

 has to ask himself is whether he is will- 

 ing to pay an additional 75 to 80 cents 

 per month for the assurance of a re- 

 stored and servicable system of Illinois 

 highways and city streets; or does he 

 prefer to keep this amount in his pocket 

 and see our highways and streets con- 

 tinue to break up and finally go into a 

 complete state of destruction." Smith 

 based his figure on an average annual 

 travel per auto in the state of 5,000 

 miles a year with the increase in the 

 gas tax and license fee. 



"As a matter of fact," Smith said, 

 "our present battered highways do 

 many dollars of damage to our autos 



1 



and tires every year." 



In conclusion, we summarize briefly 

 the Commission's principal findings and 

 recommendations : 



1. The highway safety record in Il- 

 linois must be improved. A compre- 

 hensive safety program of education 

 and law enforcement, with some 

 changes in existing law, can be ex- 

 pected to have good results. 



2. The highway physical plant itself 

 must be protected against abuse. 

 Changes in existing law as to the en- 

 forcement of overweight restrictions 

 are required. The executive branch 

 has recently embarked on an active pro- 

 gram of preventing overweight viola- 

 tions. This program should be sus- 

 tained. 





Let's 

 Get Out 

 Of The 



Mud! 







*>-i«*^r^: 



Fight 



, J 4 "Ht^ Of The 



' '^*^"^^ Gas 



Tax! 



3. Highways should be reclassified 

 into four principal systems — the pri- 

 mary highway system, the secondary 

 highway system, the municipal street 

 system, and the local rural road system. 



4. The fiscal needs for improving 

 and operating the highway physical 

 plant at a rc.isonable service level are 

 so great that they cannot possibly be 

 met at the present time, even with the 

 increased revenues which the Commis- 

 sion proposes should be raised. 



5. Highway user revenues should be 

 increased substantially to provide the 

 means of going at least part way in 

 meeting the huge fiscal needs. The 

 motor fuel tax rate should be increased 

 to five cents a gallon, the net proceeds 

 to be distributed as follows; to the 

 state, 37.5 per cent; to the counties, 25 

 per cent; to the municipalities, 25 per 

 cent; and to the townships and road 

 districts, 12.5 per cent. Passenger car 

 licenses should be restored to the pre- 

 1935 level. Truck, bus, and trailer li- 

 censes should be increased moderately 

 in the lower weight brackets and 

 steeply in the higher weight brackets, 

 as specifically set forth earlier herein. 

 Motor vehicle operator licenses should 

 be increased to $1 per three year period. 



<i. The added revenue from these in- 

 creases will approxim.ite S li. iOO.OOO 

 a year, but the total highway revenue 

 will still fall short of what is needed. 

 However, it is the judgment of the 

 Commission that, all things considered, 

 further increases in highwav user taxes 

 at this time would not be expedient. 



7. Laws should be enacted to give 

 townships having less than 40 miles of 

 local rural roads incentive to consolidate 

 into larccr administrative districts. 



8. The planning, programming, and 

 scheduling of highway improvements 

 should be formalized as a means of 

 making more efTcctive use of highway 

 funds and as a means of resisting pres- 

 sures to construct improvements that 

 are not needed or to place a project 

 ahead of others having greater relative 

 urgency. 



15 



