106 CONFERENCE OF GOVERNORS. 



fore opposed to our principles of government. A reasonable license 

 fee can properly be charged, but there would seem to be no justi- 

 fication for imposing special taxes on this particular kind of 

 property. 



In this connection I may refer to the proposition for federal 

 registration of automobiles used in interstate travel, which has 

 been advocated at several sessions of Congress. It is not proposed 

 that Congress should interfere with the powers of the various States 

 to prescribe regulations governing the safe operation of motor vehi- 

 cles, but merely to provide for a system under which an automo- 

 bile registered in the State of its owner's residence and also by 

 the federal government shall have the right to travel over the 

 roads of all other States without the payment of any additional 

 tax. It is urged by the advocates of this legislation that its enact- 

 ment will not only do away with the present system, under which 

 the citizen of one State is subject to vexatious restrictions and taxes 

 by the various States through which he may wish to travel, but 

 will tend to further the adoption of uniform and reasonable legis- 

 lation by all the States of the Union. 



In conclusion, I would submit that there is urgent need for a 

 concerted movement by the various automobile clubs and associa- 

 tions to bring their influence to bear on the owners of these ve- 

 hicles, with a view to securing a faithful compliance with the 

 spirit of the laws regulating their use on the public highways. There 

 is no question but that public sentiment is the most effective factor 

 in checking dangerous driving; and if automobilists will Join in 

 a campaign against reckless speeding, they will make it much easier 

 to secure the enactment of fair and liberal legislation on this 

 subject. 



