COMPENSATION FOR USE OF HIGHWAYS FOR CARRYING RURAL MAIL.

APRIL 12, 1912.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. LAMB, from the Committee on Agriculture, submitted the

following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 22952.]

The Committee on Agriculture, to which was referred House bill 22952, report the same back with the recommendation that the same be passed with the following amendments:

Line 4, page 1, after the word "States," strike out the comma and insert "and."

Lines 4 and 5, page 1, strike out the words "and companies incorporated under the laws of the several States."

Line 11, page 1, strike out "twelve" and insert "nine."

Line 11, page 1, after the word "shells," insert a comma and the words "vitrified brick,".

Line 13, page 1, after the word "shall," insert the word "have," and strike out the word "have" after the word "continuously."

"nine."

Line 2, page 2, strike out "twelve" and insert "

Line 9, page 2, strike out "twelve" and insert "nine."

Line 10, page 2, after the word "clay," strike out "or" and insert a

comma.

Line 11, page 2, before the word "constructed," insert the words "or rock and gravel."

Line 11, page 2, after the word "to," insert "have."

Line 12, page 2, strike out the word "have."

Line 17, page 2, strike out the word "quickly" after the word "to" and insert it after the word "water."

Lines 23 and 24, page 2, strike out the words "or of any company incorporated under the laws of any State."

Line 2, page 3, strike out "thirty" and insert "twenty-five."
Line 4, page 3, strike out "ten" and insert "fifteen."

Line 6, page 3, strike out the word "other" before the word "compensation" and insert it after the word "highways.'

Line 16, page 3, strike out the words "or persons."
The said bill as amended will read as follows:

A BILL Providing that the United States in certain cases shall make compensation for the use of highways for carrying rural mail.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That for the purposes of this act certain highways of the several States, and the civil subdivisions thereof, are classified as follows:

Class A shall embrace roads of not less than one mile in length, upon which no grade shall be steeper than is reasonably and practicably necessary in view of the natural topography of the locality, well drained, with a road track not less than nine feet wide composed of shells, vitrified brick, or macadam graded, crowned, compacted, and maintained in such manner that it shall have continuously a firm, smooth surface, and all other roads having a road track not less than nine feet wide of a construction equally smooth, firm, durable, and expensive, and continuously kept in proper repair.

Class B shall embrace roads of not less than one mile in length, upon which no grade shall be steeper than is reasonably and practicably necessary in view of the natural topography of the locality, well drained, with a road track not less than nine feet wide composed of burnt clay, gravel, or a proper combination of sand and clay, sand and gravel, or rock and gravel, constructed and maintained in such manner as to have continuously a firm, smooth surface.

Class C shall embrace roads of not less than one mile in length upon which no grade shall be steeper than is reasonably and practicably necessary in view of the natural topography of the locality, with ample side ditches, so constructed and crowned as to shed water quickly into the side ditches, continuously kept well compacted and with a firm, smooth surface by dragging or other adequate means, so that it shall be reasonably passable for wheeled vehicles at all times.

SEC. 2. That whenever the United States shall use any highway of any State, or civil subdivision thereof, which falls within classes A, B, or C, for the purpose of transporting rural mail, compensation for such use shall be made at the rate of twentyfive dollars per annum per mile for highways of class A, twenty dollars per annum per mile for highways of class B, and fifteen dollars per annum per mile for highways of class C. The United States shall not pay any compensation or toll for such use of such highways other than that provided for in this section, and shall pay no compensation whatever for the use of any highway not falling within classes A, B, or C. SEC. 3. That any question arising as to the proper classification of any road used for transporting rural mail shall be determined by the Secretary of Agriculture.

SEC. 4. That the compensation herein provided for shall be paid at the end of each fiscal year by the Treasurer of the United States upon warrants drawn upon him by the Postmaster General to the officers entitled to the custody of the funds of the respective highways entitled to compensation under this act.

SEC. 5. That this act shall go into effect on the first day of July, nineteen hundred and thirteen.

The basic principle of this bill is compensation by the Federal Government for the use of the roads traveled by the mail carriers in the star route and Rural Delivery Service.

The constitutional power of the Federal Government to construct or promote works of internal improvement has been debated from the foundation of the Republic. Heretofore the question of Federal aid to the construction or maintenance of highways has been considered from the point of view either of appropriations in aid of the construction of such works as are authorized by the States and are national in their character or of appropriations for the direct construction of roads and canals in order to "facilitate, promote, and give security to internal commerce among the several States, and to render more easy and less expensive the means and provisions for the common defense." The chief obstacle thus far in the path of appropriations in aid of road making or of road maintenance within

the several States has been the indisposition on the part of the States to agree to any measure of Federal control or authority over their roads. No practicable scheme of joint operations using in part Federal and in part State money has been or is likely to be devised. One sole and responsible agency, whether State or Federal, must do the work, and all the funds appropriated for this work, whether county, State, or national, should be turned over to this agency. This is what this bill proposes to do with respect to Federal payments in compensation for use of the State roads.

The specter of Federal interference with State or local affairs has been eliminated by the form in which compensation will be made. The public is familiar with the system in vogue of compensating the railroads for the transportation of mail matter and of Government agents and agencies connected with the mail service. The aggregate of these payments in the last fiscal year amounted to about $51,000,000. Thousands of miles of exclusively State roads are in use by rural and star route carriers. At present these roads are maintained by the States, though the Federal Government enjoys their free and uninterrupted use for its mail service, whether by rural or star route carriers. No reason is perceived why the Government should not pay for use of these highways, the amount of the payment to be determined in any given instance by the character of the road traveled by Federal employees performing Federal service. For the purpose of this determination the bill divides the roads in use, or to be used for this purpose, into three classes.

Class A is the highest form of improved road in country use. For a road of this character, used in the rural-delivery and star-route service, it is provided that the Government shall pay at the rate of $25 per mile per year.

Class B is the next form of improved road defined in the bill, a road of high quality but not so good as that defined in class A. For this road the compensation fixed is at the rate of $20 per mile per year. Class C comprehends the ordinary dirt roads of the country, and for these roads the prescribed compensation is at the rate of $15 per mile per year.

Payments are to be made at the end of each year to the appropriate custodian of the road funds, on the warrant of the Postmaster General. No payment will be made for a road not falling within one of the prescribed classes, and as the determination of the proper character of the road used will be at all times in the hands of the agents of the Federal Government, the interests of the Government in this respect will be adequately conserved. If the road is not maintained to the prescribed standard, the road authorities will not be entitled to receive compensation. If it is maintained to the standard for a portion of the year, then the compensation will be paid pro rata. The most zealous and tenacious advocate of State rights will be unable to find in this bill any encroachment upon those rights. The States will maintain and control their highways, and the Federal Government will pay for using them, provided that they are adequately maintained in the prescribed condition. If the maintenance of State roads is a function of the States that function will not be trenched upon or in anywise impaired by this bill. The States will continue in the sole and exclusive control of the State highways, and will be under no compulsion to receive the payments contem

plated for their use. It is hardly necessary to enlarge upon the benefits to the whole public that will follow upon the general improvement of the highways in the several States. In the matter of good roads, this country lags behind the older countries of the civilized world. In part this is due to the fact that this country is the only one of the great powers that makes no national contribution either to the construction or to the maintenance of public roads. For this our dual system of government is largely responsible, since this duality has made it difficult to furnish this aid in such a manner as to reconcile the conflicting rights and interests of the States and the Nation.

It is believed that the measure proposed is not only no infraction of the Constitution but is in harmony with its general purpose. The number of miles of State roads now traveled by the rural and starroute carriers is approximately 1,179,000. The mileage in class A is 35,000 miles, in class B, 83,000 miles, and in class C, 1,061,000 miles. According to the prescribed scheme of payments the amount per year that this bill will carry on the above basis, should payments be made for the entire mileage, will be $18,450,000. But it must be borne in mind that only a small proportion of this aggregate mileage is in condition to receive immediate compensation.

The improved roads, totaling 118,000 miles, may be considered as ready to comply with the requirements of the bill and receive compensation, but the aggregate payments on this account will be only $2,535,000 per year. A very large proportion of the mileage of dirt roads will require much work at the hands of the local authorities before any claim for compensation can be presented. Hence it is believed that for the first year the payments on this account will be comparatively small, the exact amount required being impossible of estimate. In proportion as the mileage of the rural and star routes increases and dirt roads are improved so as to fall within class A, class B, or class C, the payments under this bill will increase, but the increase will be a legitimate and natural evolution. The inevitable effect of this measure will be not only an immediate improvement of the roads of all the States but a stimulus to road construction in every direction.

The tendency of road building hereafter will be in the direction of a steadily progressive change in the character of the State roads, the dirt roads being transformed into improved roads as rapidly as possible, so as to entitle the local communities to receive the larger tolls contemplated for roads of the latter description. The universality of the benefit of this measure is one of its striking features of merit. It will touch every State and practically every community. Wherever a rural or a star route runs, however remote that route may be from the great centers of trade and commerce, the stimulating effect of this bill upon road improvement will be proportionately felt. So far from stifling or impeding the spirit of local improvement and development, this measure of Federal compensation for roads actually used will energize that spirit, since the payments provided will swell the local contributions into a working total. On the whole, it is submitted that the bill is meritorious in its purpose and constitutional in its character.

This measure is the composite production in conference of a number of members who have heretofore shown their interest in the subject