Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 278, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 November 1913 — CONTRACT GIVEN FOR 1914 AUTO NUMBERS [ARTICLE]

CONTRACT GIVEN FOR 1914 AUTO NUMBERS

Money For Same Wilt Be Distributed Among Counties of State —Requests Being Filed. The automobile department in the office of the' secretary of state has just closed a contract with the Greenduck company, of Chicago, for the 1914 supply of owners and motorcycle numbers. The contract calls for 50,000 pair of owners’ numbers and 10,000 motor numbers. These Will be in readiness for the grand .rush .that will be on in this department the first of the coming year. This law went into effect the first of last July and to give ah idea of the real bigness of the department, it took nine persons nine hours a day to' open the mail. From five.., to ten thousand letters were received every morning, and this condition prevailed for perhaps three weeks, when the pressure let down. Even now the daily applications for automobile license numbers two or three hundred. The first distribution ft) the counties will take place the first of the year, and it is estimated that something like $125}000 .Ivill be distributed to the various counties .of the state. This distribution is made, onethird being given equally to the ninety-two counties of the state, one-third in proportion to the number of miles of improved road each county bears to the total number of miles in the state, and one-third in proportion of the number of cars owned in each county. Next year, when the fees received will be mostly for a year, this fund is expected to net the roads of the state something near $350,000. Now then, if the local officers having in charge this fund will see to it that the money gets on the roads, it will greatly aid Indiana’s system of splendid highways. Most of the states in the union have a similar law as the one now In force in this state, except that many states have a state highway commission which has in charge the spending of this money and the building of theroads. It is the hope of the state administration/that county officials will be diligent in their efforts to carry out the provisions of the automobile movement. H this is done better roads will result and a* greater sentiment will be created for good roads.