Following Mr. Schmidt's introduction to the assembly by Dr. C. T.
Wang the lecturer said in part:
On behalf of the National Automobile Chamber of Commerce. I want to say that it gives us great pleasure to bring to China some of pictures we have shown India, Egypt, South Africa and Japan as part of a world wide campaign for good roads, reasonable taxation and regulation of the motor vehicle and accident prevention, The Chamber, upon whose staff Lam serving as field representative, the trade association of the American mavfacturers of motor ears, trucks and buses. Its object fs to serve as a clearing house of research and information on the subjects concerning motor transportation, and to. represent the automobile industry in all matters where ce-operative effort is proper, efficient and economical.
Tam in your country at the intation of your motoring organiza-
Interesting Lecture by Mr. Walton Schmidt, on What Should'
Be Done in China: Need for Economic Taxation tell you how to run your city or your country.
However, with an ever increasing number of motor vehicles you are now facing problems upon which America has been working for 20 years. It is gratifying to note the emphasis which the leaders of the Nationalist government are placing upon the importance of roud building in the re-construction Programme. It is a splendid thing that among the most prominent ministers at Nanking there should be found Dr. C. T. Wang, a recognized leader in the good roads movement in China. Our only object in coming to China at this time is to tell you what we have found out about taxing motor cars, about building good rouds and preventing accidents, trusting it will be From the best figures I am able to obtain it appears that China as a whole has about 25,000 motor vehicles of all descriptions in operation.
T have heard it said that the people should not be encouraged to buy automobiles, gthat they are a luxury, and that" there are other, things for which the money should be spent.
Popul:
of Motor Transport It is evident that China has decided to buy motor cars and that you appreciate the advantages of motor transport over other for of transportation. Your registration figures show this Then you must remember that a large investment in motor vehicles by any country without adequate Provision in the way of jood roads for these motor vehicles to run upon will mean such high operating costs that you will be paying for good roads whether you have them or not. I am going to prove this to you by our experience in America.
We have made tests in America where we have taken motor ears and operated them for definite periods over different kinds of road sur ing. We have kept careful records Of the gasoline consumption, of the wear and tear on the cars and tyres, and we know for a positive fact that it costs 25 per cent. less to operate a motor vehicle over a con-rote road than over a dirt road, and 10 per cent, less over a gravel road than over a dirt road.
Economisis toll us that the progress of any country can be measured by the effort that country is making to. reduce the cost per ton mile of transportation. Our tests show tions but I'am not here to try: to that on a dirt road you will get'the summer holidays, about 14 ton miles to the gallon of gasoline, on a good gravel road about 21 miles and on a paved. road 81 ton miles. A ton mile is the movement of one ton one mile. Remember in considering these figures that a one ton truck, loaded with another ton of goods means that two tons are moving over the highway. So if you get seven miles to the gallon with such a load you are getting fourteen ton miles.
The Taxation Theory 4
We have also proved that your tyres will last six times as long on a conerete or paved road as on gravel road, and, of course, as you reduce the wear and tear on the car you reduce the need of repairs and the car lasts longer, So since you are investing large sums of money in motor cars you want to operate these cars as cheap ly as possible, especially in a country where the initial cost is 60 high and where you pay so much for fuel. By building good roads you can reduce the cost of operation. That is what every other country is doing in its efforts to compete with other countries And now we come to the import~ ant point of paying for the con-ion of new ronds and maintaining and improving those already in existence, The first thought is "Tax the motor vehicle which uses the roads,' That is a good theory, but a country in an initial state of road develop ment cannot afford to wait for good ronds until taxation from motor vehicles provides enough money to build roads.
It is a mistake to consider improv. ed roads as luxuries to be enjoyed if they can be afforded, but not essential to the economic health of the community, The fact is that we lose more by failing to improve our main highways than it costs to improve them.
Therefore, in order to get all the benefits of motor transportation and the benefits of low operating costs which come with good roads, ws believe in America that there should be general taxation for highway construction and special taxation of the motor vehicle and gasoline, for
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.