European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 18, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                20 years after beautification act billboards still slice . Land ipe by Boris Weintraub National geographic t o opponents billboards Are ugly visual pollution causing traffic accidents by distracting motorists Breeding a sense of Pla Celes Ness in America. To the outdoor advertising Industry Bill boards Are a Low Cost highly effective Means of Send ing messages to the Public in a creative Way continuing a a Dillon begun in ancient Egypt and practice by Many of history s finest artists. In some cases billboards Are historical landmarks. Worthy of preservation As part of the american Folk heritage. But whatever anyone thinks of them one thing is certain about billboards 20 years after the passage of the Highway beautification act inspired by lady Bird Johnson despite the removal of More than 600.000 outdoor advertising signs since the act went into effect billboards Are not going to disappear soon. In fact though the Federal government has spent More than $200 million to help acquire billboards so that they can be destroyed recent studies estimate that it would Cost More than Lour times that much to acquire those billboards that still legally remain even though they fail to conform to the beautification act s provisions. Such conclusions have led Many including some of the most fervent opponents of billboards to Call Lor a drastic revision or even repeal of the beautification act. They contend that the act s intentions have been gutted by intense Industry pressure. Ascent audit conducted by the inspector general of the department of transportation said that the fed eral billboard control program had not significantly improved the aesthetic Quality or the recreational value of federally funded highways. And a recent general accounting office study said that Many prohibited signs will continue to stand be cause Federal funds Are not being appropriated to compensate sign owners for removal As the act requires. The Reagan administration is weighing its position on the Issue. The Industry divides billboards into  pre printed sheets of paper pasted onto the Metal panels that have replaced wooden boards and bulletins either hand painted in a studio and erected on location. Or painted directly at the site. Standard posters Range up to 300 Square feet in size while painted bulletins typically Are 672 Square feet. According to the Institute of outdoor advertising outdoor advertising began with the inscription of the names of Kings on ancient egyptian temples. Roman merchants advertised services with paintings on Walls and artists such As Toulouse Lautrec Manet and Beardsley designed advertising posters. Early american commercial outdoor posters Adverl Alsed circuses travelling museums and theatrical companies. Later firms leased space on wooden boards to advertisers to Post their Bills leading to the term Bill  most billboards Are built by outdoor Advertis ing companies on land they have leased and then Are rented to advertisers. Usually poster panels Are sold by the month As part of of Kaoe designed to be seen by a specific percent Caeol the population in one Day. Painted bulletins Are Sou Lor longer periods and often Are sold individually rather and As part of a package. Research has determined that billboards Are very effective in reaching potential customers and reaching them repeatedly at Low Cost compared with television or print advertising. Revenues in 1984 topped $1.12 billion up 9 percent Over 1983. Cigarette companies provided More than a third of All outdoor advertising revenues. Concerned about their appearance Hawaii barred billboards in 1926. Maine and Vermont followed suit More recently As have Many local jurisdictions. The Federal government first acted in 1958 by pro Viding bonuses in Road construction funds to those states that adopted programs to control signs near interstate highways. Over $42 million has been Given to the 23 states that participate in the program. However it was pressure from president Lyndon b. Johnson urged on by his wife that led to the major Federal legislation the Highway beautification act. It required states to adopt effective sign control pro Grams for federally aided highways or face the loss of 10 percent of Federal Highway funds. The act permits on premises advertising and signs in commercial and Industrial areas. It also provides for just compensation to sign and site owners if a sign was legally erected before the act s provisions went into effect. It is this compensation provision included at Industry urging that has drawn the Wrath of billboard opponents who contend that the expense 75 percent paid in Federal funds has made it possible for almost 120,000 nonconforming signs to exist 20 years after the act s adoption. No new funds were appropriated last year. This is the Only Federal pollution control legislation that allows the polluters to continue polluting until they Are paid to Stop says Charles Floyd a University of Georgia Law professor and president of the coalition of Scenic Beauty. The coalition has recently directed fire against Industry practices permitted by Federal High Way administration regulations and some states of cutting Down Trees that Block motorists views of Bill boards. This is an outrage an envy Romenta crime says Edward t. Mcmahon. A professor of Law at Georgetown University and a coalition Board member. Here you have a parasitic use living off Public investment and they re cutting Down Trees and calling it things like vegetation control or visibility improvement " the outdoor advertising association of America the Industry s leading Trade group does not talk with re porters about billboard issues. Lady Bird Johnson also declined to discuss the Highway beautification act s successes or failures. About the Only area in which the Industry and its opponents agree is the Issue of landmark signs. Many historic signs such As Burma shave sequential rhymes a Man a miss a car a curve he kissed the miss and missed the curve and mail Pouch tobacco signs painted on the sides of barns were threatened by the passage of the beautification act. In 1974, Congress created a category of landmark signs that were exempt from restrictions. Some of this advertising has been utilized for Many years and has become a part of the american Folk heritage the Senate Public works committee said. I have no problem whatsoever with landmark signs Mcmahon says. I m a collector of antique advertising  nil Kyul  two Pointer work on a bulletin a Large hand painted billboard that will remain a fixture. Wednesday september 18, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 13