THE BILLBOARD BATTLE

The Motorist Lines Up Against the Adman

TO U.S. motorists, the billboard is an inescapable part of the American road. But should it be? In Congress last week, a pair of proposals, one sponsored by Oregon's Senator Richard Neuberger, the second by Commerce Secretary Sinclair Weeks, demanded strict federal controls over billboards along the new 41,000-mile superhighway system that is to be built in the next 13 years. Lined up in solid support of controls was a solid phalanx of citizens' groups, plus the American Automobile Association, and such devout anti-billboard crusaders as New York City's Park Commissioner Robert Moses. On the...