28 BULLETIN" 136, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



In nearly all States county bonds or district bonds of any kind 

 must be authorized by a majority, or a two-thirds vote, of either 

 the entire county or of the district. 



Advantage of bond issues. — The issuance of highway bonds is 

 essentially a method of capitalizing the resources of a community 

 for the purpose of creating improved highways. The fundamental 

 advantage of the bond plan is the construction of a good system of 

 roads at once, but there are secondary advantages in building roads 

 in long stretches and in the planning of the maintenance of such roads. 



The question is not merely whether a community shall incur a 

 debt; it is also a question as to whether the maximum economic 

 efficiency and the full development of the public wealth will be best 

 promoted by using public credit. 



There is shown in Plate III, figure 2 the relation between the vol- 

 ume of traffic in ton-miles, reduction in hauling cost in cents per 

 ton-mile, and the annual cost per $1,000 of a 20-}'ear bond under the 

 annuity plan. A mile of road sustaining 3,000 tons of travel per 

 year, for example, would pay interest and retirement on $1,000 in 4 

 per cent bonds if the cost of hauling were reduced about 2.4 cents 

 per ton-mile. 



Emphasis has been placed in this publication on the strictly meas- 

 urable economic benefits to a community from road improvement. 

 There are many additional economic benefits and very great social 

 benefits which are not readily measured. Increased school and church 

 attendance is shown in repeated instances to be an immediate conse- 

 quence of better roads. 1 The general stimulus to business is difficult 

 to evaluate. It is evident, however, that business and professional 

 men of all classes are among the first to be benefited. This is espe- 

 cially true of physicians. The cost of upkeep of automobiles, par- 

 ticularly of tires, is becoming yearly a large item and the road con- 

 dition is a most serious factor for the automobilist and the users of 

 motor trucks. 



It should be understood at the outset that the question of debt 

 itself is relatively less important than the question of sound planning 

 and good management of the loan. The very presence of the 

 improved road system increases the value of the county property 

 and therefore the resources supporting the loan. It is a well- 

 established business principle that extension of credit within safe 

 limits is necessary for maximum results. The financing of all private 

 enterprises by bond issues has increased very greatly. In 190S 

 statistics show that, during the preceding decade, bonds were issued 

 as a method of capitalizing public and private enterprises at the rate 

 of $5S3,000,000 annually. 



1 Cf. Farmers' Bulletin No. 505, "The Benefits of Improved Roads." This bulletin may be obtained 

 from the Secretary of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



