ECOlSrOMIC SURVEYS OF COUNTY HIGHWAY IMPEOVEMENT. 13 



70 cents; for 1914, 35 cents; thus producing a total of $25,243.49, 

 to which should be added whatever was obtained from the 3 per 

 cent allowed by the banks on sinking-fund deposits. Inasmuch as 

 the interest for the first 5 years amounted to only $14,517.50, this 

 left $11,725.99 plus the interest on the sinking fund. With this 

 amount, $11,000 of the bonds had been retired at the beginning of 

 1915. A levy of 65 cents on the hundred dollars was made in 1915, 

 from which $9,917.50 was obtained, and on December 13, 1915, the 

 bonded debt was further reduced to the extent of $2,000. At the 

 rate of payment and taxation thus far adopted, the district will be 

 out of debt long before the expiration of the 30-year term; but 

 whether this rapid payment is desirable under aU existing conditions 

 must remain a matter of judgment. 



An inspection of tax rates shows that in 1910 the taxpayers of 

 Courtland district paid, exclusive of the 40 cents levied for road 

 bonds, a total of 95 cents on the hundred dollars, or a total for aU 

 purposes, including State, county, and road-bond taxes, of $1.35, 

 of which the bond taxes formed 29.6 per cent. The levying of a 

 65-cent tax rate in 1915 made the total tax for that year $1.70 on 

 the hundred dollars. Thus the road bonds in 1915 formed 38.2 per 

 cent of all taxes paid in Courtland district. In both years the 

 general road and bridge tax was 15 cents on the hundred dollars. 



To see how this would affect the individual taxpayer, let us assume 

 that a man owns a $5,000 farm, which is assessed at $3,000, or a little 

 more than the usual basis of assessment in the county. He wiU 

 pay taxes for aU. purposes in 1915 at $1.70, a total of $51, of which 

 $19.48 wiU represent his share of the tax for the improved roads. 

 This 65-cent rate is higher than the average, however, and it would 

 seem more equitable to estimate his tax burden at 40 cents on the 

 hundred dodars, as was levied in 1910. This would make his annual 

 outlay for the improved roads $12. Against this cost he must place 

 the saving in wear and tear of his teams and wagons, the opportunity 

 which he has gained of hauhng larger loads, of doing his hauling at 

 all seasons of the year, and of saving time in making his trips to 

 market. It is safe to say that the average possessor of a $5,000 

 farm would gladly pay such- a tax per year in return for a guarantee 

 of these benefits. 



Chancellor district, which voted $40,000 in bonds, levied a still 

 higher rate of tax for bond purposes than Courtland, as the rate was 

 50 cents for 1910 and 1911, 55 cents for 1912, and 65 cents for 1913, 

 1914, and 1915. The total tax rate for 1910 was $1.40 for all pur- 

 poses, State, county, and bonds, and in 1915 was $1.85. Thus the 

 ' bond-issue tax comprised 35.7 per cent of the total in 1910 and 35.1 

 per cent of the total in 1915. During the 5-year period from 1910 

 to 1914, the district raised $15,865 to apply to the bonds, of which 



