ECONOMIC SURVEYS OP COUNTY HIGHWAY IMPEOVEMEISTT. 45 



what was left of the bond issue to macadamize the most important 

 roads. 



Following the j&rst bond issue, two of the districts, Gladesville and 

 "Richmond, voted $130,000 each in order to macadamize the roads 

 which had been graded and to build a few additional miles. 



The economic conditions in Wise County are rather exceptional, 

 as the chief industry is coal mining; and the mineral lands, coal and 

 u'on, constitute about half of the assessed valuation of the county. 

 There are 34 coal-mining plants, employing in the aggregate about 

 9,000 men. Agriculture is not extensively practiced, and the prod- 

 ucts, which are principally corn, oats, hay, potatoes, and sorghum 

 cane, are small in volume. Some orchard fruits are produced, and 

 dairying and poultry raising are engaged in on a small scale. The 

 county is well supphed with railroads, and as its principal output is 

 from the mines, comparatively little tonnage is hauled over the public 

 roads. The county, which has an area of 420 square miles, is quite 

 mountainous, and the soil is not productive, except at the bottom of 

 the narrow valleys along the streams. This rough topography causes 

 road construction to be very expensive, on account of heavy grading. 

 (See PI. XVIII.) Moreover, a large portion of the surfacing material 

 must be transported by rail or by long wagon haul. The mining 

 interests are paying the larger part of the costs of the road system, 

 ajid in judging of the returns to the county from an economic stand- 

 point it should be borne in mind that while the value of the road 

 system to agriculture is shght, the corresponding burden upon agri- 

 cultural property, by reason of the help of the mining interests, is also 

 comparatively light. 



The economic studies in Wise County were made during the months 

 of March, 1911, March, 1912, May, 1913, May, 1914, and a short study 

 in October, 1915. 



HOW THE IMPROVEMENT WAS FINANCED. 



The issue of county bonds dated February 1, 1911, brought a 

 premium of 2 per cent, while the two district bond issues dated March 

 1, 1913, were sold at par. Thus the total amount realized from the 

 bond issues was $974,000. 



All the bonds bear interest at the rate of 5 per cent, and are issued 

 for 30 years with options to retire at the end of 20 years. The law 

 provides that a levy of not to exceed 90 cents on the hundred dollars 

 shall be assessed for the purpose of paying interest and creating a 

 sinking fund to retire the bonds. The present tax for this purpose 

 is 45 cents for the $700,000 county bond issue and 2.0 and 25 cents, 

 respectively, for the district bonds in Richmond and Gladesville 

 districts. 



