FOREST TAXATION IN THE UNITED STATES a20 
however, would welcome the views of thoughtful representative citi- 
zens. If they fear public hearings, it is because their experience has 
been that most of those who attend are chronic tax kickers and those 
who have ‘‘an ax to grind.” On the other hand, citizens whose only 
wish is to see a balanced program of work undertaken, and that amply 
provided for, have not been articulate because they have had no oppor- 
tunity for preliminary study. The financial reports and periodic state- 
ments that appear in the public press are rarely presented in a way to 
be genuinely revealing and to invite an intelligent and sustained public 
interest. 
There is value in a citizens’ organization that stands between the 
officials and the taxpayers. Its purpose should be to keep its mem- 
bership fully informed at all times about the public business, to inter- 
pret these facts for the people, to advise with the public officials 
when called upon, and to help develop civic interest in public affairs. 
A small informal organization can be to the small local community 
what the bureaus of municipal research are to the large cities. 
The way in which local governments have abused the power to incur 
indebtedness has made this aspect of financial administration par- 
ticularly in need of improvement. Extraordinary expenditures may 
from time to time impose upon any government the necessity of bor- 
rowing. But only expenditures which are really of an extraordinary 
nature justify the creation of public debt. This is true of capital 
outlays as well as of current expenditures. The State or county or 
municipality which is large enough to require frequently recurring 
capital outlays can, by adopting a long-term program, generally pay 
for its capital improvements out of current revenue. The annual 
cost to the taxpayers is thereby reduced by the saving of interest on 
debt, and the credit and financial stability of the government is con- 
served. In general, State and local governments are not often con- 
fronted with emergency expenditures, and proper management of 
capital outlays should reduce to a minimum the necessity of borrowing. 
Statistics prepared by the United States Chamber of Commerce 
(113, p. 7) reveal that in 1925 one-third of the expenditures of 247 cities 
of 30,000 or more population was on capital-outlay accounts. In this 
eroup of cities $266,000,000, or nearly 14 percent of the total current 
cost of operation, were required for interest purposes. In the larger 
cities the interest ratio is even higher, New York showing a ratio of 
nearly 20 percent in 1925. 
Byrd (111, pp. 21-22), in defending the policy adopted by Virginia 
in 1923 of building roads on a pay-as-you-go basis, said: 
Virginians were very emphatically reminded of a bond issue of $30,000,000 
floated a hundred years previously for roads and canals, on which $22,000,000 
still remained unpaid. The State had paid $67,000,000 interest on this original 
debt, with the prospect of paying $30,000,000 more in interest before the bonds 
were finally retired, yet the canals had long since outlived their usefulness, and 
most of the roads built from that money were of little value. 
Profiting from this experience, Virginians refused to endorse in 
1923 a proposed bond issue of $50,000,000 for State highway con- 
struction but began building on a pay-as-you-go basis. On October 
1, 1930, according to Gov. Byrd, the State had 5,097 miles of im- 
peene hard-surfaced highways, mostly macadam and concrete, 
esides many new and costly bridges. In 6% years the State had 
spent $70,000,000 for State highway construction and $26,000,000 
for maintenance without involving itself in debt. 
