336 MISC. PUBLICATION 218, U. 8. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
that the amount proposed is adequate and not excessive. Further, in 
all cases except those involving funding or refunding bonds the 
commission must withhold its approval until it is satisfied that ade- 
quate sinking funds have been and will continue to be maintained, 
that the political unit is not in default in the payment of the principal 
or interest on any of its indebtedness, that the new issue will not 
involve any unduly burdensome increase in taxation, that the unit 
is complying with the law in respect to budgetary control, and that 
at least 80 percent of the general taxes of the unit for the preceding 
fiscal year has been collected. No bond disapproved by the com- 
mission may be issued except after a favorable vote at an election. 
The director of the commission is required to keep himself informed 
as to the condition of local sinking funds, including their amount, 
their investment or the security given for their safe-keeping, and the 
rate of tax necessary to maintain them. Sinking funds may be 
invested only with the approval of the commission and only in speci- 
fied securities. In case any unit defaults in the payment of a debt 
obligation, the director may appoint an administrator of finance for 
the unit to take charge of tax collections and the custody and dis- 
bursement of all funds. To prevent defaults the director is required 
to keep the local units informed when interest or principal payments 
are due and the rate of tax to be levied each year to meet debt service 
items. 
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 
The subject of this part has been developed at considerable length 
because it is believed that forest property, in common with other 
classes of property, is carrying a needlessly heavy burden of taxation. 
The burden is needlessly heavy because government, particularly in 
rural areas, is not organized and administered in a manner that fits 
modern conditions or that is in keeping with the best principles of 
public administration. 
Modern means of transportation and communication have so 
reduced the barrier of distance that there is no need for the local 
units of government to be so small as was once necessary or desirable. 
In fact, many are now too small and weak to serve satisfactorily 
either as a unit of administration or as a unit of taxation. This 
criticism applies specifically to townships, to some of the New Eng- 
land towns, and to many of the smaller counties. The perpetuation 
of these units results in the election and support of a vast army of 
needless officeholders, a duplication of machinery, a diffusion of 
responsibility, and generally a poor quality of service at very high cost. 
The tax burden in many localities is further accentuated by the 
presence of a variety of special tax districts superimposed on these 
other units. Most prevalent are the school districts, which because 
of their differing needs and resources vary greatly in the tax rates 
which they must impose. The local school tax together with the 
road tax represents the major part of the total tax burden. The 
inequality with which this burden has been distributed among 
localities has in most States been relieved to some extent through the 
consolidation of districts and through the distribution of State and 
Federal aid. 
Where State and Federal aid seem necessary, they should be 
granted only with careful discrimination. Every service should be 
