ECONOMIC SURVEYS OF COUNTY HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT. 89 
new item in 1915. The county roads, the district roads, and the 
road bonds jointly required $1.11, or 59.7 per cent of the county rate, 
or 56.6 per cent of the total for all purposes. This average rate for 
road bonds is somewhat misleading, as the individual rates range 
from a minimum of 60 cents in Yokum District to a maximum of 
90 cents for Jonesville District. It may convey a more accurate con- 
ception of the situation, therefore, if the statement is made that the 
taxpayer in Jonesville District pays a total of $2.25 on the hundred 
dollars of valuation for all purposes, of which 40 per cent is for the 
road bonds, this being the hichest tax rate in the county. The re- 
duction in the State tax for 1915 to 10 cents is partially offset by 
other forms of State tax on railroads, on cash in banks, on notes, 
bonds, and certain other intangible property. There was obtained 
from the assessed valuation of $4,689,205 in 1910 about $65,600, while 
from the assessed valuation of $4,973,457 in 1915 there was obtained 
about $97,500. Thus m spite of the improvement in the roads very 
little increase in the assessed valuation took place, and only by a 
marked increase of the tax rate was it possible to produce adequate 
revenue. This county, therefore, affords a striking exception to the 
general rule that improved roads bring about increase in assessed 
valuations. 
HOW THE WORK WAS MANAGED. 
The routes were selected and the number of miles to be improved 
and the amount to be expended determined without first obtaining 
engineering inspection and advice. This may account for the fact 
that the mileage of roads set forth in the order of election was greater 
than could be improved with the funds derived from the bond issue. 
This discrepancy between promise and fulfillment caused a consid- 
erable amount of dissatisfaction, and the experience of this county 
demonstrates the necessity for obtaining competent engineering 
advice before launching upon extensive road improvement. As 
pointed out elsewhere in this bulletin, legislation has recently been 
enacted in Virginia requiring inspection and preliminary estimates 
by the State highway department before bond elections can be held. | 
The general scheme of improvement was to construct two main — 
roads extending through the county, with branch roads from the 
farming communities, but as White Shoals District failed to vote in 
favor of the bonds it was not possible to carry out the plan for two 
main roads. Less than 60 per cent of the roads originally provided 
for in the order of election have been improved. One road 20 miles 
in length, from Rose Hill to Cumberland Gap, and another road 8 
miles in length, from Ben Hur to St. Charles, have been graded and 
macadamized. Three other roads, aggregating 224 miles in length, 
have been graded. A number of short sections in various parts of _ 
