28 BULLETIN: 136, U. $8. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
In nearly all States county bonds or district bonds of any kind 
must be authorized by a majority, or a two-thirds vote, of either 
the entire county or of the district. 
Advantage of bond issues.—The issuance of highway bonds is 
essentially a method of capitalizing the resources of a community 
for the purpose of creating improved highways. The fundamental 
advantage of the bond plan is the construction of a goed system of 
roads at once, but there are secondary advantages in building roads 
in long stretches and in the planning of the maintenance of such roads. 
The question is not merely whether a community shall incur a 
debt; it is also a question as to whether the maximum economic 
efficiency and the full development of the public wealth will be best 
promoted by using public credit. 
There is shown in Plate III, figure 2 the relation between the vol- 
ume of traffic in ton-miles, reduction in hauling cost in cents per 
ton-mile, and the annual cost per $1,000 of a 20-year bond under the 
annuity plan. A mile of road sustaining 3,000 tons of travel per 
year, for example, would pay interest and retirement on $1,000 in 4 
per cent bonds if the cost of hauling were reduced about 2.4 cents 
per ton-mile. 
Emphasis has been placed in this publication on the strictly meas- 
urable economic benefits to a community from road improvement. 
There are many additional economic benefits and very great social 
benefits which are not readily measured. Increased school and church 
attendance is shown in repeated instances to be an immediate conse- 
quence of better roads.1. The general stimulus to business is difficult 
to evaluate. It is evident, however, that business and professional 
men of all classes are among the first to be benefited. This is espe- 
cially true of physicians. The cost of upkeep of automobiles, par- 
ticularly of tires, is becoming yearly a large item and the road con- 
dition is a most serious factor for the automobilist and the users of 
motor trucks. 
It should be understood at the outset that the question of debt 
itself is relatively less important than the question of sound planning 
and good management of the loan. The very presence of the 
improved road system increases the value of the county property 
and therefore the resources supporting the loan. It is a well- 
established business principle that extension of credit within safe 
limits is necessary for maximum results. The financing of all private 
enterprises by bond issues has increased very greatly. In 1908 
statistics show that, during the preceding decade, bonds were issued 
as a method of capitalizing public and private enterprises at the rate 
of $583,000,000 annually. 
1Cf. Farmers’ Bulletin No. 505, ‘‘The Benefits of Improved Roads.” This bulletin may be obtained 
from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 
