The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-12-15
PRINCE GEORGE
FIRST TO APPLY.
COUNTY NOT ON ROAD BUILDING
LIST THIS YEAR TOP OF
1919 ROAD ROLL.
AUTO TAXES INCREASE
TOTAL APPROPRIATIONS AND AU-
TOMOBILE COLLECTIONS
ssSs,eoo SINCE PRESENT
PLAN BEGAN.

The year 1912 promises to be busy
one in the annals OF road building in
Virginia
One of the interesting features in
the work of State Highway Commits
sloner p. st. Julien Wilson was re-
marked yesterday when IT was found
that Prince George county, one Of the
seven counties In the State which
did not apply for State cooperation
In highway construction for the pres
ent year, was the first county to apply
for State aid for the year 1912.
Several applications have already
been flied by the counties and they
and they will begin to come In quite
freely in January.
The other six counties which did rs
apply for State aid this year were
Buchanan, Gloucester, Greene,
Mathews. Middlesex and Nelson. Thir-
teen counties received State aid In
convict labor. these counties being
Amherst. Augusta. Charlotte. Chester
field, Culpeper. Dinwiddie. Fauquier.
Mecklenburg. Orange. Pittsylvania.
The remaining eighty counties OF
the State received cash cooperation
dollar for dollar-that is for each
dollar the county expended upon per-
manent highway construction under
State supervision the State contributed
a dollar to 60 with 1t. to the extent OF
the pro rata share OF the appropria-
ton The largest county apportion-
ments were made to Rockingham,
which received 3s.521.ss; Norfolk
county, 3s,227.72; Henrico. $7.631.73,
Loudoun, $7.73l.A, and Aibemarle,
which received 3s.sos.6z.
The smallest amount Of cash aid
renderer by the State was to Prince
George. which received 500.
Available Fund $3.50. 900.
The total appropriation for the year
1911 for this purpose was 100000.
which was suppleme nted by about
$4,000 collected from automobile
licenses, giving total fund for the
year 1912 to be used by the State in
cooperating with the counties for
permanent highway construction.
$236,o0o.
1t is believed that the Legislature
this year will appropriate in the
neighborhood OF quarter Of a mill
lion Of dollars for this work at it's COM
ing session and It is believed that the
income from automobiles will be In
the neighborhood OF $4,000. making
the total fund on this basis not far
from the three hundred thousand
mark.
The State of Maryland appro-
priated Ave millions of dollars some
three years ago to be expended at the
rate of a million dollars year on
the plan now in use IN Virginia. the
State cooperating with the counties.
Auto Tax Grows Fast.
In 1910 the State had for this pur-
pose $3.50. 900 appropriated by the Leg
isiature and $4,000 from automobile
taxes. In 1903 the appropriation was
$4,000, making a total appropriated
by the State. and applied for road
purposes from the automobile tax.
since the State began its road build
ing career in cooperation with the
counties. 3sB6.00o.
The benefit Of having road construc-
ton done under the supervision IT
trained road engineers such as consti-
tute the staff Of the States highway
force. and the further advantage OF
having the convict force to draw on
for labor, have been 30 emphatically
demonstrated and 80 much valuable
road-building data and experience
have been gathered during the past
three years that there Is no doubt that
the road department OF the State gov
eminent will continue TO grow rapid
ly in popularity ana usefulness