Evening star., 1936-08-02
Continued From First Page.)

ton programs in several other phases
of the Government establishment.
In State goveEments also the
Brookings Institution has been co.
operating for economic efficiency. Tht
famous New Hampshire. or Winant
plan, which has attracted Nation
wide attention, is an example
Through the assistance of this agency
Mississippi balanced its budget fol
the first time in Is years; North
Carolina shook off legislative accre-
tions of a century and set the ad-
applause Of relieved taxpayers. Sim
liar assistance was given in Alabama
Iowa and Oklahoma.
But there is an illustration closer
home-Virginia. with its Byrd plan
which is an issue in the coming
gubernatorial election. This is an au-
thoritative statement of what was
achieved there, testified to by E. R
Combs, State controller: When Byrc
was elected Governor in 1925 he found
a deficit of s2,500,00O and a cumber.
some and antiquated system of State
government. He went out of office
after four-year term leaving a sur
plus of nearly S4,0000o0.
There had been 100 bureaus and
agencies, much overlapping and du-
plication, as in the Federal service
He engaged the Bureau of Municipal
Research in New York. headed by
Luther Gulick, to do his fact finding.
An exhaustive study of the State ad-
ministrative structure was made. Then
Byrd appointed a committee of Is
business men, with William T. Reed
head of the Edgeworth Tobacco Co.,
as chairman, to see what was i'm
practical in the report of the econ
omists. The State adopted in one
act the reorganization program elm
missions and consolidating the re-
manning 35 in IL departments, with
the head of each department (under
the short ballot system which Byrd
edvocateO appointed by and directly
responsible to the Governor. They
had formerly been elected by the peo-
pie. Then cabinet meetings were in
stituted for the first time to obtain
co-ordinated effort That reorganiza-
ton bill was passed without a dis
senting voice in either branch of the
State Legislature, although it elm
mated many officials and employees,
and brought a direct saving of
100000 in cash annually But the
main advantage was simplification of
the Government structure, wiping out
duplication, so that the taxpayer got
much better service for each dollar
spent, and considerably cutting over
head costs. In this way more money
was available for roads, schools and
care of the capacitated-State ap-
preparations under these heads have
been greatly increased.
Taxes Are Reduced.
In the meantime taxes we're being
reduced in seven different ways
Cd BY the segregation act, which
relieved all real estate and tangible
personal property from payment of
any State taxa relief of $500 900
annually on those classes. 60 After
his term the Byrd road bill was passed
providing for taking over all country
roads by the State with the localities
relieved of any road taxes-which
meant relief of more than SO 100000
90 He had the tax repealed on Vir-
ginianS owning stock in foreign cor
porations, which was responsible for
many locating in Virginia. a. He
repealed the tax on bonds of cities and
counties in Virginia. (5) He repealed
the tax on transfer and inheritance
under which, if an outsider owned
stock in a Virginia corporation. he
had to pay tax to get it transferred.
(6) He reduced the tax on capital
in business from $1.15 per $1OO to rs
cents. CD He reduced the tax on
bonds from SIS to so cents per hun
dred. He made up all these tax re-
ductions by economies and mainly by
better assessment and collections. He
was looking toward inviting industries
and citizens to come to Virginia, and
so prepared the State to go through
the depression without a deficit and
actually reducing its bonded indebted
ness, without new bonds issued or any
increased taxes-the only State in the
Union that didn't increase taxes from
1880 to 1885, according to Government
statistics. Virginia now has the Sec
ond lowest taxes IN the United States
In proportion to true value.
A month or two ago Virginia re-
funded million dollars of bonds that
were due and sold the refunding bonds
at an interest rate of 1.57, a figure
much better than the Federal Govern
ment gets and the best price any State
ever got for bonds-and it hasn't is
sued any bonds since the reorganiza-
ton went into effect.
Under this reorganization from 1925
to 1880 Virginia was prepared for the
severest test-the depression. Part of
the plan is that If the estimate of