Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 3 of 3 · from the scan, no model involved
“pay as-you-go can be traced to the 1865 General Assembly.”
Mr. Lawrence is assistant to the Prince William county executive and Mr. Schofield is the county’s deputy director of planning.
In 1865, the General Assembly agreed to pay the prewar debt. Five years later, Virginia’s taxes were 60 percent higher than most Northern states, according to the authors.
Virginia entered the post-Reconstruction period with a $45 million bond debt.
“Over the next 80 years,” Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Schofield stated, “three prominent Vriginia Democratic leaders—John S. Barbour, Thomas S. Martin and Harry F. Byrd — were able to re-establish stability both in political philosophy and political reality.”
Gov. Byrd “implemented the philosophy through organization” and at the same time helped advance the idea of “business progressivism” in Virginia.
He defined the term as: “The need . . . not so much for new governmental ideas as for a better understanding and adaptation of the old fundamental ideas to new conditions.”
Some critics might say that definition applies to the commission’s recommendations, which rely primarily on increasing existing taxes to cover transportation needs.
The authors note that the turn of the century marked a turning point in Virginia’s view of its highway system.
In 1906, for example, the Good Roads Association — a statewide citizens group — was set up, the first highway commissioner was appointed and counties were empowered to issue road construction bonds.
_ By end of World War I roadbuilding in Virginia had become big business, according to Allen Moger in “Virginia: Bourbonism to Byrd, 1870-1925” (Charlottesville, 1968). “About 4,500 miles had been built with state aid, and the counties had issued $6,641,700 in road bonds.”
Eighty years ago, the Good Roads Association made the same argument that Gov. Baliles does for superior roads. The authors note that the association “continued to press for road improvements as a means to further both education and economic opportunities.”
90.8%