ASPECTS OF THE MISSOURI FISCAL PROBLEM 323 opposition, however, from several sources. Residents naturally become attached to county names. Mercantile interests in the county seats that would be affected would no doubt oppose strenuously any movement toward consolida- tions, as would officeholders and those with political aspira- tions. These and other factors militate against the possi- bility of reducing the number of counties. That desirable results can be obtained through county consolidation has been demonstrated. James County, Tennessee, was a small county adjoining Hamilton County, in which the City of Chattanooga is located. As a result of legislative action, a referendum vote was taken in James County only, and the consolidation proposal was carried by a ten to one vote.! Before the consolidation the prevailing school term in James County was three and four months. After the consolidation the term was increased to eight and nine months, and the building formerly used as a court house for James County is now used as a public school building for a large area. There has been a more rapid improvement of roads in the territory that formerly comprised James County. Although governmental functions on the whole are more adequately financed, the writer of the article cited states: “The last report I have seen states that the people who formerly lived in James County now, as citizens of Hamilton County, pay only about one half the taxes which were formerly necessary.” In certain rural sections the re- duction was even greater. The consolidated school movement in Missouri has pro- duced desirable results, and there seems little doubt that equally effective results might be obtained from county con- solidations, particularly in "those sections of the state in which the population of certain counties is so small that the per capita cost of even reasonably satisfactory governmental services is very high. A well-planned county consolidation program might show that sixty or even fewer counties would be capable of providing much better governmental facilities and services at a lower cost than are now provided by almost twice that number. 1 The facts concerning this consolidation are adapted from an article by Walter Burr, of the University of Missouri, in the National Farm Journal, Jctober, 1930.