0,125, which is about 50 per cent of the real value. The tax
levy for all purposes is six mills. The levy is divided as follows: For
corporation purposes three mills; for school purposes three mills. The
total receipts for fiscal year 1904 were $2,289.20.

There is no bonded indebtedness. A number of times propositions to bond
the town for school or street purposes have been voted upon but each
time the citizens have decided against incurring any bonded debt.

[Illustration: Mr. Summerfield Taylor]

The following are the officers of the town government:

OFFICERS OF THE TOWN. George N. Lester, Mayor; Henry Crocker, Clerk;
John N. Gibson, Sergeant; R. C. L. Moncure, Corporation Attorney.
Members of Council: 1st ward, Elmer I. Crump, S. E. Thompson, G. A.
Brunner; 2nd ward, E. A. Kimball, Geo. N. Lester, Geo. W. Hawxhurst; 3rd
ward, Thomas Hillier; Wm. M. Ellison, H. C. Birge. Committees, Street
Lamp Lighting: E. A. Kimball, Thos. Hillier, S. E. Thompson. Finance:
Wm. M. Ellison, Chairman, H. C. Birge, Geo. W. Hawxhurst. Board of
School Trustees: J. W. Brown, Chairman, R. J. Yates, Clerk, J. S. Riley.

HEALTH. In the matter of health Falls Church leads. Statistics obtained
by the U. S. Census Bureau relating to the mortality rate show that out
of 341 towns and cities from which returns were received the lowest
death rate for the year ending May 31, 1900, was in St. Joseph, Mo.,
with 9.1 for each 1,000 inhabitants, followed by Portland, Oregon, 9.5,
St. Paul, Minn., 9.7, and Minneapolis, Minn., 10.08. For the same period
there were only 5 deaths in Falls Church, its population then being
1,007. The average annual death rate in Falls Church is about 9.5 per
1,000, only 57 deaths having occurred here between August 17, 1898 and
September 2, 1904, a period of a little over six years.

[Illustration: Mr. A. P. Eastman]

The death rate in the United States for 1900, according to census
returns was 17.8 per 1,000, the rate in cities where such statistics
were gathered being 18.6, and in rural districts 15.4.

For the purpose of comparison the death rate per 1,000 in the following
cities as reported by the U. S. Census Bureau for 1900 will be of
interest. Baltimore, Md., 21.0; New York, N. Y., 21.3; Washington, D.
C., 22.8; Alexandria, Va., 24.2; Norfolk, Va., 25.2; Lynchburg, Va.,
27.7; Richmond, Va., 29.7; Petersburg, Va., 31.1.

IDEAL COUNTRY HOMES. To the generosity of a nearby nurseryman the town
is indebted for