Note 215 — Chapter XXIII · TAXATION AND PUBLIC FINANCE

Many public services which are now paid for out of the general taxes were at one time supported by charging only those who made use of them. Many of the first macadam roads were built by private companies, which collected a few cents in toll from every person using them. Toll bridges were not uncommon a generation ago and they still exist in some places. Fees were charged in many places by the schools, so much per pupil. Before regular police forces were established, well-to-do people hired watchmen to patrol the streets around their property, the poorer sections of the city being left without any protection at all.