Page:Quarterlyoforego10oreg 1.djvu/294

270 to limit the debt contracting power of municipalities even to an amount equal to their revenue for one year. It was recognized, however, that they must normally have recourse to credit in the construction of public works and so the "pay as you go" maxim was departed from with reference to them to the extent of requiring legislatures in granting municipal charters to restrict their powers of taxation and of contracting debts. There was only one suggestion to make an exception to the policy of withholding state credit from enterprises for internal improvement and that was a proposal to aid a railway connecting Oregon with California. It was summarily rejected.