publication of the 1970 census, the result was a plan in which substantial equality of population was reached in districts that reflected cross sections of urban and rural land areas." at 456.
The Fifth Circuit approved this approach by holding:
"Equality of population in electoral districts was a primary goal of the revision. Another objective, however, was the equalization of the responsibilities of each Supervisor in exercising their traditional function of highway and bridge maintenance. Thus, the Board instructed CPI not only to equate, as best it could, the population of the districts, but also the mileage of roads for county maintenance, and the square mile area of each district. With its land area largely rural, and its population concentrated in one urban area, the realization of these legitimate planningobjectives dictated a plan which would consolidate urban and rural areas into each district." at 456 (Our emphasis).
A correlation of road mileage and land area, with equality of population thus assigned upon rational considerations, was sufficient to withstand an attack by black citizens that the Adams County redistricting plan was the product of racial motivation.
Since the Fifth Circuit has given high values to what it regards as "legitimate planning objectives", this court cannot overlook or excuse the failure of the Leflore County Board of Supervisors to make any effort to correlate road mileage, bridge maintenance, land area, with population or to consider natural boundaries and compactness of each district along with equality of functions on the part of each supervisor and law enforcement personnel. Adams County, decided January