BURE.\U OF PUBLIC ROADS. 

 Cooperative project construction. 



515 



DISTRIBUTION OF SURPLUS WAR MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT, AND 



SUPPLIES. 



The amount of actual road construction (luring the past year has 

 been greatly increased because of the road machinery and equipment 

 transferred to the State highway departments from surplus war 

 materials. This distribution commenced about June 1, 1919. I'p 

 to October 1, 1920, the total value of road-building equipment and 

 supplies turned over to the State highway departments under the 

 provisions of acts of Congress has been approximately S 100,000,000. 

 The first act of Congress, approved February 28, 1919, was known as 

 section 7 t)f the Post Office appropriation act. This act was supple- 

 mented by the Wadsworth-Kahn bill, approved March 15. 1920, 

 known as Public 159, Sixty-sixth Congress. The latter act is more 

 specific than the former, containing a specific Hst of road-building 

 machinery and equipment that was to be avaihiblc for transfer by 

 the ^Yar Department to the State highway departments whenever 

 any of it became surplus and not required for military purposes. 



A representative of the Department of Agriculture was sent to 

 France the first j)art of July. 1919, to assist the officials of the War 

 Department in the selection of machinery and equipment suitable 

 for road building to l)e returned to the United States in conformity 

 with a cable from tlie Secretary of War, dated June 20, 1919, to the 

 Liquidation Commission of tlie War Department in France. 



There have been four allotments of motor vehicles, totaling 24,669. 

 Of this num])cr there were delivered on Octo])er 1, 1920, 92 j)er cent, 

 or 22,719. A number of unserviceable motor vebicles have been 

 accepted by the States with the understanding that they would not 

 be counted in the total allotment to any State. They were desired 

 for their parts for use in the reconstruction and maintenance of 

 other motor veliicles received from the Army. 



Shipments of roa(i-l)uihHMg machinery and e((ui])ment are now 

 being made in accordance with shipping instructions issued by this 

 bureau, and it is expected that coiisidcrnbh^ adcHtioinil materifil will 

 be made availal)le as soon as a final decision has been reached rela- 

 tive to the abandonment of some of the larger camps and canton- 

 ments bv the Armv. 



