188 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 256 



of the town. The act Ihnits expenditures to roads in thinly settled areas and 

 specifies that none shall be made in districts where houses or other structures 

 devoted to business are situated at intervals averaging less than 200 feet for 

 the distance of a quarter of a mile. The State paid out $807,000 under this act 

 in 1926. 



The division of highways is also authorized by law to spend 5 per cent of 

 each annual appropriation for the construction of State highways in the build- 

 ing and repair of highways in towns of less than $1,000,000 assessed valuation. 

 A second 5 per cent may be devoted to this purpose provided the towns appro- 

 priate an amount equal to that allotted by the division. Five per cent may also 

 be used in towns with an assessed valuation of more than $1,000,000 provided 

 the towns appropriate an amount equal to that allotted by the division, over 

 and above the average annual higiiway appropriation for the five preceding 

 years. 



Lender the above act (General Laws, Chapter 81, Section 23) the amount 

 spent in towns with a valuation of less than $1,000,000 making no additional 

 appropriations is limited to 40 per cent of the five-year average town appro- 

 priation for highways, except that a minimum of $400 is allowed to towns in 

 which the annual highway appropriation has averaged less than $1,000 for five 

 years. 



In addition to the provisions above, the division of highways is authorized 

 to spend 20 per cent of the net amount received from motor vehicle fees and 

 fines in the improvement of town and county roads not State highways. At 

 the present time this would amount to more than $2,500,000. In 1926, $1,590,- 

 000 was used by the State in the "construction of town and county ways." 



Education 



Total expenditures for educational purposes by all public agencies amount- 

 ed to $93,600,000 in 1926. Of this amount, .$3,675,000 was for libraries and $89,- 

 925,000 was for schools and other educational purposes. Education is therefore 



Table 18. — Expenditures for Education, by Jurisdictions, 1910-1926.' 

 (Thousands of dollars) 



^Includes new construction. 



^ Payments for both maintenance and 'construction are shown in Table A 1. 



