412 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



to the States available war material, equipment, and supplies suit- 

 able for use in the improvement of highways and not needed for 

 the purposes of the War Department, to be used on roads con- 

 structed in whole or in part by Federal aid, the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture being authorized to retain from such distribution not to ex- 

 ceed 10 per cent of such material, equipment, and supplies for 

 use in the construction of national forest roads or other roads con- 

 structed under his direct supervision. Such materials Avere required 

 to be distributed to the States on the same basis as provided by the 

 Federal aid road act for the apportionment of the Federal aid ap- 

 propriations. Immediately on receipt from the War Department 

 of lists of materials, equipment, and supplies declared to be surplus, 

 a canvass was made to ascertain the requirements of the several 

 States, and allotments were made with a view to meeting these 

 requirements. There had been allotted to the States 20,519 motor 

 trucks and quite a number of miscellaneous articles of equipment 

 suitable for road-building purposes. There was in the hands of the 

 War Department in the United States and in France quite a large 

 amount of additional surplus equipment suitable for use in road- 

 construction work, and the War Department signified that much 

 of this would be turned over to this department. 



At the close of the fiscal year about one-third of the number of 

 motor vehicles allotted were actually in possession of the States, 

 and only a very small list of other equipment, supplies, or materials 

 were actually delivered. The total number of motor vehicles and 

 amounts of other equipment and supplies that will eventually be 

 made available for use by the States can not be stated. This dis- 

 tribution of trucks, although not proceeding as rapidly as had been 

 hoped, has assisted many of the States greatly in resuming their 

 road programs. This bureau has acted only as an agent of distribu- 

 tion between the War Department and the various State highway 

 departments, but it is believed that the policy of making available 

 surplus materials and equipment which could be directly used for 

 road-building purposes is one from which the public generally is 

 likely to receive a far greater benefit than if such supplies were dis- 

 posed of through sales to private concerns. The faith in such a 

 policy has resulted in a vigorous and persistent effort to secure for 

 the States as large an amount of the equipment and supplies as can 

 be put i^to useful service within a reasonable length of time. This 

 policy has extended to the dispatching of a special representative to 

 France to receive consignments of such material available in France 

 for return to this country. 



ROAD BUILDING AND MAINTENANCE INVESTIGATION. 



An object-lesson road was built of sand-clay construction in Pierce 

 County, Ga. 



Eeports on county road systems were made by Butte, Colusa, 

 Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, and Yolo Counties, Calif. Ad- 

 vice was given regarding special road problems in Massachusetts, 

 North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Engineers were fur- 

 nished to plan and superintend the construction of the Alexandria- 

 Camp Humphreys road in Virginia. 



