ROAD MILEAGE;, REVENUES, SOUTHEKjST STATES, 1914. 3 



in their respective States, or approved a text prepared in this Office. 

 The bulletin is issued, therefore, in the form of a series of chapters, 

 each under the authorship or approval of the State official who has 

 cooperated with this Office in assembling the data. 



ROAD ADMINISTRATION IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. 



In 1914 four of the Southern States, namely, Alabama, Louisiana, 

 Maryland, and Viginia, maintained State highway departments and 

 applied State funds to road improvement. Delaware provided a 

 State highway commissioner for New Castle County and appro- 

 priated $10,000 to each comity as State aid. Maryland has devel- 

 oped a rather highly centralized highway department, and not only 

 aids the counties in road construction but also has spent considerable 

 money in the construction of State roads, for which State bonds have 

 been issued. In five of the Southern States, namely, Arkansas, 

 Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, State 

 highway departments were in operation, but the work of the State 

 highway departments related entirely to educational, advisory, and 

 engineermg assistance, except in the State of Arkansas, where $75,000 

 was provided by the State for the purchase of a crushing plant to be 

 operated by State prisoners. In North Carolina the educational and 

 advisory work was carried on under the direction of the North Caro- 

 lina Geological and Economic Survey. Georgia had no State highway 

 department, but furnished State convicts for the purpose of building 

 county roads. In five of the Southern States, namely, Florida, 

 Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, no State highway 

 departments had been organized and no contributions were made by 

 the States toward local roads. 



Since 1914, however, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee have es- 

 tablished highway departments and Kentucky and Oklahoma have 

 enlarged their highway departments and made provision for granting 

 State aid to the counties. The legislature of Virginia in the early 

 part of 1916 provided for the maintenance of all State roads under 

 the direction of the State highway department. In most of the 

 Southern States the great bulk of road work still is done under the 

 direction of county authorities. 



Detailed information as to the administration of public roads in 

 each of the Southern States is given in the chapters which relate 

 respectively to each State. 



PUBLIC ROAD REVENUES. 



The total revenues applied to roads and bridges in the Southern 

 States in 1914 amounted to $52,516,559.73, including State appro- 

 priations, amounts derived from local taxation, and expenditures 

 from bond issues, both State and local. In 1904 the total revenues 

 applied to this purpose amounted to $21,590,682.29, thus showing 



