ROAD MILEAGE, EEVENUES, SOUTHEEF STATES, 1914. 25 



a majority vote of the qualified electors voting at an election held for 

 that purpose provided that the annual tax required to meet the 

 bond issue, added to all other special taxes imposed to extinguish 

 bonds issued for similar purposes, shall not exceed 10 mills on the $1. 

 A special tax for road purposes may be voted in similar manner, if 

 such special tax added to the taxes otherwise levied wiU not exceed 

 the constitutional limit of 10 mills. 



All male persons between 18 and 50 years of age, not exempt by 

 law, may be required to work on the pubHc roads not exceeding 12 

 days each year or to pay in lieu thereof $1 for each day. Provision 

 also is made for the working of both State and parish convicts on the 

 public roads. 



REVENUES APPLIED TO ROADS AND BRffiGES. 



The total revenues apphed to roads in 1914 amounted to 

 $1,777,572.12, as follows: general road tax, $533,294.10; capitation, 

 vehicle, and special taxes, $250,648.60; cash value of statute labor 

 tax, $45,735; expended by State on State highways, $461,505.73; 

 and expenditures from bond issues, $486,388.69. 



The total expenditures in 1904 amounted to $951,872.86, thus 

 showing that during the lO-year period expenditures increased 

 $825,699.26, or 86.7 per cent. The cash value of the statute labor 

 tax decreased from $606,421 in 1904 to $45,735 in 1914. 



Information regarding taxation and revenues for 1914 is shown by 

 parishes in Table 13. 



ROAD AND BRIDGE BONDS. 



On January 1, 1915, according to the reports received from the 

 various parishes, the total road and bridge bonds outstanding 

 amounted to $1,588,835.26. During the year 1914 there was ex- 

 pended from bond issues $486,388.69; there was voted $1,732,000; 

 there was retired $24,500, and there was sold $1,161,000 of road and 

 bridge bonds. Detailed information in regard to bond issues in the 

 various parishes is presented in Table 28. 



ROAD MILEAGE. 



At the close of the year 1914, Louisiana had 24,563 miles of pubHc 

 road, of which 2,067.6 miles, or 8.42 per cent, were surfaced. Of the 

 surfaced roads 430 miles were gravel, 1,448 sand clay, 107.5 shell, 

 and 82.1 miles of other materials. There were also 7,453 miles of 

 graded and drained earth roads. 



In mileage of surfaced road, Rapides Parish stood first with 709 

 miles, or 54.16 per cent; Ouachita, second with 308 miles, or 50.65 

 per cent; Washington, third with 183 miles, or 33.27 per cent; Bos- 

 sier, fourth with 170 miles, or 40.86 per cent; and De Soto fifth 

 with 100 miles, or 25 per cent. There were 38 parishes which re- 

 ported no surfaced roads. During the five-year period, from the 



