BO AD MILEAGE, EEVENUES, SOUTHERN STATES, 1914. 41 



A State highway commission and a State highway department were 

 created by the legislature in 1915. The State highway commission 

 consists of six members, three of whom are appointed by the gov- 

 ernor, and the other three are ex officio members — the State geolo- 

 gist, the dean of engineering of the University of Tennessee, and the 

 governor. The State highway commission is required to elect one of 

 its members chairman and appoint a secretary who must be experi- 

 enced in road building and maintenance. The State highway depart- 

 ment is required to designate a system of roads connecting the county 

 seats of the several counties in the State and expend the State-aid 

 fund, but otherwise its work is of an educational and advisory 

 nature. Ten per cent of the net revenues from the registration and 

 licensing of motor vehicles is applied to the maintenance of the State 

 highway department; the remaining 90 per cent is used by the depart- 

 ment in maintaining State highways. 



The county courts of the several counties have jurisdiction over all 

 matters pertaining to roads and bridges. The constitution provides 

 that the different counties shall be laid off, as the general assembly 

 may direct, into districts of convenient size so that the whole num- 

 ber in each county shall not be more than 25, or 4 for each 100 square 

 miles of area. Two justices of the peace are elected in each district 

 by the qualified electors. The county court is composed of the jus- 

 tices of the peace and the county judge as chairman. The county 

 court is divided into a quarterly and a monthly court. 



The county court, at its January term every odd year, is required 

 to divide the county into one or more road districts and elect a road 

 commissioner for each district. Each road commissioner has control 

 of the highways and bridges and of the overseers or contractors in 

 his district, and directs all road work done therein. The road 

 commissioners appoint the road overseers. Each overseer has 

 charge of not less than one nor more than 5 miles of road. Any 

 county court, a majority of the justices of the peace assenting, may 

 appoint three commissioners authorized to employ engineers and 

 other necessary help to survey, inspect, classify, ^ay off for improve- 

 ment, and prepare plans, specifications and estimates for such roads 

 in the county as it is desired to have improved, and report thereon 

 with recommendations to the county court. The quarterly court of 

 any county may employ a competent person to superintend the con- 

 struction and repair of county buildings, bridges, levees, etc. The 

 quarterly court also is authorized to let any road or section of road 

 to contract, in which event the laws apphcable to overseers in working 

 the hands assigned to such roads shall apply to the contractors. 



County and municipal corporations may unite in the building and 

 regulation of bridges over any stream running by or through such 

 municipality. The county courts are required at their Jarmary term 



