RURAL HIGHWAY MILEAGE, INCOME, AND EXPENDITURES 3 
results of the 1904 investigation were published in Office of Public 
Roads Bulletin No. 32, those of 1909 in Office of Public Roads Bulle- 
tin No. 41, and those of 1914 in United States Department of Agri- 
culture Bulletins Nos. 386 to 390, inclusive. The present bulletin 
contains a general summary of the results of the investigations for 
1921 and such data as were secured for 1922. 
Construction and maintenance of our rural public roads are carried 
on under all units of government — States, counties, towns, townships, 
and districts — most of which report to no central authority and have- 
neither maps nor other definite, complete records of the roads over 
which they exercise control. The fiscal records of many of the lesser 
units are often of the most primitive character. To secure entirely" 
accurate and fully comparable data is therefore as yet impossible.- 
In general, however, the recent survey revealed a decided improve- 
ment in both accounting methods and records of work accomplished. 
This improvement was especially striking in those States which give 
the State highway department sufficient authority to coordinate all 
the highway activities of the State. So great is the value of definite 
knowledge as to the extent and progress of all highway activities 
that it is to be hoped that all States will soon adopt such measures as. 
will place in the hands of the respective State highway departments- 
accurate and uniform data covering the entire field of highway 
activities. Such data are prerequisite to the real solution of many of 
our highway and transportation problems. 
AMOUNT AND SOURCE OF HIGHWAY FUNDS 
The present survey is the first attempt to gather definite informa- 
tion both as to the sources from which highway funds are secured 
and the purposes for which they are paid out. The investigation 
shows that the gross total of funds actually made available for all 
rural highway purposes during the year 1921 amounted to $1,149,- 
437,896. Of this total $438,109,273, or 38.1 per cent, was secured 
from bonds; $415,680,010, or 36.2 per cent, from general taxes; 
$122,626,166, or 10.6 per cent, from motor-vehicle fees and gasoline 
taxes; $79,333,226, or 6.9 per cent, from Federal-aid payments 
received by the various States; and $93,689,221, or 8.2 per cent, 
from various other sources, the chief of which were appropriations or 
allotments from general funds originating from two or more sources. 
It is estimated that approximately half of this unclassified income- 
originated in general property taxes. 
The sums here reported as income for rural road purposes include 
all moneys received into the various road and bridge funds during 
1921 or definitely set aside from 1921 receipts for highway purposes. 
All balances on hand at the beginning of the year, except those 
arising from the sale of bonds, as well as all transfers from one high- 
way fund to another and those parts of all strictly revolving fund 
accounts which did not add to the actual sums available during the 
year, have been carefully excluded in order that the data may repre- 
sent as closely as possible the actual income during the year 1921. 
In practically all cases the fiscal year corresponding most closely to 
the calendar year 1921 has been used for all fiscal data. Statements- 
of mileage constructed and maintained and other statements of work 
accomplished refer almost without exception to the calendar year. 
