ROAD MILEAGE, CENTRAL AND WESTERN STATES. 11 
The board of supervisors may establish a general road fund and order apportioned 
thereto an amount not exceeding 35 per cent of the aggregate road taxes collected 
from all sources. The general road fund is applied in the following manner: First, 
in the payment of the cost of general county road improvements; second, in assisting 
weak and impoverished districts; and third, in payment of such demands as are 
payable by law out of the general road fund. 
Boards of supervisors may levy an annual property road tax of not to exceed 40 
cents on each $100 of assessed valuation of the county, and also a road poll tax of $3 
on every male over 21 and under 55 years of age not exempt by law. Thirty-five per 
cent of the proceeds of each levy goes into the general road fund. Boards of super- 
visors may levy a special road fund tax of not to exceed 2 mills on each dollar of assessed 
valuation of the county, outside of incorporated towns or cities, which shall be 
expended in the several districts in proportion to the amounts collected in each dis- 
trict. In addition, on petition of a majority of the property owners of any road dis- 
trict, a special road tax of not to exceed 2 mills on each dollar of assessed valuation 
in the district may be levied by the board. One-half of the net receipts from the 
registration and licensing of motor vehicles is paid to the counties from which collected, 
to be used for road and bridge purposes, and the other half is used by the department 
of engineering for the maintenance and improvement of State highways. 
Bonds may be issued for road purposes by boards of supervisors, after having sub- 
mitted the question to a vote of the people and having received a favorable vote of two- 
thirds of those voting. The bonded indebtedness of a county at no time shall exceed 
5 per cent of its taxable property valuation. Whenever any county highway is im- 
proved under a county bond issue, which issue covers all property of the county, the 
board of supervisors shall provide a continuous system for the maintenance of such 
highways and may levy annually for that purpose a tax of not to exceed 7 cents on 
each $100 valuation of the county for each 100 miles of such improved highways 
therein. 
No person not a native-born or naturalized citizen of the United States can be 
employed in any department of the State, county, or city governments. 
Provision is made for utilizing the labor of both State and county convicts in 
highway work. 
ROAD MILEAGE. 
According to the reports received, California had at the close of 1914 a total of 
61,039 miles of public roads, of which 10,279.73 miles, or 16.84 per cent, were surfaced. 
Of the surfaced roads 929.19 miles were concrete, 837.4 macadam, 877.9 bituminous 
macadam, 3,563.59 gravel, 582.25, sand -clay, and 3,489.4 oiled earth. There was also 
reported 18,389 miles of graded and drained earth roads. In 1909 California reported 
48,069 miles of public roads, of which 8,587 miles, or 17.87 per cent, were surfaced, 
thus indicating a gain in surfaced roads for the five-year period of 1,691.98 miles in 
spite of the fact that several counties reported a larger mileage of surfaced roads in 
1909 than was reported for 1914. This is shown in Table 8. 
REVENUES APPLIED TO ROADS AND BRIDGES. 
The total revenue applied to roads and bridges in the fiscal year ended June 30, 
1915, amounted to $19,171,984.66, exclusive of San Francisco County, which is coex- 
tensive with the city of San Francisco. It was impossible to secure this infornation 
for the calendar year 1914. Of this amount, the counties expended from revenues 
derived from taxation and bond issues, $9,790,238.42 for highways and $2,531,148.63 
for bridges, and the State expended $6,850,597.61, of which $6,488,217.13 was for the 
construction of State highways and $362,380.38 was for the construction and mainte- 
nance of State roads. The funds used in the construction of State highways was 
derived from the $18,000,000 State bond issue. Of the funds used in the construction 
