2 BULLETIN 393, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
of the hond-buils roads comprised 1 mill and ort dneet. about 4.9 per 
cent of the revenue; and the general road tax was 1 mill and 
produced about aren cent of the revenue, thus showing that the 
public-road revenue of the county agar ies about 20 per cent of the 
total revenue of approximately $269,500. 
The county road tax is levied against all taxable property in Mend: 
ian, but about one-half of the proceeds is used for streets inside the 
corporate limits. Since 1911 the tax rate for the city of Meridian has 
inereased only 0.4 mill, in spite of the fact that it is paying 2.8 mills 
for interest and maintenance of bond-built roads. The rate for 
Beat 1, outside of the city, increased 3.4 mills during the same period, 
and the rate for Beat 5 increased 7.5 mills. The rate in Beats 2)3,and 
4 increased 0.6 mill, but none of the bond-built roads are located in 
those beats. 
The general bonding law of the State requires that the tax for 
payment of interest and principal on the bonds be a special tax 
instead of having any of the expenditure paid out of other funds. 
HOW THE WORK WAS MANAGED. 
The roads constructed from the proceeds of bond issues were built 
by contract under the general direction of a county highway com-. 
mission, consisting of three members appointed by the county board 
of supervisors for a term of 4 years. All important actions of the 
commission, such as letting contracts and paying out money, are 
approved by the county board of supervisors. The commission em- 
ployed an engineer, and all work was done under his immediate direc- 
tion. He made the surveys and prepared the plans, specifications, 
and estimates, which were approved by the commission and the 
board of supervisors before the contracts were let. All bills were 
_ checked by the engineer, approved by the commission, and paid on 
the order of the board of supervisors. 
Positions on the road commission were honorary, and the commis- 
sioners acted without salary, but received $50 per annum for ex- 
penses. ‘The commission went into office when the first bonds were 
issued, and has continued in office up to the present time with some 
changes in personnel. The engineer to the commission received a 
salary of $250 per month and the use of an automobile. He con- 
tinued in office from the time the work started until the work was 
finished, about April 30, 1915. During the construction period an 
assistant engineer was employed by the commission at a salary of $90 
per month. A new engineer was employed on May 1, 1915, to com- 
plete the work under the $50,000 bond issue of March 1, 1915. His 
salary 1s $135 per month, but is partly paid by the county board of 
supervisors for services rendered in connection with laying out roads 
for the county convict road forces. Before the bonds were issued 
