PUBLIC ROAD MILEAGE AND REVENUES, 1914. • 15 
under the supervision of the State engineer and surveyor at the 
expense of the towns. This method proved a failure, as the mainte- 
nance of various sections of a road depended on the wealth of the 
towns in which they were located and also on the efficiency of the 
respective town officials. 
By the laws of 1913 the highway department was reorganized 
under a single head in lieu of the commission which had included 
other State officers as members. The State commissioner of high- 
ways is appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and con- 
sent of the senate, for a term of 5 years. He has general supervision 
of all highways and bridges which are constructed, improved, or 
maintained in whole or in part by State money. His salary is fixed 
by the governor at not to exceed $10,000 per annum. " He appoints 
three deputies, a secretary, nine division engineers, and all necessary 
assistant engineers and clerks. 
The organization of the department is as follows: Commissioner, 
first deputy commissioner, second deputy commissioner, and third 
deputy commissioner, secretary, and auditor. 
The law makes the commissioner responsible for all expenditures 
of the department and the proper execution of each contract. The 
State is divided into nine divisions, each under a division engineer in 
charge of the construction and maintenance of such road work as 
comes under the supervision of the State highway department. The 
highway department has under its supervision over 79,000 miles of 
road. 
The highway improvement bonds were authorized in two amounts 
of $50,000,000 each in 1906 and 1912, respectively. The term of 
these bonds is 50 years. Of the $100,000,000 authorized, $65,000,000 
have been sold. The amount derived from the sale of State bonds 
is fixed by the legislature. For the year 1914, $10,000,000 worth of 
State bonds were sold. 
There are two classes of funds used for highway work. One is de- 
posited with the State treasurer and is subject to the comptroller's 
check; the other is deposited with the county treasurer. The former, 
known as the highway improvement fund, is obtained from the sale 
of highway improvement bonds and the latter, called the general 
fund, is appropriated from the revenues of the State. 
The highways of New York State are grouped in four classes, as 
follows : State highways, county highways, county roads, and town high- 
ways. The State and county highways together constitute the State 
system, and the town highways belong to the class of local roads which 
are aided and supervised by the State. The State has no supervision 
over county roads. State highways are those built at the sole 
expense of the State. They consist of about 3,800 miles of road on 
45 routes prescribed by the legislature. The construction of these 
