24 BULLETIN 387, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 
or to have it done by free labor. Of the total cost of all State-aid 
road work, the State pays one-half, if the funds available are suffi- 
cient, and the parish, city, town or village wherein such work of 
improvement is located is required to pay the remaining portion. The 
State highway engineer is required to maintain all roads improved 
with the aid of the State, and the cost of such maintenance is borne 
one-half by the State and one-half by the parish, city, town or village 
in which such road may be located. A State highway fund is created 
to consist of the State road tax levy of one-fourth mill on each $1 of 
the assessed value of all property assessed for State taxation. 
Jurisdiction over all road matters in the various parishes of the 
State is vested in the police juries, which are authorized to pass all 
such ordinances as they may deem necessary relative to roads, bridges 
and ditches, and to impose fines and penalties for failure to observe 
their orders. They are required to divide parishes into as many dis- 
tricts as they may think proper for the appointment of overseers of 
roads and shall appoint one overseer for each such district. 
The police juries are authorized to have the work of opening and 
repairing roads and building and repairing bridges done by contract. 
They may, and on petition of not less than 25 per cent of the property 
owners, resident and nonresident, shall divide their parishes into one 
or more road districts. When petitioned by 50 per cent of the land 
owners, resident and nonresident, they may divide road districts into 
subroad districts. On request of 50 per cent or more of the property 
owners, resident and nonresident, in a road district, the police jury 
is required to appoint for such district a supervising board of five 
property owners, to have charge and supervision over the road im- 
provement work to be undertaken therein. Otherwise, the police 
jury is the board of administration or the governing body for the road 
districts and subroad districts in their respective parishes. Whenever 
any road construction exceeds $2,000, the plans and specifications 
shall be prepared and submitted for approval to the State board of 
engineers. 
Of the tax levy of 10 mills on the $1 authorized by the constitution 
for all county purposes, the police juries may set aside at least 1 mill 
per annum for the purpose of constructing, maintaining, and repair- 
ing the public roads and bridges of their respective parishes. For a 
like purpose they may impose a per capita tax of $1 upon each able- 
bodied male between 18 and 55 years of age, and may levy an annual 
graduated license tax of not less than 25 cents nor more than $1 upon 
each vehicle, including bicycles, kept within the parish or municipal- 
ity thereof and used on the public roads. 
Parishes and road districts, through the police juries, may issue 
road bonds not to exceed in the aggregate 10 per cent of the assessed 
property valuation of the parish or road district, when authorized by 
