ROAD MILEAGE, REVENUES, SOUTHERN STATES, 1914. 25 
a majority vote of the qualified electors voting at an election held for 
that purpose provided that the annual tax required to meet the 
bond issue, added to all other special taxes imposed to extinguish 
bonds issued for similar purposes, shall not exceed 10 mills on the $1. 
A special tax for road purposes may be voted in similar manner, if 
such special tax added to the taxes otherwise levied will not exceed 
the constitutional limit of 10 mills. 
All male persons between 18 and 50 years of age, not exempt by 
law, may be required to work on the public roads not exceeding 12 
days each year or to pay in lieu thereof $1 for each day. Provision 
also is made for the working of both State and parish convicts on the 
public roads. 
REVENUES APPLIED TO ROADS AND BRIDGES. 
The total revenues applied to roads in 1914 amounted to 
$1,777,572.12, as follows: general road tax, $533,294.10; capitation, 
vehicle, and special taxes, $250,648.60; cash value of statute labor 
tax, $45,735; expended by State on State highways, $461,505.73; 
and expenditures from bond issues, $486,388.69. 
The total expenditures in 1904 amounted to $951,872.86, thus 
showing that during the 10-year period expenditures increased 
$825,699.26, or 86.7 per cent. The cash value of the statute labor 
tax decreased from $606,421 in 1904 to $45,735 in 1914. 
Information regarding taxation and revenues for 1914 is shown by 
parishes in Table 13. 
ROAD AND BRIDGE BONDS. 
On January 1, 1915, according to the reports received from the 
various parishes, the total road and bridge bonds outstanding 
amounted to $1,588,835.26. During the year 1914 there was ex- 
pended from bond issues $486,388.69; there was voted $1,732,000; 
there was retired $24,500, and there was sold $1,161,000 of road and 
bridge bonds. Detailed information in regard to bond issues in the 
various parishes is presented in Table 28. 
ROAD MILEAGE. 
At the close of the year 1914, Louisiana had 24,563 miles of public 
road, of which 2,067.6 miles, or 8.42 per cent, were surfaced. Of the 
surfaced roads 430 miles were gravel, 1,448 sand clay, 107.5 shell, 
and 82.1 miles of other materials. There were also 7,453 miles of 
graded and drained earth roads. 
In mileage of surfaced road, Rapides Parish stood first with 709 
miles, or 54.16 per cent; Ouachita, second with 308 miles, or 50.65 
per cent; Washington, third with 183 miles, or 33.27 per cent; Bos- 
sier, fourth with 170 miies, or 40.86 per cent; and De Soto fifth 
with 100 miles, or 25 per cent. There were 38 parishes which re- 
ported no surfaced roads. During the five-year period, from the 
