theless, the result in general has been eminently unsatisfactory, and the disbursements have been inadequate to cope with the natural difficulties."

The history of the mountain roads manifests the inability Conclusion. of the people to provide themselves with efficient highways, shows the insufficiency of the aid given in the past, and makes plain the inadequacy of the present law. The lack of good roads has caused an undue isolation, has prevented coöperative activity and the realization of the ideals of a modern community life, and has retarded the liable. The act of December 3, 1822, exempted persons over fifty years of age. The act of 1894 fixed the age limit from eighteen to fifty years, and exempted "licensed ministers" and citizens of incorporated towns and cities. The law demands an annual service of from two to six days, of eight hours each, except in case of an "emergency," when the overseers may require more. (Section 22.) Many counties require six days. In Pike, however, the overseers are allowed to demand two days a week when necessary. In Rockcastle six days, and as many more as are necessary for the accomplishment of certain results, are required. In Greenup three days only are demanded. (Kentucky Bureau of Agriculture, 14th Annual Report, pp. 254, 262; U. S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Public Roads, Circular 58.)

The law of 1797 provided for the impressment of "necessary carriages, draught horses or oxen, with their gear and driver, belonging to any person who, or their servants or slaves," were appointed to work on the road. They were to be paid for out of the "next county levy." By an act of January, 1831, plows and teams might be "hired" for use on the roads. The present law permits the counties to own road machinery and tools. (Section 4318.) Some of them now own grading machines-two in 1907. But the present law, as did that of 1797, requires persons working on the road to provide themselves with the "necessary tools and implements." (Section 4308.) As a rule the implements consist of a rake, an ax, and a weeding hoe.

a In 1904, when the average price for road labor varied from fifty cents in Johnson County to a dollar in the majority of counties and a dollar and a half in Elliott, the total expenditure upon the roads, including a poll and property tax levied in a number of counties, amounted to $418,605, or about $24 per mile of road. The average expenditure for the rest of the State was $43.57 per mile. The amounts varied greatly in the different counties, from a maximum of $90 in Pike to a minimum of ninety-six cents in Wolfe, aggregating $27,000 and $480 respectively. The maximum total expenditure was $33,000 in Pulaski and the minimum as given in Wolfe. (See Table 5, Appendix.)

development of natural resources by the exaction of enormous freight tolls, which in turn has blinded the people to their own needs. The State or Federal government could render valuable assistance to road-building. The new constitutional amendment is a step in the right direction, but to avoid a repetition of past mistakes, before the adoption of a definite policy of State aid there should be a careful consideration of the economic conditions and requirements of the mountain region."

For

a The present freight on merchandise is about one dollar per hundred pounds for forty-five miles. The average haul for a load of cross-ties is only from eight to ten miles, and eight to twelve ties constitute a load, while on a good road twenty would be an easy load. Logs delivered at the railroads for $20 a load consume $16 in transportation, which is at least twice the amount it would cost to haul them over a macadam road. (W. H. Haney, The Mountain People of Kentucky, pp. 41-43.)

Since the system now proposed necessitates an increased taxation it would impose a burdensome debt on many counties, and will probably meet with but little response from this section. There is a deep-rooted prejudice against taxation of any kind, due to the general impoverished condition of the population. The Auditor's report for 1906 shows the average per capita State and county tax to be $1.27. Some of the Bluegrass counties paid four times that amount— Woodford $4.26, Fayette $4.11—while in the mountains the tax varied from forty cents in Elliott and forty-two cents in Menefee to $1.75 in Boyd and $1.33 in Harlan. The mountain county levies-the lowest in the State-seldom if ever reach the legal maximum. In Harlan County, for example, the assessment has recently averaged twenty-five to thirty-five cents on the dollar, leaving fifteen cents which might have been devoted to road purposes. With the exception of Boyd, all the mountain counties are "pauper counties" in the sense that they cost the State more money than they pay into its treasury. The emergence of Boyd County from this class in 1901 was due to the increase of manufacturing in the two towns of Ashland and Catlettsburg, on the Ohio River. (Biennial Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts.)

These factories are based on the local coal supply, and similar plants are increasing in number along the railroads as the coal is developed. Middlesboro, in Bell County, also contains important plants. In 1900 Bell and Boyd counties contained 172 manufacturing establishments, with an aggregate capital of $5,201,489. This amount, however, was considerably more than one-half the

FERRY AT CROSSING OF CUMBERLAND RIVER BY A COUNTY ROAD JUST BELOW PINEVILLE (CUMBERLAND FORD).

U. S. Forest Bureau.

capital invested in manufactures in all other counties. Indeed, many of the plants had less than $1,000 invested in them.

The only property capable of making large returns is forest and coal land, much of which is owned at the present time by non-residents, and upon which the assessed valuation and tax rate are comparatively very low, the latter ranging from one and one-half per cent of the value of the land. Up to the present, vast areas have returned little or no revenue to the State or county. An increase in taxation, however, would be opposed to the policy of conservation. (See Table 4, Appendix.)

Investments in unsuccessful railroad projects has increased the prejudice against taxation. The general sentiment is indicated in the following "Notice to Road Overseers," signed by the county judge of Harlan and printed in the local newspapers: “You are hereby requested to each put his precinct in good repair by the 15th of August at the latest. There is no road tax this year and the poll tax is only one dollar, so I hope we will have no kicking but will promptly get down to business, and help ourselves and our county too by putting our roads in good repair." (Harlan Enterprise, July 24, 1909.)

REFERENCES

1. Public Roads of Kentucky, Mileage and Expenditures in 1904. United States Department of Agriculture, Circular No. 58. Also Bulletin No. 32. 1907.

2. Table Showing the Road System of Kentucky by Counties, and how Constructed and Maintained (1907). Kentucky Bureau of Agriculture, 17th Biennial Report, opposite p. 185.)