all the States in the same manner and on the same basis, and certified to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the State highway departments and to the governors of States having no State highway departments in the same way as if it were being apportioned under this act for the first time: Provided, That in States where the constitution prohibits the State from engaging in any work of internal improvements, then the amount of the appropriation under this act apportioned to any such State shall be turned over to the highway department of the State or to the governor of said State to be expended under the provisions of this act and under the rules and regulations of the Department of Agriculture, when any number of counties in any such State shall appropriate or provide the proportion or share needed to be raised in order to entitle such State to its part of the appropriation apportioned under this act.

SEC. 4. That so much, not to exceed three per centum, of the appropriation for any fiscal year made by or under this act as the Secretary of Agriculture may estimate to be necessary for administering the provisions of this act shall be deducted for that purpose, available until expended. Within sixty days after the close of each fiscal year the Secretary of Agriculture shall determine what part, if any, of the sums theretofore deducted for administering the provisions of this act will not be needed for that purpose and apportion such part, if any, for the fiscal year then current in the same manner and on the same basis, and certify it to the Secretary of the Treasury and to the State highway departments, and to the governors of States having no State highway departments, in the same way as other amounts authorized by this act to be apportioned among all the States for such current fiscal year. The Secretary of Agriculture, after making the deduction authorized by this section, shall apportion the remainder of the appropriation for each fiscal year among the several States in the following manner: One-third in the ratio which the area of each State bears to the total area of all the States; one-third in the ratio which the population of each State bears to the total population of all the States, as shown by the latest available Federal census; one-third in the ratio which the mileage of rural delivery routes and star routes in each State bears to the total mileage of rural delivery routes and star routes in all the States, at the close of the next preceding fiscal year, as shown by the certificate of the Postmaster General, which he is directed to make and furnish annually to the Secretary of Agriculture.

SEC. 5. That within sixty days after the approval of this act the Secretary of Agriculture shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury and to each State highway department and to the governor of each State having no State highway department the sum which he has estimated to be deducted for admin. istering the provisions of this act and the sum which he has apportioned to each State for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and on or before January twentieth next preceding the commencement of each succeeding fiscal year shall make like certificates for such fiscal year.

SEC. 6. That any State desiring to avail itself of the benefits of this act shall, by its State highway department, submit to the Secretary of Agriculture project statements setting forth proposed construction of any rural post road or roads therein. If the Secretary of Agriculture approve a project, the State highway department shall furnish to him such surveys, plans, specifications, and estimates therefor as he may require: Provided, however, That the Secretary of Agriculture shall approve only such projects as may be substantial in character and the expenditure of funds hereby authorized shall be applied only to such improvements. Items included for engineering, inspection, and unforeseen contingencies shall not exceed ten per centum of the total estimated cost of the work. If the Secretary of Agriculture approve the plans, specifications, and estimates, he shall notify the State highway department and immediately certify the fact to the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary of the Treasury shall thereupon set aside the share of the United States pay. able under this act on account of such project, which shall not exceed fifty per centum of the total estimated cost thereof. No payment of any money apportioned under this act shall be made on any project until such statement of the project, and the plans, specifications, and estimates therefor, shall have been submitted to and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture.

When the Secretary of Agriculture shall find that any project so approved by him has been constructed in compliance with said plans and specifications he shall cause to be paid to the proper authority of said State the amount set

aside for said project: Provided, That the Secretary of Agriculture may, in his discretion, from time to time, make payments on said construction as the same progresses; but these payments, including previous payments, if any, shall not be more than the United States' pro rata part of the value of the labor and materials which have been actually put into said construction in conformity to said plans and specifications; nor shall any such payment be in excess of $10,000 per mile, exclusive of the cost of bridges of more than twenty feet clear span. The construction work and labor in each State shall be done in accordance with its laws and under the direct supervision of the State highway department, subject to the inspection and approval of the Secretary of Agriculture and in accordance with the rules and regulations made pursuant to this act.

The Secretary of Agriculture and the State highway department of each State may jointly determine at what times and in what amounts payments, as work progresses, shall be made under this act. Such payments shall be made by the Secretary of the Treasury on warrants drawn by the Secretary of Agriculture, to such official, or officials, or depository, as may be designated by the State highway department and authorized under the laws of the State to receive public funds of the State or county.

SEC. 7. To maintain the roads constructed under the provisions of this act shall be the duty of the States, or their civil subdivisions, according to the laws of the several States. If at any time the Secretary of Agriculture shall find that any road in any State constructed under the provisions of this act is not being properly maintained he shall give notice of such fact to the highway department of such State; and if within four months from the receipt of said notice said road has not been put in a proper condition of maintenance, then the Secretary of Agriculture shall thereafter refuse to approve any project for road construction in said State, or the civil subdivision thereof, as the fact may be, whose duty is to maintain said road, until it has been put in a condition of proper maintenance.

SEC. 8. That there is hereby appropriated and made available until expended, out of any moneys in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $1,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and each fiscal year thereafter up to and including the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and twenty-six, in all $10,000,000, to be available until expended under the supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture, upon request from the proper officers of the State, Territory, or county for the survey, construction, and maintenance of roads and trails within or only partly within the national forests when necessary for the use and development of resources upon which communities within and adjacent to the national forests are dependent: Provided, That the State, Territory, or county shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary of Agriculture for the survey, construction, and maintenance of such roads or trails upon a basis equitable to both the State, Territory, or county, and the United States: And provided also, That the aggregate expenditures in any State, Territory, or county shall not exceed ten per centum of the value, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture, of the timber and forage resources which are or will be available for income upon the national forest lands within the respective county or counties wherein the roads or trails will be constructed; and the Secretary of Agriculture shall make annual report to Congress of the amounts expended hereunder.

That immediately upon the execution of any cooperative agreement hereunder the Secretary of Agriculture shall notify the Secretary of the Treasury of the amount to be expended by the United States within or adjacent to any national forest thereunder, and beginning with the next fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter the Secretary of the Treasury shall apply from any and all revenues from such forest ten per centum thereof to reimburse the United States for expenditures made under such agreement until the whole amount advanced under such agreement shall have been returned from the receipts from such national forest.

SEC. 9. That out of the appropriations made by or under this act the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to employ such assistants, clerks, and other persons in the city of Washington and elsewhere, to be taken from the eligible lists of the Civil Service Commission, to rent buildings outside of the city of Washington, to purchase such supplies, material, equipment, office fixtures,

and apparatus, and to incur such travel and other expense as he may deem necessary for carrying out the purposes of this act.

SEC. 10. That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to make rules and regulations for carrying out the provisions of this act.

SEC. 11. That this act shall be in force from the date of its passage.

Approved, July 11, 1916.

POST OFFICE APPROPRIATION ACT OF FEBRUARY 28, 1919

[40 STAT. 1200]

An Act Making appropriations for the service of the Post Office Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, and for other purposes

SEC. 5. That the act entitled "An act to provide that the United States shall aid the States in the construction of rural post roads, and for other purposes," approved July 11, 1916, is hereby amended to provide that the term "rural post roads," as used in section 2 of said act, shall be construed to mean any public road a major portion of which is now used, or can be used, or forms a connecting link not to exceed ten miles in length of any road or roads now or hereafter used for the transportation of the United States mails, excluding every street and road in a place having a population, as shown by the latest available Federal census, of two thousand five hundred or more, except that portion of any such street or road along which the houses average more than two hundred feet apart: Provided, That section 6 of said act be further amended so that the limitation of payments not to exceed $10,000 per mile, exclusive of the cost of bridges of more than twenty feet clear span, which the Secretary of Agriculture may make, be, and the same is, increased to $20,000 per mile.

SEC. 6. That for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of said act, as herein amended, there is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the following additional sums: The sum of $50,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, and available immediately; the sum of $75,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920; and the sum of $75,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921; said additional sums to be expended in accordance with the provisions of said act: Provided, That where the constitution of any State prohibits the same from engaging upon internal improvements or from contracting public debts for extraordinary purposes in an amount sufficient to meet the monetary requirements of the act of July 11, 1916, or any act amendatory thereof, or restricts annual tax levies for the purpose of constructing and improving roads and bridges, and where a constitutional alteration or amendment to overcome either or all of such prohibitions must be submitted to a referendum at a general election, the sum to which such State is entitled under the method of apportionment provided in the act of July 11, 1916, or any act amendatory thereof, shall be withdrawn by the Secretary of the Treasury from the principal fund appropriated by the act of July 11, 1916, or any act amendatory thereof, upon receipt of the certification of the governor of such State to the existence of either or all of said prohibitions, and such sum shall be carried by the Secretary of the Treasury as a separate fund for future disbursement as hereinafter provided: Provided further, That when, by referendum, the constitutional alterations or amendments necessary to the enjoyment of the sum so withdrawn have been approved and ratified by any State, the Secretary of the Treasury, upon receipt of certification from the governor of such State to such effect, shall immediately make available to such State for the purposes set forth in the act of July 11, 1916, or any act amendatory thereof, the sum withdrawn as hereinbefore provided: Provided further, That nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent any State from receiving such portion of said principal sum as is available under its existing constitution and laws: Provided further, That in the expenditure of this fund for labor preference shall be given, other conditions being equal, to honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines, but any other preference or discrimination among citizens of the United States in connection with the expenditure of this appropriation is hereby declared to be unlawful.

SEC. 7. That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized in his discretion to transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture all available war material, equipment, and supplies not needed for the purposes of the War Department, but suitable for use in the improvement of highways, and that the same be distributed among the highway departments of the several States to be used on roads constructed in whole or in part by Federal aid, such distribution to be made upon a value basis of distribution the same as provided by the Federal aid road act, approved July 11, 1916: Provided, That the Secretary of Agriculture, at his discretion, may reserve from such distribution not to exceed 10 per centum of such material, equipment, and supplies for use in the construction of national forest roads or other roads constructed under his direct supervision.

SEC. 8. That there is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, the sum of $3,000,000, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, the sum of $3,000,000, and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921, the sum of $3,000,000, available until expended by the Secretary of Agriculture in cooperation with the proper officials of the State, Territory, insular possession, or county, in the survey, construction, and maintenance of roads and trails within or partly within the national forests, when necessary for the use and development of resources of the same or desirable for the proper administration, protection, and improvement of any such forest. Out of the sums so appropriated the Secretary of Agriculture may, without the cooperation of such officials, survey, construct, and maintain any road or trail within a national forest which he finds necessary for the proper administration, protection, and improvement of such forest, or which in his opinion is of national importance. In the expenditure of this fund for labor preference shall be given, other conditions being equal, to honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, and marines.

The Secretary of Agriculture shall make annual report to Congress of the amounts expended hereunder.

SEC. 9. That no officer or enlisted man of the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps shall be detailed for work on the roads which come within the provisions of this act except by his own consent: And provided further, That the Secretary of Agriculture, through the War Department, shall ascertain the number of days any such soldiers, sailors, and marines have worked on the public roads in the several States (other than roads within the limits of cantonments or military reservations in the several States) during the existing war, and also the location where they worked and their names and rank, and report to Congress at the beginning of its next regular session: Provided further, That when any officer or enlisted man in the Army, the Navy, or the Marine Corps shall have been or may be in the future detailed for labor in the building of roads or other highway construction or repair work (other than roads within the limits of cantonments or military reservations in the several States), during the existing war, the pay of such officer or enlisted man shall be equalized to conform to the compensation paid to civilian employees in the same or like employment and the amount found to be due such officers, soldiers, sailors, and marines, less the amount of his pay as such officer, soldier, sailor, or marine, shall be paid to him from the 1920 appropriation herein allotted to the States wherein such highway construction or repair work was or will be performed.

Approved February 28, 1919.

THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ACT
[42 STAT. 212]

An Act To amend the act entitled "An act to provide that the United States shall aid the States in the construction of rural post roads, and for other purposes," approved July 11, 1916, as amended and supplemented, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this act may be cited as the Federal highway act.

SEC. 2. That, when used in this act, unless the context indicates otherwiseThe term "Federal aid act' means the act entitled "An act to provide that the United States shall aid the States in the construction of rural post roads, 1048°-33-2

and for other purposes," approved July 11, 1916, as amended by sections 5 and 6 of an act entitled "An act making appropriations for the service of the Post Office Department for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, and for other purposes," approved February 28, 1919, and all other acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto.

The term “highway” includes rights of way, bridges, drainage structures, signs, guard rails, and protective structures in connection with highways, but shall not include any highway or street in a municipality having a population of two thousand five hundred or more as shown by the last available census, except that portion of any such highway or street along which within a distance of one mile the houses average more than two hundred feet apart.

The term "State highway department" includes any State department, commission, board, or official having adequate powers and suitably equipped and organized to discharge to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Agriculture the duties herein required.

66

The term maintenance means the constant making of needed repairs to preserve a smooth surfaced highway.

The term "construction" means the supervising, inspecting, actual building, and all expenses incidental to the construction of a highway, except locating, surveying, mapping, and costs of rights of way.

66

The term reconstruction means a widening or a rebuilding of the highway or any portion thereof to make it a continuous road, and of sufficient width and strength to care adequately for traffic needs.

The term "forest roads" means roads wholly or partly within or adjacent to and serving the national forests.

The term "State funds" includes for the purposes of this act funds raised under the authority of the State, or any political or other subdivision thereof, and made available for expenditure under the direct control of the State highway department.

SEC. 3. All powers and duties of the Council of National Defense under the act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, and for other purposes," approved August 29, 1916, in relation to highway or highway transport, are hereby transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Council of National Defense is directed to turn over to the Secretary of Agriculture the equipment, material, supplies, papers, maps, and documents utilized in the exercise of such powers. The powers and duties of agencies dealing with highways in the national parks or in military or naval reservations under the control of the United States Army or Navy, or with highways used principally for military or naval purposes, shall not be taken over by the Secretary of Agriculture, but such highways shall remain under the control and jurisdiction of such agencies.

The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to cooperate with the State highway departments and with the Department of the Interior in the construction of public highways within Indian reservations, and to pay the amount assumed therefor from the funds allotted or apportioned under this act to the State wherein the reservation is located.

SEC. 4. That the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish an accounting division, which shall devise and install a proper method of keeping the accounts. SEC. 5. That the Secretary of War be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture, upon his request, all war material, equipment, and supplies now or hereafter declared surplus from stock now on hand and not needed for the purposes of the War Department but suitable for use in the improvement of highways, and that the same shall be distributed among the highway departments of the several States to be used in the construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of highways, such distribution to be upon the same basis as that hereinafter provided for in this act in the distribution of Federal-aid fund: Provided, That the Secretary of Agriculture, in his discretion, may reserve from such distribution not to exceed 10 per centum of such material, equipment, and supplies for use in the construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of national-forest roads or other roads constructed, reconstructed, or maintained under his direct supervision.

SEC. 6. That in approving projects to receive Federal aid under the provisions of this act the Secretary of Agriculture shall give preference to such projects as will expedite the completion of an adequate and connected system of highways interstate in character.