give preference to the highways, bridges and culverts along or over which such rural mail routes have been or may hereafter be established and maintained. It shall be the duty of such officers to see that such highways are properly drained, are kept free from all obstructions, including snow drifts, and are at all times in condition to be safe and readily passable to ordinary travel. It shall be the duty of said officers, and each of them, upon receiving notice of the defective or impassable condition of any of the highways, bridges or culverts so used by mail routes above defined at once to repair, or cause to be repaired, the said highway or highways, bridges and culverts over which they respectively have control. In making such repairs the board of commissioners of the county may repair bridges or culverts wherever necessary for the purposes of this act regardless of the fact that there may be no appropriation therefor, and pay for the same out of any money in the county treasury not otherwise appropriated. If any member of any board of commissioners, or any county highway superintendent, or any township trustee shall fail to repair any public highway, bridge or culvert which it is his duty under the law to repair or cause to be repaired for a period of five days after receiving notice of the defective condition thereof, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not over two dollars ($2) for each day he shall have so failed after receiving such notice.

7648b3. Road tax levy by township advisory board.-8. The township advisory board, on an estimate made by the township trustee, shall annually levy as other township taxes are levied, a road tax of not more than thirty cents on one hundred dollars ($100) to be levied according to the amount of real and personal property owned in such township, outside the corporate cities and towns, subject to taxation for road purposes, to be collected as other taxes are collected: Provided, That the township advisory board may, on an estimate made by the township trustee, at the time of the annual meeting of the advisory board for the determination and fixing of the rates of taxation, levy an additional tax, not to exceed ten cents on one hundred dollars ($100) valuation, to be paid by the treasurer of the county to the trustee of the township, to be expended for the construction and repair of bridges and culverts and for other road purposes. All taxes so levied shall be paid into the county treasury in cash, as other taxes are paid, and shall be paid by the county treasurer to the township trustee, to be expended for the construction, repair, maintenance and preservation of the public highways placed by this act in charge of the township trustee, and for the construction and repair of bridges and culverts which the township trustee is authorized to construct and repair.

7648c3. Penalty for injury or obstructing highways.-9. Any person who shall injure any dam, drain, embankment, ditch or other construction made for the protection of any highway or bridge, or who shall wilfully destroy any guide post, or deface any description or device thereon, or who shall unnecessarily, and to the hindrance of passengers, obstruct any highway or bridge, and who shall, when driving any vehicle, fail to pass to the right when meeting another vehicle, so as to allow it to pass without injury, for every such offense, shall forfeit the sum of five dollars ($5), to be recovered by the trustee in the name of the township before a justice of the peace of the county; and for every day such obstruction is continued the same sum shall be recovered. In all cases such trustee, within three (3) days after receiving information of any such offense, shall commence suit, and the sum recovered thereon shall be used for the benefit of the highways of such township in his charge. In case of a recovery in any such action the justice of the peace shall tax as costs, the sum of five dollars ($5) as attorney's fees for plaintiff's attorney. All such suits commenced by one trustee may be continued by his successor in office and no costs shall be taxes [taxed] against the trustee of the township in any such suit.

7648d3. Trustee may contribute to road improvement, donations.10. The trustee of the township shall determine what public highways in his charge under this act shall be repaired or improved, and what bridges and culverts on such highways shall be built and repaired. In determining upon the amount and character of work which shall first be done on any highway placed by this act in charge of the township trustee, or part thereof, and in determining upon the amount and character of the work which shall first be done on any bridge or culvert on such highways placed by this act in charge of the township trustee for construction or repair, the trustee of the township shall take into consideration the importance of the highway, bridge or culvert to the traveling public, and its convenience to gravel, stone or other material to be used in its construction or repair. Whenever the citizens interested in the permanent improvement of any highway of public importance placed by this act in charge of the trustee of the township, shall, by donation, properly ditch, drain, gravel, embank or otherwise improve any such highway, such trustee may contribute and perform work thereon equal in value to such donation, if he have the means in the township road fund appropriated by the advisory board for that purpose: Provided, moreover, That every township trustee shall set aside not less than five per cent (5%) of the road funds received by him each year as an emergency fund, to be used in keeping in repair all highways in his township under his charge along or on which United

States rural free delivery mail routes have been or may hereafter be established and maintained; and it shall be the duty of every township trustee to give the preference to such highways in keeping the same in repair. Such highways shall be kept properly drained and free from all obstructions, including snow drifts, so as to be at all times in good condition for ordinary travel.

7648e3. Oaths administered by township trustee, liability for township property.-11. The trustee of each township in the state is empowered to administer oaths in all cases touching the prosecution of the business of the township of which he is trustee. The trustee of the township shall hand over to his successor in office all property of the township in his possession. The trustee of the township shall be responsible for the care and safe keeping of all tools, machinery, implements, materials and property of the township, and on going out of office he shall report in writing under oath to his successor in office the number and kinds of tools, machinery and implements, and the kinds and amounts of materials and property in his possession as township trustee, and he shall be liable for any loss or damage to the tools, machinery, implements, materials and property belonging to the township occasioned by his neglect, or for any tools, machinery, implements, materials and property not accounted for by him.

7648f3. Employment of labor and machinery for repair work.— 12. The trustee of each township in this state is authorized and empowered to employ laborers and to hire teams or motor trucks, and to rent or purchase proper and needed tools, machinery, implements and materials, procure suitable designs, plans, specifications and estimates, to cause surveys to be made, and to do other necessary and proper things for the construction, repair, maintenance and preservation of the public highways placed by this act in charge of the trustee of the township, and for the construction and repair of the bridges and culverts thereon which he by this act is authorized to construct and repair, and to pay for the same out of the road fund of the township: Provided, That the trustee of any township shall not rent or purchase any tools, machinery, implements and materials, procure suitable designs, plans, specifications and estimates, to cause surveys to be made, and to do other necessary and proper things for the construction, repair, maintenance and preservation of the public highways placed by this act in charge of the trustee of the township where the expense to be incurred shall exceed one hundred dollars, without first having obtained an order of the advisory board of the township authorizing such expense: Provided, The advisory board of the township shall have made an appropriation therefor, and Provided further, That all the provisions and requirements of an act of

the general assembly of the State of Indiana entitled "An act concerning township business," approved February 27, 1899, and all acts amendatory thereto and supplemental thereto shall have been fully complied with in making said employment, hiring, renting, procurements, surveys and purchases, and in doing the acts and things herein set out. The trustee of the township in employing laborers and in hiring teams, and motor trucks, and in renting proper and needed tools, machinery and implements shall not pay more to laborers than is customary in his township for like or similar work or services, and shall not pay more for such hiring and renting than is customary in his township for like hiring or renting.

7648g3. Rules and regulations for construction and repair work.13. The trustee of each township in the state shall order the expenditure of the township road fund for the construction, repair, maintenance and preservation of the public highways placed by this act in his charge, and for the construction and repair of the culverts and bridges placed by this act in his charge, under such regulations as he may deem expedient for the public interest. He may make rules and regulations, and may adopt plans and methods for the construction, repair, maintenance and preservation of such highways, culverts and bridges: Provided, Such rules, regulations, plans and methods are not inconsistent with or in conflict with any provisions of an act of the general assembly of the State of Indiana entitled "An act concerning township business," approved February 27, 1899, and not inconsistent with or in conflict with any act amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto. Any rule, regulation, plan, or method inconsistent with or in conflict with any provision of said act entitled "An act concerning township business," approved February 27, 1899, or inconsistent with or in conflict with any act amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto, shall be null and void and of no effect. See section 9590 et seq. Revision of 1914.

7648h3. County treasurer to pay road fund to township trustee.14. All road money on hand or that may hereafter be paid to the county treasurer under the provisions of this or of any previous act, shall be paid to the proper township trustee and be expended by him as other road funds are required by this act.

764813. Boundary line roads.-15. After the passage of this act the township trustee of each township in this state shall have charge, and he is hereby given charge of the construction, repair, maintenance and preservation of all public highways in the county running on the boundary line between any two or more townships in the county, and running on the boundary line between any two or more counties, except public highways that have been improved by the board of commissioners of the county or by the boards of commis

sioners of the adjoining counties, as the case may be, under some act of the general assembly of the State of Indiana authorizing and empowering boards of commissioners of the several counties of the State of Indiana to improve public highways by building or paving with stone, brick, concrete, bitumen, or other road building or road paving material, and also except public highways known as state roads that have been selected and designated for construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance by the state highway commission of the State of Indiana under an act of the general assembly of the State of Indiana, known as the Duffey-Buller highway commission law, which charge by the township trustee shall continue until such public highways shall be improved by the board of commissioners of the county, or by the boards of commissioners of the adjoining counties, as the case may be, under some act of the general assembly of the State of Indiana authorizing and empowering boards of commissioners to improve public highways by building or paving with stone, brick, concrete, bitumen, or other road building or road paving material, or until such highways shall be selected and designated state highways for construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance by the state highway commission under said act. All such roads running on township and county lines as aforesaid in this section are assigned for construction, repair, maintenance and preservation as follows: On roads running north and south, the north half is assigned to the township or townships on the west side of such line, and the south half is assigned to the township or townships on the east side of such line; and on such roads running east and west, the west half is assigned to the township or townships on the south side of such line, and the east half to the township or townships on the north side of such line, and the highways so assigned shall be under the control of and in charge of the township trustee for construction, repair, maintenance and preservation of the township to which they are in this section assigned. All roads running on lines dividing this state from other states shall be worked in conjunction with such other state and shall be assigned for construction, repairs, maintenance and preservation in the same manner as above provided in cases where roads run on township or county lines.

7648j3. Penalty for violation of act.-16. Any trustee of any township in this state who shall violate any provision of this act, or who shall accept any work knowing that the same is defective according to contract, or who shall give any receipt except for work actually done or material furnished shall be subject to a penalty of not less than ten dollars ($10) nor more than fifty dollars ($50), to be col