dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or be imprisoned in the county jail for a period of not less than one month nor more than six months, or both so fined and imprisoned in the discretion of the court or jury.

§ 14. Nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent any person from being employed or practicing as an accountant in this State. $ 15. No person shall be appointed a member of the State Board of Accountancy of the State of Kentucky who is directly, or indirectly, interested in, or connected with, in a pecuniary way, any business college, organization, or association, teaching bookkeeping, or accounting; but nothing herein shall be construed to prevent any member of the said board from delivering lectures or assisting in any such business college, organization, or association teaching accounting or bookkeeping; provided, that such services are rendered without charge and that no compensation or remuneration is received or accepted for such services.

§ 16. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of this act shall, for any reason, be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of said act, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, paragraph, or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

Approved March 4, 1916.

CHAPTER 10.

AN ACT to amend and re-enact sections three thousand four hundred and forty-nine, three thousand four hundred and fifty, three thousand four hundred and fifty-one, three thousand four hundred and fifty-two, three thousand four hundred and fifty-three, three thousand four hundred and fifty-four, three thousand four hundred and fifty-five, three thousand four hundred and fifty six, three thousand four hundred and fifty-seven, three thousand four hundred and fifty-eight, three thousand four hundred and fifty-nine of the Kentucky Statutes relating to the control and improvement of public streets, alleys, sidewalks, roads, lanes, avenues, highways, and thoroughfares in cities of the third class.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

1. That section three thousand four hundred and forty-nine of the Kentucky Statutes be, and the same is, hereby amended and re-enacted to read as follows: Section three thousand four hundred and forty-nine. The Common Council, or the Board of Commissioners in cities which have adopted or may adopt, the commission form of government, shall have and exercise exclusive control and power over the streets, roadways, sidewalks, alleys, landings, wharves, public grounds and highways of the city; to establish open, alter, widen, extend, close, grade, pave, repave, clean and keep in repair the same; to prevent and remove all encroachments thereon or obstruction thereof; to put drains and sewers in the same, and to regulate and prohibit the building of vaults and areas under sidewalks; to enforce and regulate connection with sewer, gas and water mains and conduits of all kinds laid in or under the streets and highways of the city for any purpose. Upon the adoption of an ordinance by the Common Council, or said Board of Commissioners authorizing and directing the closing of the whole or any

portion of a street or alley or other public highway within the limits of jurisdiction of the city, it shall be the duty of the city attorney to institute an action. in the circuit court for the purpose of having the same closed, and to such action all the owners of ground in the squares or lots divided by such street, alley or highway, or the portion thereof proposed to be closed, shall be made defendants; and if all defendants competent to act for themselves and fail to object to the closing prayed for, then the court shall render a decree accordingly; but if any of said defendants object, or are under disability other than coverture, the court shall empanel a jury, which shall hear evidence and determine the amount of compensation in the form of damages to be paid to each of such defendants. The court shall thereupon direct that said street, alley or other highway be closed upon payment to each of such defendants of the amount of damages awarded to him, or, if any defendant refuses to accept such payment, or be for any reason unable to do so, upon payment into court of the amount awarded such defendant or defendants. It shall be the duty of the court to give such proceedings precedence over other cases. When any parcel of ground shall have heretofore been or shall hereafter be, laid off as a street, avenue, or alley, and open to the unrestricted use of the general public for five consecutive years, it shall be conclusively presumed to have been dedicated to the city as a public street, avenue or alley of the city, subject, however, to the acceptance by the city, and the city may, at any time after the expiration of five years from the time such parcel of ground is laid off and open to the public, pass an ordinance declaring such parcel of ground to have been so dedicated, and accepting the dedication thereof;

whereupon it shall become and be a public street, avenue or alley of the city for all purposes, and the lack of an actual dedication thereof to the city or of a record title thereto on the part of the city shall be no defense against the collection of any tax which may be assessed and levied against property abutting thereon for the payment of the cost of any improvement constructed thereon by order of the city. Provided: That nothing herein shall be construed to require the expiration of five years to raise such presumption of dedication in any case, where, under any rule of law now in force in this State, a dedication would be presumed in less than five years.

2. That sections three thousand four hundred and fifty, three thousand four hundred and fifty-one, three thousand four hundred and fifty-two, of the Kentucky Statutes be, and the same are amended, and re-enacted in one section to read as follows: Section three thousand four hundred and fifty. The Common Council, or the Board of Commissioners in cities which have adopted, or may adopt, the commission form of government, may, by ordinance, provide for the improvement of streets, alleys, and other public ways and sidewalks (including curbing and guttering) or parts thereof, in the manner herein set out. The improvement of any public way or sidewalk by original or reconstruction or by resurfacing upon a foundation already in place, shall be deemed an improvement within the provisions of this act. An ordinance for improvement of any public street or sidewalk as contemplated in this section shall have two readings before the Common Council or said Board of Commissioners, and ten days shall intervene between the first and second readings. The improvement of public ways and sidewalks (including curbing and guttering), except as herein

after provided, shall be made at the exclusive cost of the owners of real estate abutting on such improvement, to be apportioned among and assessed upon the lots or parcels of real estate abutting on such improvement according to the number of front or abutting feet, and a tax shall be levied upon such lots or parcels of real estate for the payment of the cost assessed thereon, which tax shall be due and payable at the city treasurer's office upon completion of the work and acceptance thereof by the Common Council or said Board of Commissioners, unless otherwise provided in the ordinance ordering such improvement, and no property shall be exempt from such improvement tax. Any such tax which is not paid within thirty days after the same becomes due, shall have added thereto a penalty of six per cent. There shall be a lien upon such lots or parcels of real estate for the part of the cost of such improvement so assessed thereon, and the same shall bear interest at the rate of six per cent per annum from the time of the assessment until paid. Any assessment for any street improvement as provided in this section which exceeds one-half of the value of the lots or parcels of real estate upon which the assessment is made shall be void as to such excess but the improvement shall be taken into consideration in fixing the value of such real estate and the Common Council or said Board of Commissioners shall provide for the payment of any such excess out of the general fund. When in any such city having therein a street railway, and the railway company is required by its franchise, or by any contract with the city, to pave or improve any part of the streets or alleys of the city, proposed to be improved, the cost of paving such portion of such streets or alleys shall be assessed against such railway company and