The Monmouth Inquirer

Good Progress on Roads Seen During 1923 Season
(Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.)
The 1923 road-construction season opens with the prospect that there will be about the same amount of road construction as last year, which was a very satisfactory one, according to the bureau of public roads, United States Department of Agriculture.
Returns from 21 scattered states show that in these states there will be available $288,000,000 for road work as compared with $273,000,000 spent in the same states last year. On federal-aid work, which constitutes something like half of the total construction, there was under construction on March 31 work estimated to cost $258,000,000 as compared with $233,000,000 12 months previous.
Wages of labor are generally slightly higher than a year ago, with the exception of the Pacific coast, where the same rate prevails. The greatest increase is in New England, where the present level is approximately 30 per cent higher than the level of a year ago.
The general outlook is considerably better than one year ago, when the railroad and coal strike loomed as disturbing factors. Added to this is the fact that the designation of the system of federal-aid highways is now completed in 33 states and practically complete in most of the others. With a definite program for accomplishment laid out road work can proceed much more smoothly.
From latest reports it appears that 30 states now tax gasoline as compared with four states at the beginning of 1921. Most of the revenue derived goes for road purposes, and bureau officials regard this as a step in the right direction. With road users paying a more equitable share of the cost, highway finance is placed upon a firmer foundation.