The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1919-04-24
States May Have Millions Of Fed
eral Government Money For
Roads Business. and La
Dor Conditions Improved
by Construction Work.

Roads Business and La
Dor Conditions Improved
by Construction Work.
Road-building authorities are
are predicting that 1919, 1920
and 1921 will prove the greatest
in the country's history in the
matter of road construction. In
view of the unprecedented appro.
priations Of funds for Federal
aid for road projects and the ac-
tivities of the States in extending
their road-building programs the
prediction appears to be fully
justified.
The Division of Public Works
and Construction Development Of
Labor is authority for the state
ment that there has been re-
vision and enlargement of road
building plans in almost every
State in the Union since the sign
ing of the armistice. This is due
not only to the pressing need for
road construction, which has
been suspended during the war,
except where construction was
essential to military activities,
but also to the obvious desirable
ity and prudence Of getting pub
lie works under way so there may
be such a demand for labor as
will absorb the labor surplus.
Ultimately there will be a la
Dor shortage in the United States.
At present there is a surplus, and
this is apt to grow to embarass-
ing proportions during the next
few months of rehabilitation if
no conscious effort is made to i'm
mediately revive building and
construction activities to provide
buffer employment until our in
dustrial readjustment has been
completed. Quite as important is
the effect of an Immediate ac-
celeration of construction work
on general business conditions.
Federal, State, and municipal
construction projects, assisted by
private and corporation building
activities, will be potent stimuli
for general business and will pre-
vent the stagnation which would
spell commercial disaster.
Federal aid for road construc-
ton for 1919, 1920, and 1921 has
been provided on a more liberal
scale than ever before. If mill
ions Of Federal funds are not alb
sorbed by the States in State
rcad prcj;ects, Il will be ne fault
of the Federal Government. Mil
lions are available. How COM
pletely the possibilities Of the
present opportunity are approx
mated depends on the State ad-
ministrations.
Federal funds to the, amount of
S266, 100000 will have been a.
vailable for State road projects
by the end Of the fiscal year of
1921. Under legislation enacted
prior to the last Congress there
are available for 1917, 1913, and
1919-and now apportioned a.
mong the States-$29, 100000. To
this, the last Congress added
$48,500,000 for the fiscal year
1919, making the total of Federal
aid for road construction to the
end Of the fiscal year 1919, ST.
100000. In 1920 there will be
$92, 10000 available for this
work, and in 1921 and additional
$97, 100000.
The last Congress amended the
Federal-aid law in such fashion
as to give the States more lati-
tude in building. These changes
became a law through the pass
age of the Post Office appropria-
ton bill, sections 5 and of
which read as follows:
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,