COST OF GOVERNiMENT IN MASS. 179 



scale, and this condition is considered typical of the general wage situation. 

 Salaries of school teachers in Massachusetts have more than doubled, as will 

 be shown later. Prices of building materials have also averaged higher than 

 the general price level, or about 70 per cent above 1913 prices. 



School and highway costs may be taken to illustrate the effect of the rise 

 in prices. The cost of new construction is 70 per cent above pre-war figures 

 for materials, while wages have doubled. Wages for personal services in main- 

 taining schools and highways have also doubled. Therefore the costs for iden- 

 tical service would be from 70 to 100 per cent more than before the war, due 

 solely to higher prices. The same conclusion is valid for all other public services 

 with the exception of debt and interest charges, since most government service 

 is personal service. 



The increase in expenditures for schools and highways becomes less sig- 

 nificant when considered in connection with higher prices. Most cities and towns 

 attempted to catch up with their building program between 1020 and 192.5, and 

 at the same time to repair or rebuild thousands of miles of streets and high- 

 ways, which was made necessary by the rapid increase in motor traffic. This 

 construction at high prices has necessarily increased expenditures both from 

 taxes and from bond issues. 



Increase in Public Service 



Another reason for the increase in public expenditures that is often over- 

 looked by the taxpayers is the public demand for more and more service. There 

 are two aspects of this increase in service; a demand for increasing the scope 

 of present governmental activities, and an insistent demand that our State and 

 local governments undertake new activities. 



Highways and education illustrate the first point. People are demanding 

 more and better streets and highways, boulevards, bridges, highway signs, 

 more frequent highway repairs, street oiling or watering, snow removal, etc. 

 The activities of the street and highway departments of cities and towns are 

 constantly being increased. 



In the same way, educational opportunities are being enlarged due to 

 specific demands from the public. University and agricultural extension 

 courses, night vocational schools, agricultural and other vocational courses in 

 our high schools, all have been added to educational activities. At the same 

 time there has been a demand for more courses and more subjects in our 

 elementary schools, high schools, technical schools and colleges. More attention 

 is being paid to health and recreation which has resulted in demands for gym- 

 nasiums and playgrounds, expensive to construct, and costly to maintain. 



Other activities have been undertaken in connection with health, charity, 

 and the care of the defective classes of society. The State has been especially 

 active in the construction and maintenance of institutions for the care of the 

 feeble-minded and insane. Physical examinations in the schools to correct phys- 

 ical defects, and supervised play in public playgrounds are new activities de- 

 signed to improve public health. The state police is a new activity, brought into 

 existence by the necessity for regulation of traffic on congested highways. 



All of these new activities, together with the expansion of functions already 

 being performed, add to the number of people on the public payroll and to 

 public expenditures, all by and with the consent of taxpayers who believe that 

 the increased expenditure is justified by the benefits received. 



