A big question during the Great Depression seemed to be, ‘Do our children need the material things now, or do they need their education in future years?’

Local educators were asking questions in regard to the funds being spent on education. One account published in a 1933 newspaper reads as follows:

“Our road support and our school support are out of step with the times; the former implies prosperity; the latter implies depression. Either we cannot afford so much road building, in view of our budget for school support, or we can afford more school support, in view of our budget for road building. We as a state are in the position of booming road building and abandoning education.”

It seems as though when a balance scale raises on one side, it lowers itself on the other.

Roads played a major part in bringing our economy back into focus. Not only did it improve transportation, it furnished jobs, which put spendable money back into the economy.

It was pointed out Missouri was to spend $30,000,000 for road construction in the same frame that education would receive a mere $3,000,000.

— researched and presented by Wilbur Bush, Gallatin, MO