Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1893-11-02
ROAD CONSTRUCTION.
To De Successful, the Work Must He
Placed in Competent Hands.

d
ways without disastrous laundering is
I by securing men TO guide the work who
( have been well-trained for the task.
/ We are at present, as regards our COM
mon roads in the position in which we
/ were when the rapid expansion of our
railway system began, some fifty years
! ago. Then, as now, there were but a very
/ few engineers who had studied the art
of building the new ways, and We're
thus fitted to train novices for the EN-
ployment. A few of these masters in
the new art were retained in the
schools Of engineering which began at
that time to be founded in this country.
In the course of two decades these
schools provided corps of young men
who were competent to deal with the
business of railway building, aided by
the accumulated learning which could
be brought TO bear on the subject.
They were at graduation not masters of
their art, but were so far trained that
with little practical experience they
could be trusted TO attain to that sta
ton; such are indeed the uses of school
ing in the science and art of subject;
a man is thereby made ready to profit
from his apprenticeship in his chosen
work. At the present time our tech
meal institutions provide even more
railway engineers than the vast system
of iron roads of this country can well
employ.
The need Of men by training made
competent to take charge of our com
mon roads is SO immediate and press
ing that our technical schools should at
once begin the task of educating them;
this they win doubtless at once pro-
coed to do, for our institutions of this
nature are quick and effective in their
endeagors to meet the economic needs
Of this country. 1t is less than twenty
years since it became evident that there
was TO be 4 new and important profess
sion. that of the electrical engineer; al
ready there are dozens of places in this
country where men can be admirably
fitted for this calling; not only the in
situations which have been established
for the development Of the mechanic
arts, but the older universities, such as
Harvard, have added laboratories Of
applied electricity to their resources,
and have provided the detailed instruc-
ton which the expert needs.
Ii is matter of much Importance
that the men who are to take charge of
our highways should have a broad
training. 1t may seem at first sight that
the railway engineer, because the work
he has to do is far more costly than our
common roads, should have longer
preparation for his tasks than the road
master. The fact is, however that the
apparently simpler employment de-
mands the broader preparation. 1t has
fallen to me, as dean of the scientific
school of Harvard university to consid-
er in careful way what the needs of
this preparation really are. Fortunate
~ for the inquiry, my services in the
Massachusetts, highway commission has
given the basis for a Judgment on this
point The Investigations Of that com
mission have shown its members not
only the state of the roads in the com
monwealth but have very clearly re-
vealed the kind of knowledge and skill
which win be demanded of the men
who are 10 improve their condition. On
the basis of the knowledge thus OBJ
tanned the plan of the instruction for
those who are to be made ready for the
occupation OF the road-builder is sub
stantially as follows;
There is a certain common founda-
tion Of pure and applied mathematics
which has u be acquired 10y engineers,
whichever part OF that great field of
knowledge they may intend to till;
whether they may propose to devote
themselves to railway construction, to
architecture, to mechanical engineer
ing, 10 sanitation, to applied electrici-
ty, or To the construction of highways,
much of the requirement Is the same.
To this well-accepted educational foun-
dation the road-master will need to add
special training in the following de-
partments: In field surveying he must
/ pay special attention 10 the art of de
| hneating the surface of a country 10y
means of contour maps. These are
necessary as the first step in planning
/ or reconstructing route, He must
/ know enough of geology to be able TO
/ pass a critical Judgment on the char
/ acter of the materials with which he
/ has todeal lie must know the com
4 moner rocks by sight and be informed
as 70 their properties; he must, more
over, know when to doubt his own
! opinion and how to obtain a correct
answer to such questions He must
/ know so much at least of the chemistry
Of the rocks as pertains to his needs =
Prof \, 5. Shager, in Frank Leslie's
Weekly.
KANSAS CRY, Mo, oct es The eat.
tle-killing record Of the world has been
broken at Armours packing house in
this city where S,2ls cattle were
slaughtered ii eleven hours. The
slaughter began NJ o'clock, was in.
terrupted half hour At noon and
ended at $50 The average was five
steers slaughtered every minute Nc
packing house in the world has ever
killed The same number IF cattle Ia the