The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-07

so weak from want of food that they
have to be carried by the prison guards.
1t is estimated that there will be at
least 1900 crates of tomatoes shipped
from Sanibel Island this season.
streets and ROads-City and County.
Savannah, March 5.-Editor Morning
News: Nations, states, counties and cities
are organisms which grow and improve
in proportion as they can for their moral,
mental and material welfare. Their sue
| cess depends upon the engineers directing
their constructions as much as upon their
| teachers. lawmakers and merchants.
Engineering, in a broad sense, covers
all constructions where materials are
combined in various forms for various
purposes. This profession has existed
for more than 5000 years, as is shown by
the pyramids, obelisks and ancient canals
Of Egypt. The walls and terraced hang
ing gardens Of Babylon, built later, show
the growth of engineering science. The
| aqueducts of Rome, with their tiers Of
| arches, also are its monuments.
Roads and bridges appeared simultan-
| eously with other great engineering I'M
| dertakings. No one can read about the
| Via Appia and other highways of the
| carrying military and commercial power,
law and order, throughout the then known
world without respecting the engineers
/ who laid these lasting foundations of
modern civilization. OF such import
ance did Caesar deem the construction of
| bridge over the Rhine in SO b. c. that
| he described II so infinitely that a mod
| ern engineer could easily reproduce IL.
Where traffic became concentrated near
and within a city the Romans recognized
the necessity OF using stable materials
| for the surfaces of their streets. They
early discovered that increased first cost
| diminlshes cost of subsequent mainte-
| nance-a fact which Is the keynote of
economic paving.
We realize the great problems engineers
have had to solve in providing for the
| safety prosperity and health of the pub
lie, so enormously increased in numbers
| since the time of Columbus. Europe's
| population has grown from 100000 to
$3.50, 900, 0O0 and that of the Americas from
q handful of colonsts to 126,0OO,00O people.
| No works have been more important or
| vitality necessary than the streets and
highway facilitating Accommodation,
so necessary to the very existence of civ
ilization.
The French early recognized the con-
struction of bridges, roads and streets as
special science, and established more
than a century ago their renowned School
/
have sole charge of the roadways and
bridges of France and the pavements of
her cities. The results astound a visitor
the moment he enters that country The
other civilized nations Of Europe soon fol-
lowed in the wake of France, and the
best of roads, scientifically built and main
tained, are found In them everywhere.
The progress of American roadways and
street payements has been slow, with a
few well-known exceptions. The history
of these constructions in America can be
divided into three periods: First, igno-
rance and apathy-a state of affairs found
in many communities. especially where the
people have never seen we'll built streets
and roads; second, empricism or rule
of-thumb, Influenced by ignorant dogma
tism, conservatism and habit, which build
and keep bad roads and bridges. streets
and sidewalks in many communities for
years; third, good engineering construc-
ton. Many states, counties, towns and
cities have awakened TO the economy and
benefit of properly-constructed streets,
roads and bridges, and are acting accord
ingly. But there are still many communi-
ties which, because of badly built, un-
attractive, rough, noisy dirty and poorly
paved streets and roads, repel successful
and wealthy people to the financial and
social detrlment of the place Washington
obtains many OF its best permanent citi-
zens because OF its handsome, well paved
|
The paving Of streets and the building
OF roads and bridges are too often entrust-
cd to the care OF men who have no scien-
tile knowledge of the work. who lack
the careful and special training OF the
engineer, and who have been either UNI
willing or more generally, through igno-
rance, unable 10 investigate, inspect tab
ulate, and profit by the experience Of their
predecessors and OF men elsewhere. Com
munity after community, after much DIFF
nculty. a large struggle, strong opposi-
ton Casually dogmatic officlalism or po-
lticaD. and costly blundering experiments,
has taken roads, bridges, pavements, wa
ter works, sewers etc, out Of ignorant,
subservient apathetic or political hands,
and placed them In charge Of men who ap-
ply scientific methods, and who profit by
the recorded experience of other communi-
ties. The results do credit 10 the COM
munities their mayors and administrative
officers, as well as TO the engineers.
The experience Of county or city In