The times., 1901-03-17
%HE material prosperity of

n nen-the man OF SCIENCE WIZ
lives only for truth and the dis
coverv of natures laws; the inventor
eager to apply these discoveries to money
making machines and processes, ana the
engineer. trained in mathematical inNes-
tiration and in knowledge Of the physlcal
conditions which govern his profession,
which is the mechanical application ol
the laws of nature.
Engineering is sometimes DIVIDED into
civil. military. and naval engineering Inc
term civil engineering, which will he here
described. is often used by writer's as
covering structural engineering only, but
it has a much wider meaning.
The logical classification is: Statical
engineering. including that of all hNed
bodies. and dynamical, covering the
movement of all bodies by the develop
ment and application of power.
Statical engineering can be again sub
divided into structural engineering, or
that OF railways, highways, bridges
foundations. tunnels, buildings. etc; also.
into hydraulic engineering, which gov
ems the application OF water to canals,
river improvements, harhors, the supply
Of water TO towns and for irrigation, dis
posal Of sewage, etc.
Dynamical engineering can he dlNldeo
into mechanical engineering, which COW
ers the construction Of all prime motors
the transmission Of power, and the use
Of machines and machine tools. Closely
allied is electrical engineering, the art
Of the transformation and transmission
Of energy for traction, lighting, teleg-
raphy. telephoning, operating machinery,
and many other uses, such as its cleo
trolytic application to ores and metals
Then We have the combined application
Of statical. mechanical, and electrical en-
gineering to what is now called indus
trial engineering. or the production of
articles useful TO man. This may be di-
y-ided into agricultural, mining, metal
lIreicaI. and chemical engineering.
Surely this is a vast field, and can only
be hastily described in the sketch which
We are about to give.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING.
This is the oldest Of all. We have not
been able to surpass the works Of the
past in grandeur or durability. The
pyramids Of Egypt still stand and viii
stand for thousands Of years. Roman
bridges aoueducts. and sewers still per
form their duties Josoph's canal still
irrigatcs lower Egypt The great wall
~ China. running for l,5o9 miles over
mountains and plains, contains l5e~J,v'5
,,li,ic wards OF materials, and is the great
est Of artificial works No modern build
ing compares in grandeur with 81 ret
er's. and the medieval cathedrals shame
our puny limitations.
These mighty works were built IN sho"
the rjetv of the Church or TO grauiy Ihe
,,ri,ja of Kings Time and money were oI
no account An this has now been
cbar,ed Capitsl controls, and the ques-
tinn of time. money. and usefulness ruleS
,,-e,-,.tbing. Hence come scientific ue-
sign and Iabor-savinE machinery
Tho engineer Of our modern works lllst
calculates the stresses on all their parts
and proportions them accordingly, so that
there Is no waste OF material Hand ldpor
has given place 10 steam machinery. All
parts are interchangeable, SO that they
can be made and fitted together IN the
least possible time. as is seen every day
IN the construction Of a steel-framed Of
fee building. our workmen receive much
higher wages than in the past, while time
and cost have been diminished.
RAILWAYS.
nineteenth century was the development
of the railway system which has changed
the face Of the world. Beginning In 1880
with the locomotive Of George stephen
son. it has extended with such strides
that. after seventy years, there are 455,VF
miles Of railways in the world Of which
10000 miles are in the United states.
Their cost is estimated at forty thousand
millions of dollars. of which ten thou
sand millions belong TO the United States.
The rapidity with which railways are
built in the United States and Canada
contrasts strongly with what has been
done IN other countries. Much has been
written Of the energy Of Russia in building
5000 miles Of Siberian railway in five or
six years In the United States an aver
age Of 6.Is7 miles was completed every
year during ten successive years, and lu
1857 there were built 129S2 miles. The
physical difficulties overcome in Siberia
are no greater than have been overcome
here.
This rapid construction is due to sew
eral causes. the most potent of which
has been the need of extending railways
over great distances with little money
Hence they were built economically, and
at first in not as solid n manner as those
OF Europe Sleeper gradients sharper
curves. and lighter rails were used. This
rendered necessary a different kind OF
rolling stock suitable to such construc-
tion. The swivolins-truck and equal
izing-beam enabled our engines to run
safely on tracks where the rigid Euro
pean engines would soon have been in
the ditch.
Our cars were made longer and by tho
use Of longitudinal framing much strong
er. A great economy came from the use
Of anneaIed cast-iron wheels, with hard.
ened tires. an in one piece, instead Of be-
ing built uD Of spokes, hubs, and tires
in separate parts. These wheels now
seldom break, and cost much less than
European wheels. AS there are some
eleven million carwheels in use So The
United States the resulting economy is
great.
II was soon seen that longer cars would
carry a greater proportion Of paying
load. and the more cars that one engin,
could draw in a train the less would b,
the cost II was not until the invention
by Bessemer in 1854 Of steel Of quality
and cost that made it available for rails
that much heavier cars and locomotive.
could be used Then came a rapid IN.
crease. AS soon as Bessemer rails wer,
made in this country the cost fell from
fl75 per ton 20 so. ana now TO $26
Before that time wooden car weighed
sixteen tons, and could carry payinl
load Of twenty-five tons. The thirty-toi
engines OF those days could not draw oI