Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-09-05
Need For Trained Road Makers.

1t is somewhat astonishing to learn
that a sum Of nearly three million
dollars is spent annually by the rural
districts of our state for roads and
bridges. It is hard to believe that IN
the last ten years about twenty-five
million dollars have been spent Ter
these purposes outside Of the cities
and villages, especially so when the
condition Of the roads aud bridges is
taken into account. They have new
practically the same appearance thu t
they used to have before those twenty
five millions were spent. The money
has literally been dropped into the
holes in our roads.
But more astonishing than the
greatness of these amounts is the fact
that they have been spent on engineer
ing projects in almost every instance
without the advice of trained man.
We would naturally think N IN who
started to build twenty-five million
dollar railroad was absolutely crazy II
he did not hire the best engineering
talent he could get. In fact the courts
would promptly be asked to appoint
guardian by his heirs if he selected
men who had no experience and no
technical training for the work. Yet
we 60 on in this great state OF ours
and spend millions every year on just
that neutrality-suspicious. any definite
plan or any advice from trained men.
We all known road overseers-many
of them in our Countrywide know
next to nothing of the work they al e
supposed to do and their work shows
I I,.
When we start to build house we
got a mason to put Up the foundation,
q carpenter to put Up the woodwork,
a plumber TO put IN the piping, a
painter to finish the job, and perhaps
men Of other trades-in war we get
men who know their business. We
don't let the job to neighbor Jones and
his boy who never built anything more
pretentious than COW shed. Yet
when we come to select a man to keep
the road in repair SO we can get to and
from that house, we elect one who has
never given day Of careful considera-
tion to the best and cheapest means
of keeping that road IN proper shape.
We trust to luck that he will do it
we'll enough, but he puts in hundred
dollar culvert that is too small and
washes out, or a five hundred dollar
bridge without proper abutments,
which is soon undermined after some
heavy shower, and bridges and abut-
ments must both be replaced. We
cheerfully look upon it as unavoidable
and although we grumble little,quite
readily pay taxes next year for some
one else to waste in putting IN cui-
vert about four times too large and
bridge twice as long as needed.
But when we ask where we can get
trained men we find we haven't them
available-our system hasn't been of
the sort to make them. We have hired
mason to do our woodwork, novice
to lay the foundation and a blacksmith
to paint the house until each has for
gotten his own trade and does not
know the other. We must train men
from the start if we are ever to have
good roads.
The Iowa Highway Commission has
adopted the plan of holding road
school for week in the summer, to
which all road supervisors are invited.
They go to the Iowa State college
where they see all kinds of road ma
chinery at work and listen to lectures
on the best types of bridges, culverts
and road machinery. They are given
liberal opportunity to ask questions
and al the help possible is given them
in the various problems they have met
in their work. Some such method as
this must be adopted in Wisconsin II
we are to see any results from the
S30,0O0,OO0 that will be spent on the
roads and bridges in the next ten
years.