The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1908-12-18
HOW TO TRAIN
SKILLED ROADBu|LDERs
Continued from front page)

wv. llOIll llOlll
values for their road funds. In
many of our states the annual road
expenditure is considerably in ex-
cess Of that required to run the en-
tire state government with all its
legislative and administer mach
inery. To administrative this latter
fund we elect or appoint a host Of
officials and take every precaution
to secure reasonable returns but take
little or no interest in the larger
fund expended on our roads.
Nor are the losses confined to
money tax. The ethical and edu-
cational influence exerted on the
nation by her highways is of even
greater importance. Good roads
may mean a growing bank account
while bad roads certainly mean
growing mortgage on the old home
stead. But bad roads mean the
perpetuation of the old district
school house" and the conspicuous
absence of churches. And of still
greater Importance is the now well
established fact that bad roads mean
an acceleration of the rush to the
city and the desertion of the farm
by our most desirable sons and
daughters, while good roads mean a
return to the farm and to better
methods of farming.
We thus see that the present
trend of the increased demand for
trained highway engineers is we'll
founded, founded on a crying need
for men of broad training and UNI
questionable integrity who are able
to lead the way to a proper solution
of the difficult, complex problems
now pressing on us. In no field of
engineering are more difficult, vari-
ed or far-reaching problems involv-
ed than are met with by the high
way engineer. His education and
training should therefore be the
most liberal and at the same time
the most exhaustive possible. For
he who really desires to assist the
cause of better roads must approach
the problem in large way. There
fore it is we'll, if not asolutely neces-
sary for him to obtain a general
idea as to the influence roads as a
means OF communication exert on
the advance of civilization, to gain
a clear conception of the relations
the roads bear to the topographic,
geologic snd climatic conditions of
the country, thorough knowledge
OF the constructive details of the
road itself and the destructive ag-
encies together with their preven-
ton, and, last but not least, to I'M
derstand the history of the develop
ment of roads and highways, his
tory most couriously linked with
that of civilization and full of inter-
est apart from its economic applica-
ton.
Nor will such study be without
advantage to the practical road
builder. All experience teaches us
to initiate, modify or avoid; and
in this work he will find much
which will prove or value in the
solution of modern problems by
pointing the way to lines to be fol-
lowed and others to be avoided.
AS l have already minated, it
is belief still quite prevalent that
road building is trade rather than
profession. AS some wit has re-
marked: There are three things
which every person, in his own
opinion, is fully competent to do:
pick the winning horse in a race
(before the race) judge woman's
beauty and tell other people how to
build good roads. -
A very little reflection will con-
vince one to the contrary. In order
to secure the best results possible
the road builder must first of all be
a competent civil engineer. In adj
dition to the subjects usually in
cluded in the civil engineering
course he should possess a good
working knowledge Of geology, min
eralology, chemistry and a wide