The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-06-29


tends the work of the local road over.
! seers and aids. them with advice ant
J counsel His qualifications cannot, fol
apparent reasons, be prescribed witt
as much exactness as those of tn,
county engineer, but experience ant
; aptitude for the work is generally re-
CURED. He Is held responsible for thS
proper execution of the work within
MS jurisdiction and subject to the di.
rection of the county engineer.
Here you see in outline the genera
plan Of the administrative machinery
The public corporation profited by the
experience of the private corporation
The railroad company has the chief IL
the central office, the district superin.
tendent and then the section fore
man, each with definite duties to per.
form, and each with fixed Responsible
ties resting upon him. The work OF
building. repairing and maintaining
the railroad is efficiently and economi
cally, in the broadcast sense of that
term, carried forward, and the state
, the county and the township in the
older states have discovered that skill
Organization, system and definite re
sponsibiliy are equally essential in the
building, improving and maintaining
, Eof their public wagon roads.
4 l. am aware that people generally
look askance, and perhaps properly so
at any step intending the creation OF
a new office and should the PROPOSE.
ton providing a county engineer be
made to the people through their re.
representatives., some, protest. would IN.
\ doubtedly be heard. But fortunately,
IL 1t should seem advisable to have n
lofficer skilled in road construction and
In the arts Of civil engineering, we
have at the present time in North Da-
Ikota county officer who could per-
form these duties IL a few changes in
tine law were made. / refer to the
county surveyor. In most of the
counties of the state the work of this
public servant is not very onerous and
IN many cases his services are not
deemed of such public Importance as
TO lead the counties to exercise the
greatest care in his selection. If the
law providing for a county surveyor
We're slightly amended so that in ad-
dition to his present duties of survey
Sing lands within the county, he also
was required to superintend road con-
struction and road building, prepare
plans and specifca tions for bridges
and improved highways and to aid and
assist local highway authorities in
their work, we should have an officer
whose work would be equivalent to
that of the county engineer or county
superintendent of roads in the more
advanced states. OF course, in impos-
ling these additional duties upon the
a.
to consider his qualifications with
greater care. He should be a civil
engineer and an experienced road
builder.
1t is not essential here to discuss
the mode or manner of his appoint
ment He may be appointed by the
county. commissioners or elected by the
people Of the county. or even appoint
ed by the state engineer or the state
highway commissioner. The all i'm
portant consideration is that he be
qualified for the place and that he
give the duties of his office his best
attention.
Must Have Fair Pay.
To get a person qualified to I'LL this
Office it would be necessary to. pro-
| vide adequate compensation. This fact
will at once put the public on it's
guard, but the experience of other
states and, to be specific that OF Mis-
souri, shows that a skilled county en-
gineer is an economy and not an ex-
travagance. 1t is conceded that skill
ed supervision is essential IL perma-
nent road work is to be done and the
public must expect to pay for services.
To he y4aIzy.
have his prototype already existing in
counties where township organization
has not been effected. But that some
sort of township supervision, more eff
lficient and more thorough than the
board of supervisors now provide, is
necessary win, think, be conceded by
every one. The additional expense in
Cured by such supervision would be
comparatively small because such
supervisor, of course, would be en-
ployed only during small portion of
the year. 1t is conceded that such
township supervision tends to unity
and because of the definite RESPONSE
bility it gives rise to-, 1t results in
much better work upon the township
roads. 1t simply emphasizes the
superiority of organization, of power
coupled with responsibility, over the
chaos that results where many indi-
vfduals, without responsibility to a
definite superior and without guild
ance or skilled supervision, are ex-
pected to work to a definite end.
One of the first obstacles encounter
ed by the several states in their efforts
to improve their highways and to put
the work on a skilled basis was the
old plan of statute labor, Of working
upon the roads in lieu of the payment
of the road tax in money. This sys-
tenn initiates against skill and effici-
ency not only in theory but over
century of experience from one end of
the country to the other. accords it
unqualified condemnation. 1t is need
less to dwell upon this point here, for
all of you know probably from bitter
kind of roads this plan has given
North Dakota. Before turn to an
other phase of this question, l desire
to call to your minds that statute
labor is relic of feudalism, of the
time when the country was young and
when money did not circulate with the
freedom of today. 1t may be useful
to bear this In mind in connection with
conditions in some parts of North Da-
kota which have perhaps but lately
been reclaimed to culture by the en-
terprise and industry of the home
steader.
Road Taxes in Cash.
More than two-fifths of the states |