Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-04-11

THIS ROAD WAS LOCATED AND CONSTRUCT
I'D BY COMPETENT HIGHWAY ENGI-
NEEK.
ed in all the states in the adminlstra-
ton Of the public roads. and today this
policy prevails in a great majority Of
the states. 1t places upon the county
and in most cases upon the road dis
tricts or townships the entire burden
of constructing and maintaining roads
and leaves to it the initiative as well
as the final determination as to the pol
icy which shall be pursued in carrying
on the work.
Our road laws for the most part do
not contemplate the necessity for skill
ed supervision in road work: hence
most Of the work Is done under the
direction Of men who have no knowl-
edge Of road building and who have
only passing interest in it. This is a
situation which Is truly amazing, for
skilled supervision Is demanded in
practically every line of work. TO the
trained road builder it Is evident that
no more prolific source Of waste can
be found than in unskilled supervision.
There are. including county and
township officials, at least a hundred
thousand road officials In the United
States. each exercising a practically
Independent authority. Can we ex-
pect efficiency in an army in which
all are officers and none Is the rank
and file?
In nearly every public or private en-.
terprise some measure of skill Is re-
quired Of the men who are expected to
carry on the work. When a building
is to be erected a number Of men. each
skilled in his own craft, are employ.
ed. One does not find that this man
10 employed because he needs the mon
ey and that one because he is a good
fellow and the other because he has
political influence. but because he is
skilled carpenter. competent bricklay-
er, trained and capable painter, ETC..
throughout the entire transaction.
The civil service Of the United States
10 made up Of people selected after ex-
animation. Our public schools are in
charge Of teachers who have been
awarded certificates after proper pre-
lfminary training and examination.
Is it not surprising, therefore, that
we are willing to intrust the expendi-
ture of $14O.COO.0OO annually in the
building and care Of our public roads.
so essential to our welfare and even
our happiness to 100000 men, most of
whom are selected without any regard
whatever for their technical and prac-
teal experience?
In order to have skilled supervision
the technical training and experience
Of the highway engineer are necessary.
There is popular idea prevailing in
some sections that engineers are not
essential to road improvement. This.
however, Is a very erroneous idea. An
engineer, by reason Of his technical
knowledge, can secure the easiest
grade for roadway consistent with
the traffic for which it Is designed. BY
determining the drainage areas be is
able to compute the proper size for
culverts, he is able to design the
bridges to suit the needs Of traffic. to
estimate the quantities and cost Of ma
terials. select proper road building ma
terials and prepare plans and esti-
mates. Furthermore. he stands be-
tween the community and the con-
tractor and is able to give impartial
Justice to both.
There IL one element In American