Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-01-01
tt,oHwAY EMolNEEaV SHORT
COURSE IN SESSION At
AMEs.
wiscoNslN PLAN 10
DESCRIBED " EXPERT
ssass Engineer Tells Of Working Of
stats Aid PLAY cemmonssalth Ap-
prepriatss $1,sooyooa and Counties
Ask % Much . Possible - Get Thsir
Observation-Disclosures ct Meeting Larss.

Special to Times. HepuDlcan.
Ames, Jan. THE highway engi-
neer1 short course Is in full swing.
More than half Of the county engineers
were In attendance the first day and
more registered for the balance Of the
time. These men are here attending
the course which IL equippinE them
with the latest and most approved
methods of handling the engineering
work Of road and bridge building Of the
state
The feature Of Tuesday was the lee
ture in the evening by A. r. Hirst,
state highway engineer of wisconsin.
who explained the actual working Of
state aid in his state.
He stated that the law makes it easy
for people to secure state aid in Wis
consin because, il they do not ask for
the money they have already paid over
to the state for the fund, some other
county will get the money. In order to
get all that is coming to each county
they ask for as much as possible and
in this way prevent other localities
from getting what 10 not theirs.
State Appropriatss 100000.
The state appropriates 81 100000 az
a state aid fund. This may be secured
in the proportions to which each coun-
ty is entitled in sums of 81 for each
two that are raised locally. The money
that is raised locally may come from
the town and county together. eacn
one-haK. It may come from the coun-
ty alone. One-haH may be donated
by some Individual who owns abutting
land or ,one-haH may come from any
group Of individuals and the other half
from the county.
Mr.. Hirst favors q paved strip nine
to ten feet wide TO one wider, up to
fourteen foot road. for the reason that
any road between the widths Of nine
and fourteen feet is too narrow for
four wheels and SO no better than the
nine foot strip.
Little Contract Work.
Wisconsin does very little contract
work on the highways. Mr. Hirst says
the state saves money and gets better
work by the day labor system under
the direction Of the county highway
commissioner. who corresponds in
The improvement Of the Wiscinson
roads may he divided Into grading
earth roads, gravelling earth roads.
with q surface application of oil or tar,
and the hard paved roads of concrete
or brick. f.s
In the forenoon session, ]. H. Ames.
office engineer of the Iowa state high
H.
making good road surveys to comply
with the requirements Of the Iowa
law.
Iowa Experts on Program.
Porg. T. R. Agg, Of the highway en-
cheering department Of the Iowa State
College, gave lecture on concrete ma
terials in the afternoon session. and
Mr.. Mcdonald, chief engineer OF the
commission. took up the discussion Of
proper contracts for county work.
These meetings were we'll attended and
those here were very mucn interested
in the instruction and expressed salts
faction with the course as started.
Mr.. AGE 10 .nstructing OH the choice
Of type of road and principles Of de-
sign during this mornings session and
the afternoon session will continue
with the lectures Of Tuesday by Pro-
fessors Macdonald and Asg.
Before the end Of the week every
county engineer in the state will be en-
rolled in. the course and from thse
meetings will go out with an UNDER
standing Of their new duties that will
help very largely in clearing up the
Misunderstanding that exist in some
counties relative to the Iowa road laws.
The highway commission is very
much pleased with the interest shown
In this short course and will make this
winter course regular custom,