The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-01-23
If Highways Of the Country Are
to Be Brought to Much
Needed Efficiency.


WASHINGTON, Jan. 22.-"The day
has arrived for road administration
under men holding Office solely upon
their merit" is the broad and very
sound principle laid down by Logan
Waller Page, director Of the United
States Office Of Public Roads and
Rural Engineering in an address to
the American Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science in Philadelphia.
Not men chosen because of their
value as political workers but men
noted for their constructive gifts and
proved engineering ability. What DIFF
ference does 1t make to the farmer
hauling his crops to market, or to the
merchant transporting his merchan-
disc home, or to the traveller journey
ing from place to place whether the
road was built and is maintained by
a Democrat, or Republican, or a
Progressive? The road is the thing.
Yet, generally speaking and OF the
country at large, road construction
and road maintenance have been
largely committed to more or less de-
sirable political workers with the re-
suit that not less than S50,000,OO0 Is
wasted annually by the
Carelessness and Incompetence
of the men charged with the super
vision and administration Of the pub
lie highways of the country. 1t is not
so much the fault Of the road Of
ficials themselves-they want the
money wasted upon them in the way
of salary, and need it-but OF the po
litical system which makes their Sc
lection possible; and before there can
be any substantial improvement in the
character and efficiency Of the men
the system must be destroyed.
There are in the United States 5000
counties and approximately 100000
local road officials, supervisors who
do not know how to supervise, over.
seers who lack both the technical
knowledge and administrative ability
to oversee, insufficiently paid for COM
peten. work, but overpaid at any price
for what they can do, and who are
elected by the people because tnet
are good fellows" or they are hard
workers in party affairs, and they
must have recognition" bother the
roads and the purposes for which they
are opened. Time was not so very
long ago when in some Of the states
superintendents of education, who
signed their names with across mark
were not infrequently selected be-
cause they had been good soldiers
and needed the salary. II the public
roads of the country are to be &C..
cepted as proof Of the fitness Of the
road officers they are condemned BY
their work.
Running Loose at Ends.
The whole business has been run
ming at loose ends-what should been
everybody's business has been no.
body's business. There has been no
continuity Of effort, on organization
Of the working units, no general plan
ming in the public interest, no seat
of authority, no care in administra-
ton. Changes in the political con-
troll Of states and counties ana dls-
tricts are followed by changes in the
political complexion OF road officials
without regard<to the competency Of
the new men selected for this work
or the efficiency and experience Of the
men displaced to make political hol-
iday. Within the last ten years ar
bitrary changes on political grounds
have been made In the control Of the
engineering work in the state high
way departments of Arizona, Connec-
ticut, Delaware. Maine. Michigan, and
aMryland, Missouri, New Hampshire.
New Jersey, New York. Pennsylvania.
washington and West Virginia, In
the last fifteen years nine changes
have been made in the control Of the
highway department Of New York, and
the most Of these changes have been
made on partisan political grounds.
Doubtless some of >the changes have
been justified because Of the inef-
Ificiency Of, other unftneAs Of the men
=, y Y f. 81 ~ 80 = ta.