The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1920-01-15
Keep the Engineering Force.

Inc suggestion made Dy some Ok Jhe
members Of the common council that
the engineering force of the city be
reduced for the coming year will appeal
to any one who studies the question as
a case of false economy Of the worst
kind. Kenosha has at the presenv time
q competent engineering force. 1t is
not too large. There is work enough
in the department. to keep every man
and woman employed there busy for
at least ten hours day and if all the
work demands is done some of them
will be forced to work overtime. To
reduce the force with the city enter
ing into what promises to be the bust
est season Of public improvements in
its history would be the rankest of
folly.
The force is costing the city some
where in the neighborhood Of fifteen
thousand dollars year. During the
year just closed this force had charge
Of public improvements to the value
of pretty close to a million dollars and
in the coming year the total value Of
improvements will probably be more.
IL the cost Of the department is fifteen
thousand dollars the city will pay about
one and one-half per cent for expert
handling of the work. Certainly it is
worth this amount to give assurance
to the people that the contracts made
by the city will be carried out and
that the people win get as near as pos
slble what they are paying for.
The plan Of having a city engineer
and superintendent of public works
has worked out admirably in Kenosha.
The two departments have not FLASHED
there has been no contest as to au-
thority--no bubble or jealousy over
rank or authority-and the two men
men who have filled the two positions
have worked side by side for the com
mon welfare Of the people. 1t is ad-
mitted that neither of them would have
been able to handle the entire work
of the city's engineering program dur
ing the past year. With expert engi-
neering inspection the cost of rather
poor inspection has been cut down.
Contracts have been carried out with
out sign of friction and with the as
surance that the contractors working
for the city were giving to the people
OF the city the work and materials the
people were paying for. We contend
that this is worth more thAn fifteen
thousand dollars a year. e is pretty
certain that should the council decide
to reduce the engineering forces of the
city that its financial expenditure for
inspection would amount to consid-
cradle more than would be saved by
the reduction Of the force.
The people want to pay for service
and they want the service they pay for.
They expect to get it best from men
capable of rendering service rather
than from politically appointed inspec-
tSrs whose main claim for considera-
ton from the council is the fact that
they worked for the election Of some
city official or some alderman. Keno
sha has by this time grown out of the
class of places where political bills are
to be paid at the cost of the people
getting what they order and paw for.
The program that has been outlined
Tor the coming year provides for ex-
penditures for public improvements of
q lot more than a million dollars. II
also provides for the operating Of a wa
ter plant which he's cost the city in
the neighborhood of eight hundred
thousand dollars. There is a possibil-
ity Of a big engineering problem in
connection with the street railway
questionable city may build the new
bridge on Main street--ther NAV be
o pier built to insure future harbor
work for Kenosha and everv one of
these things will present an engineer
ing problem. The city now has men
in its engineering department whose
ability and honest are unquestioned. 1t
can not take a chance of losing sueb
service with the suggestion of a posi-
BILE reduction in expense.
The engineering department may cost
the city twenty thousand dollars dur
ing the coming year. 1t is the one best
bet that this twenty thousand dollars
will stack right up at the top as the
most sensible of the city's investments.
1t is the cheapest insurance against
fraud that the people can buy. IF
some department must be cut find one
other than the engineering depart
ment..