Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-09-06

4 santa Fe. Baltimore 4 Ohio. Chi
caro-, Milwaukee 4 St Paul. Della
ware & Hudson. Great Northern,
Grand Trunk. Northern Pacinc. New
York Central Lines. Pennsylvania,
Seaboard Air Line. Southern Pacific
and Union Pacific. and many more
appear in this list with presidents,
vice presidents, or general managers
all developed from the engineering
staff.
"The State Highway Commission
was organized in 1913 during
the administration OF the late
Governor William r. Haines.
Anyone familiar with the work
done by Governor Haines for the
promotion Of good roads must admit
that he gave this question q great
deal OF thought and a great deal Of
study. Governor Haines. for the
State Board Of Trade, was instru-
mental in having introduced before
the legislature the bill which created
the position of State Commissioner
OF Highways in 1905 and with a COM
mittee of the State Board Of Trade
was successful in having this bill be-
come a law. The bill provided that
the Commissioner Of Highways
should be an engineer. Governor
Haines' foresight as to the underly-
ing need in highway work in 1913
was expressed as follows in his inau-
gural address:
THE question Of permanent i'm
provement to my mind is very largely
the work of an engineer, and I believe
that the first and most important
thing in connection with our highway
tension Of the engineering force in
the different towns and cities of the
state, and have these engineers
charged with the responsibility OF
modern and correct construction OF
highways. The engineer is the first
man the railroad employs in the lay
ing out of it's ways. He is the man
they employ every day to look after
it's construction and maintenance,
and what, to my mind, is SO import
ant to railroad is equally important
to the towns and cities in the build
ing and maintenance Of the COM
mon highways. If the people would
only understand this, and not feel
that money paid to engineers is
thrown away, we would stop wasting
money as we have wasted 1t In the
past and enter upon great period OF
improved highway construction in
this state. If you will consider that
the sum of money which has been
spent on the highways Of Maine dur
ing the last twenty years is probably
not less than $25,000,000. and then
consider how much better the high
ways are today than they were at the
beginning of that period, and what
they might have been if this $25,0OO.-
coo had been spent according to the
plans and advice Of competent engi-
neers, regarding carefully the ques-
tions of drainage, and the kind Of
materials used, you will appreciate
what an enormous waste of money
there has been in this connection. In
many towns the highway work has
been controlled by political faction.
whose object was to work with men
and teams on the road machine. Now,
is it not time that we stopped the old
methods and adopted new ones?
with practically ten times as
much traffic on our highways today
as there was in 1913 and with an APP
preparation many times as much as 1t
was in those days, the need of care
fully trained engineers to supervise
the expenditure of these funds seems
so obvious to us as not to need ar
gument."
The Publicity Committee Of the
Maine Association Of Engineers con-
sists of Harry 1. Jordan Of Portland,
chairman; Paul l.. Bean Of Lewiston
and Paul D. Sargent of Augusta.